In a new initiative to offer a convenient, quick-service concept to the southern market, Lubbock, Texas-based Curby’s opened its first store on Feb. 1. Given that cases of the COVID-19 omicron variant have spiked, the on-the-go service is expected to be well-received.
The grand opening celebration of the first Curby’s Express Market is projected for Feb. 5, but the company has ambitious growth plans. Curby’s has another two stores, currently being built from the ground up, scheduled to open this year, and it aspires to reach 20-35 stores by the end of 2024.
The Curby’s mission is to serve busier consumers with everything they like about the speed of convenience, with everything they crave in high-quality food and drink, and with an unshakable commitment to be fast — all in a modern and progressive environment.
The concept’s mission is all about enhancing the customer experience in traditional convenience retailing.
“Our desire is to deliver craveable food and beverages, and obviously convenience items, to the customer — always in line with speed and convenience. That goes from the culture that we’ve tried to create to the people that we’ve hired,” said Grant Gafford, founder of Curby’s.
New-To-Industry Concept
The Curby’s concept began when Gafford and his business partner, Brady Collier, who both have backgrounds in commercial real estate, decided to start their own operating business. Gafford had previously come across a vacant Starbucks with an attached drive-through that had been turned into a no-fuel convenience store. The busy store served as an inspiration and model for Curby’s.
Gafford and Collier attended the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) show in Las Vegas in 2018, where they learned about the industry and met consultants who advised them and helped flesh out a business plan.
Fast forward to today, and Curby’s is a no-fuel express market without interior dining, but with a laser focus on speed for the customer.
“We’re next-gen convenience retailing, but we like to think about ourselves also as half quick-service restaurant (QSR), half traditional convenience,” Gafford said.
The Curby’s name derives from the concept of the store itself. The idea of curbside service is at the crux of Curby’s appeal, especially with its drive-through.
Curby’s decided on a simple design to be the face of its brand — a dog sticking its head out of the window of a car. The logo represents friendliness as well as the idea of catering to the customer. For example, if a customer arrives with a dog in the car, attendants will give the dog a special treat.
The Curby’s branding initiative lends itself to sayings such as “curb your cravings” or “new breed of convenience,” according to Gafford.
“We want to be able to be that solution for customers,” Gafford continued. “We want customers to see us as an opportunity to curb their cravings, and we want customers to know us as a better, more convenient shopping experience. We want to be all of that to our customers in the neighborhood.”
The quick-service mission Curby’s promotes is expressed in everything from its name to its design and the types of food offered.
Designed for Speed
Curby’s planned its stores to be built from the ground up, with its layout spanning about 4,200 square feet. Its speedy, quick-service concept allows it to have a smaller parcel of land than traditional restaurants, Gafford said, with its retail label and lack of interior dining softening parking requirements.
“Our first location was able to fit on a half-acre, and it has great room for a double lane drive-through and plenty of parking for people to come in and grab the things they need,” said Gafford.
The exterior is designed with white stucco as the primary material, with wood elements as a complement to create a clean image. A vibrant green acts as an attention-grabbing accent color.
“We really felt like green brought out the freshness aspect of everything that we’re doing,” noted Gafford.
One of the major design elements of Curby’s is its drive-through, which begins as one lane and splits into two — customers will be guided to follow one lane or the other, depending on what they order. The digital menu boards and pre-sale board are at the forefront of the lane. A key and vital attribute of the drive-through is order flexibility, which allows customers to have a more personal order experience via pack members (which is what Curby’s calls its staff), using wireless ordering tablets or ordering traditionally through the order box. A temperature-modified canopy covers the drive-through, with heaters suspended on the underside of the canopy for colder days.
This specialized drive-through services Curby’s goal of speed, convenience and enhanced experience, and Gafford stressed Curby’s desire to keep everything “very friendly and customer-oriented on the front side,” with a focus on speed on the back side.
The Curby’s drive-through caters to all made-to-order food and beverage options, as well as convenience items. Customers are directed to the jet lane if their orders are smaller, with lighter and fewer items. With large or heavy orders — for example a 30-pack of beer and a bag of ice — the customers are directed to the second fast drive-through lane, where attendants will walk outside and place the order in the car.
“That’s how we had to navigate that without anyone dropping anything or potentially even getting hurt, by having to handle heavy objects through a passenger window on a car,” explained Gafford.
Wooden towers, one of which features the Curby’s dog logo, bookend the drive-through and serve as recognizable design features of the building.
Self-checkout is also a notable feature available inside the store, complemented by two traditional checkout stations.
Craveable Menu
Curby’s prides itself on its craveable food and beverages that can be consumed on the go. The team behind Curby’s chose the menu and equipment with speed in mind.
“That’s just one thing that’s part of our mission that we just can’t compromise — speed for the customer,” said Gafford. “We just feel like that’s an expectation that people are going to have of us.”
The menu consists of items that can be made quickly while still providing restaurant-quality food. The breakfast menu includes a breakfast burrito program, kolaches and morning melts. Johnsonville, one of Curby’s culinary partners, developed a unique line of kolaches that are only available at Curby’s.
The entire food menu and equipment package was developed in partnership with Jessica Williams, CEO and founder of Food Forward Thinking, a Kentucky-based culinary consulting company. Other contributing partners include Dess Elz, formerly with Starbucks, who created the Curby’s made-to-order beverage program; Chef Ronald Massaro, A.C.F.-certified executive chef; the culinary team of Ben E Keith; and celebrity chef Angie Ragan, who is currently performing on Gordon Ramsay’s television show “Next Level Chef.”
The team created an egg muffin concept that combines three eggs, a secret muffin base, cheese and various toppings that include sausage, bacon, chorizo and herbs.
“A handheld omelet is how we like to refer to it. They helped us develop that, which is going to be a unique product to us that nobody else will have out in the market,” said Gafford.
Curby’s will also have a full beverage program, including custom-made energy drinks.
The lunch menu includes pizza, melts, cold sandwiches, a salad program, and a hot dog program also designed by Johnsonville’s culinary team. Pastries from local bakeries are also available.
All food items are prepared fresh inside the store using the fastest and most precise cooking equipment available.
When referring to people’s habitual meal purchases, Gafford expressed his desire for Curby’s to be a regular spot for customers. He believes the store’s beverage program alone will set it apart and place it in people’s restaurant rotations.
“We have an awesome iced tea program with specialty iced teas, with over 30 varieties of iced tea in the store,” he said. “We’ve got a great fountain drink program, a unique made-to-order energy drink program and a first-class coffee program, as well.”
Curby’s dedicates a portion of its interior to a tea bar and offers an afternoon happy hour to capture the daily tea drinker. In Texas, retailers that specialize in iced tea are growing, along with freestanding locations with iced tea-only drive-throughs. This is the customer Curby’s will entice with its tea bar.
The coffee selection at Curby’s is also extensive, with each cup made by the team’s baristas. Aside from a few dispensers that the customers can use themselves for regular drip coffees, each drink is made to order. Anything a traditional coffee house offers will be available at Curby’s.
“It could be an espresso. It could be a latte. It could be an iced coffee. It could be an iced macchiato. Whatever it may be, we will make that drink for the customer,” explained Gafford.
The food and beverage programs at Curby’s are well-researched, with each supplier vetted and curated for the anticipated Curby’s clientele.
Future-Forward Thinking
Curby’s plans to open its first few stores in its local Lubbock market (home of Texas Tech University), and with its first location at the corner of 19th Street and Milwaukee Avenue recently opened, it can soon focus on its second and third stores: 50th Street and Quaker Avenue, and 114th Street and Quaker Avenue.
Gafford had previously purchased one of the locations with the intention to build a store — which then became Curby’s — and the second location was purchased specifically for Curby’s.
“We really want to do a great job coming right out of the gate,” Gafford said.
The Curby’s team wants to learn from each store the changes that can be made to improve future stores.
“Making those adjustments within those first three or four stores, we want to keep all those here in our home market,” Gafford added.
However, Curby’s does not plan to stay solely in the Lubbock area. It has ambitions to grow throughout Texas, as well as beyond the state borders.
While its first three stores will be company-owned and operated, Curby’s is open to exploring both corporate-owned and franchising models as it works to reach 20-35 stores by the end of 2024.
The corporate-owned model would allow Curby’s to keep its culture consistent, and with franchising, it would be able to offer something one-of-a-kind to the franchising world.
“We believe we would have a very, very unique franchise offering that’s unlike anything else available to anyone in the market,” said Gafford.
