Chestnut Market has hired Ben Lucky as its first director of foodservice, the East Coast convenience retailer announced on Monday.
Lucky will lead the strategic development and operational execution of Chestnut’s foodservice platform across its roughly 80-store footprint across New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. He’ll focus on menu development, kitchen design, team training, vendor partnerships and “scalable systems that support both profitability and consistency,” according to the announcement.
“As we continue strengthening our retail platform, investing in foodservice is a natural and strategic next move,” said Faheem Jamal, director of c-store operations at Chestnut. “Ben brings operational discipline, culinary vision, and a deep respect for store teams. His focus on simplicity, quality, and execution aligns perfectly with who we are as a company.”
Lucky brings over two decades of convenience retail food experience to Chestnut. He was most recently 7-Eleven’s senior director of fresh food for a little over a year before exiting the company in late 2025.
7-Eleven hired Lucky amid a focus on building food-focused c-stores and improving its food reputation in North America. He helped launch several new foodservice products during his time with the country’s largest c-store retailer.
Before 7-Eleven, Lucky was strategic director of retail and foodservice for design agency King Retail Solutions. He also worked as senior category manager of foodservice and dispensed beverages for the Wills Group, which operates the Dash In convenience store chain. He held that role for four years before moving to Cal’s Convenience, where he was vice president of foodservice. He left Cal’s after nine months, following the sale of Cal’s to 7-Eleven.
Earlier in his career, Lucky was foodservice category manager with ExxonMobil, Chevron, Kroger and Murphy USA, according to his LinkedIn bio. Between 2013 and 2019, he held food-focused directorial and managerial positions with Ampm, Maverik and Puma Energy.
Chestnut’s foodservice program features a variety of hot and cold menu items, such as spicy chicken sandwiches, empanadas, pizza and salads, according to its website.
