As convenience stores increasingly invest in their foodservice programs to compete with quick-service restaurants (QSR), they face the challenge of equipping employees with the expertise needed to deliver high-quality, consistent offerings while navigating an industry known for its high employee turnover. In this environment, c-store retailers are finding the training programs they implement can make or break the success of their food program.
“Quality and consistency are essential in foodservice,” said Jeff Carpenter, director, Cliff’s Local Market, which operates 22 locations in central New York. “With a labor-intense operation in a high-turnover industry, you have to ensure you have the right people in place — team members must be supported, enjoy what they do, and believe in and be proud of the food they prepare and sell.”
Domino Food & Fuel, which operates 23 locations in Oklahoma, began the delicate balancing act of building foodservice excellence and ensuring employees are well trained amid turnover by first making foodservice “its own entity and a complete priority,” said Dustin Kreizenbeck, director of operations for Domino.
The majority of Domino convenience stores feature proprietary food offerings, which include items like fresh-breaded chicken strips, chicken club sandwiches and even whole chickens. Two locations feature a proprietary diner offering called Double Six Diner, which provides a full diner menu, including smoked barbecue, fried-onion burgers and fresh cut fries. It also has two Subway franchises and two Papa John’s.
As the company shifted its focus toward foodservice, it overhauled its training program for foodservice employees. Now, the chain has foodservice district managers that identify “foodservice champions” at each store, who then oversee the training of foodservice team members at that location. To become a foodservice champion, employees must first meet the requirements on a readiness checklist.
“This ensures uniformity across the network of our stores so customers can get that same great experience at any of our locations. Our focus has been to drill down versus take it as a whole-chain approach,” said Kreizenbeck.
The foodservice champion oversees a team lead server, who is responsible for the presentation of the food. There is also a kitchen lead, who is responsible for preparing the foods to make sure they are presentable for the customer. The chain has a big focus on its hot cases, so it has someone dedicated to managing that area as well.
The foodservice champion handles the majority of training “hand in hand, side by side,” Kreizenbeck said. “We found that just to be more effective.”
Then, the trainee is expected to demonstrate to the trainer that they have retained the information on how to create the item, etc.
Rather than having employees switch back and forth from the retail side to the food counter, Domino found it more effective to hire dedicated employees that predominantly handle food.
“Turnover being a challenge, you do have to blend a little bit, but we have found that if they come in daily knowing they’re going to own that task in the food area, it raises the bar and quality of our foodservice tremendously,” Kreizenbeck said.
During the hiring process, Domino asks a series of questions it calls the “Core Five” to determine if a potential hire would do well in the foodservice area of the store. That includes asking about previous foodservice experience and their likes and dislikes in the food area.
Domino Food & Fuel mostly features proprietary food offerings, and it also operates two Subway franchises and two Papa John’s. With a shift in focus toward foodservice, the company’s training program was overhauled. Now, foodservice champions oversee the foodservice training of employees at their location.
Better Training Through AI
Now in 2025, Domino is going even further to elevate both its food program and the training behind it. Four months ago, the company partnered with InStore.ai, a move that allows it to leverage artificial intelligence for deeper analysis. The partnership has already helped the chain locate areas where additional training was needed as well as where employees were going above and beyond, allowing Domino to celebrate their achievements.
“We’ve been able to streamline a lot of the training pieces in our food category with InStore.ai on the other side of it,” Kreizenbeck said.
For example, the partnership allowed the chain to create an algorithm to recognize out-of-stock food items — especially when it came to top sellers — with insights available daily and weekly, rather than having to wait for a monthly report. That meant that if the chain’s fresh chicken club sandwiches saw a sales surge, the chain could react quickly by ensuring the right amount of ingredients were available at the correct times.
“Or, if the tool was reporting numerous out-of-stocks at peak meal times, we would probably need to do some training,” Kreizenbeck noted, “and say, ‘Hey, we understand you’re nailing your waste goal, but the data is saying we can increase certain food items,’” in order to offer more product during high demand times.
The tool also identified places where additional team members were needed to meet goals.
“For example, if the chain is out of stock on an item, perhaps it’s because the foodservice champion needed an extra hand on the server line,” Kreizenbeck said. “So InStore.ai is saying, ‘You need another team member to help your kitchen champion because they’re not able to do those tasks and service customer expectations.’”
All in all, the chain can now see clearly the areas where they need more labor management to meet goals or to grow the program. At the same time, Domino is striving to better recognize and reward foodservice team members as it prioritizes retention efforts.
“We have been able to meticulously monitor the metrics for ‘above and beyond,’ which is what we’re calling it,” Kreizenbeck said.
The convenience store chain can add keywords into the algorithm to notice an outstanding job by team members and then provide recognition. Using this ability, the chain has launched a program called Domino Ace, where it reviews the metrics of a certain employee who is standing out and then celebrates them through a quarterly award program. Employees are being recognized for things like upselling food or selling the most chicken sandwiches.
Domino also has a big push right now to drive customers to its Domino Rewards App, so it is now offering a recognition for team members who are most successful in getting customers to engage with the food program via the loyalty app.
Optimizing Efficiency
Training foodservice employees to deliver consistency and high quality is also a top priority at Ankeny, Iowa-based Casey’s, which is not only the nation’s third-largest convenience store retailer, but also the fifth-largest pizza chain in the U.S. In fact, every Casey’s team member in the kitchen learns “pizza-making craftsmanship,” explained Brad Haga, senior vice president of prepared food and dispensed beverage for Casey’s, which operates 2,900 stores in 20 states.
“We pride ourselves on offering delicious, restaurant-quality food in a convenience store setting, using premium ingredients delivered directly from our company-owned and -operated distribution centers. Our stores feature full restaurant-style kitchens, where a fully trained team crafts our handmade pizza and other freshly prepared menu items,” Haga said. “From preparing our world-famous dough in-store to serving each pizza to our loyal guests with a smile and a ‘have a great day,’ we take pride in delivering a high-quality experience at every step.”
In order to deliver that high-quality experience, Casey’s regularly conducts satisfaction studies with customers, develops new items and refines its core assortment while benchmarking itself against best-in-class foodservice operators in fast-casual restaurants, QSRs and convenience. Kitchen team members receive ongoing training throughout the year. That includes training on new products, guidelines for food preparation, product quality, food safety and proper cooking techniques, Haga explained.
“Each location has a kitchen manager to provide consistent, focused leadership and ensure our high standards for quality and consistency are met in every store and with every bite,” Haga said.
Over the past few years, Casey’s has introduced a wide range of kitchen optimizations that streamline operations, making it easier for kitchen team members to perform their jobs and to help ensure they can deliver high-quality menu items consistently. Those optimizations have included things like better cooking smallware and equipment; production planning and tracking technology to help Casey’s better deliver on guests’ demands throughout the day; and a kitchen-prep shift similar to what you’d find in a restaurant, Haga noted.
Casey’s also launched an “Easy for You” initiative, which was created to enhance operational efficiency and simplify the store experience for team members, Haga said.
Through the initiative, Casey’s has been standardizing kitchen processes.
“This initiative has reduced operational complexity, improved food quality, increased our kitchen capacity and enabled faster service for our guests,” he added.
When hiring foodservice employees, Casey’s looks for team members who share its commitment to “service and community, taking pride in every meal served and every guest’s experience,” Haga said. “We value qualities like a strong work ethic, a willingness to learn and a love for our iconic pizza. Our best team members embody Casey’s CARES values — putting service first, delivering quality and convenience, and making an impact in our communities.”
Domino leverages artificial intelligence to streamline the training aspects of foodservice, to determine where additional team members are needed, and to identify and celebrate
successes, among other goals.
Leadership Matters
Like Casey’s and Domino, Cliff’s Local Market understands that foodservice cannot be an afterthought in today’s competitive landscape, “especially given the critical nature of food safety,” Carpenter said.
Cliff’s features a made-to-order deli that is customer facing, so shoppers can watch their food being prepared. Carpenter noted this allows customers to “be involved in the experience and see the care, quality and cleanliness committed to our process.”
Because foodservice employees have a lot of interaction with customers, Cliff’s seeks to hire “attentive, friendly, outgoing and lively individuals” given the level of interaction foodservice employees have with customers.
Once hired, team members are cross-trained in both foodservice and retail, although their roles are usually dedicated to one area or another on a regular basis, he explained.
“In addition to store managers, Cliff’s locations also have dedicated food managers with focused field support,“ Carpenter said. “When featuring new products, managers are invited to in-person product trainings and rollouts to build engagement and expertise and, most importantly, get a taste of the exciting items on the horizon to build additional excitement prior to launch.”
Every role at Cliff’s has specific training requirements. The chain prefers to promote from within as much as possible and requires that training tasks are completed before a promotion so transitions are smooth.
The stores use recipe books that include detailed step-by-step instructions with pictures on how to make foodservice items.
“When adding limited-time offers or new items to the menu, we also rely on in-person launch meetings with managers and expect them to return to their stores and share what they learned,” Carpenter said. “Typically, they are sent back to their stores with a kit that may include those instructions, smallwares, samples and other items related to the launch.”
Carpenter pointed out that self-reflection and performance assessment are both important components of any training program.
“Managers must adopt the customer’s perspective, evaluating product quality, presentation, cleanliness and service speed with a critical eye. They should consistently provide constructive feedback, fostering a culture of growth and accountability,” he said, adding that a successful food operation requires strong, active leadership.
“With great leadership comes a commitment to training, continuous improvement and the highest standards of quality, safety and customer service,” Carpenter said.
