Kangaroo Express promotes its foodservice by handing out free hot dogs on National Hot Dog Day. The Pantry Inc. celebrates National Hot Dog Day this upcoming Monday, July 23, by offering a free hot dog to every guest at its 1,160 grill-ready Kangaroo Express c-stores. The Kangaroo Express invites customers to stop by participating stores…

Roller grills—if handled correctly—offer a great opportunity to grow sales. But as simple and relatively labor-free as they are, they still require management oversight, employee training and some marketing savvy. It’s not that complicated, but it is that essential. “Let me give you an analogy,” said H. G. Parsa, chairman of the Department of Foodservice and…

While branded and proprietary foodservice programs get a lot of attention at retail, prepared sandwiches have quietly—and profitably—filled a valuable niche for retailers. By Marilyn Odesser-Torpey, Associate Editor. Sandwiches and wraps are a $2.7 billion category and sales are expected to remain strong through 2014, according to a 2011 report from foodservice research and marketing…

On National Hot Dog Day Thorntons serves up 40 cent hot dogs. July 23 marks National Hot Dog Day, and Thorntons is set to celebrate by offering Ball Park hot dogs with a variety of toppings for less than a dollar  at participating stores. Customers are limited to two specially-priced hot dogs upon their visit.…

After participating in the roller grill usage study, retailers were entered into a drawing for an Amazon gift card. Ryan White of Blarney Castle Oil was selected in a drawing to win a $100 Amazon gift card, after participating in Convenience Store Decisions’ Roller Grill usage study. CSD launched the study to learn more about…

Thanks to a surge of new products focused on ethnic diversity, the roller grill—the original anchor for most convenience store hot food programs—is hotter than ever before. And the one thing c-store operators like and appreciate most about roller grills is that you hardly notice they’re there. Grills don’t take up much room and can…

Balvor survey highlights the foodservice concerns, focus and sentiments held by convenience store operators heading into 2011. By David Bishop, Contributing Editor. Cautious because a number of external factors, ranging from continued high unemployment, constrained consumer spending, and weak construction and housing markets are creating especially stiff headwinds for their core shopper base. Optimistic as…

The stagnant economy and hefty cigarette taxes have more c-store chains adding extra roller grill items to provide a greater array of hot food options at a value price. By Howard Riell, Associate Editor. Yes, the number of food items that can be prepared on roller grills—hot dogs, corn dogs, taquitos, stuffed breadsticks, kielbasa, grilled…

Thanks to a surge of new products focused on ethnic diversity, the roller grill is hotter than ever before. There has been so much emphasis on fresh, made-to-order food and upscale coffee programs in the convenience store industry it’s easy to forget the tried-and-true roller grill. Sometimes implicated as part of the industry’s food-image problem—burned…