Dive Brief:
- Parker’s Kitchen’s new store in Port Wentworth, Georgia, is the retailer’s first location to offer a new made-to-order beverage program, according to a company announcement on Friday.
- The 6,065-square-foot store is also the first site using the PK2 prototype, which features an angled food area, deeper store footprint and bigger beer cave than Parker’s standard locations.
- The beverage program, built in partnership with craft beverage platform Botrista, includes hot and frozen coffees, smoothies, boba chillers and energy drinks, along with add-ons like boba and whipped cream.
Dive Insight:
The partnership with Botrista enables Parker’s to expand its beverage program while offering greater personalization. The Botrista platform includes the Botrista Pro machine, which can measure, dispense and blend any beverage it’s programmed to make in under 20 seconds, according to the company’s website. While the system has been used at places like university campuses and theme parks, it’s unclear if it has previously been used in a c-store.
Neither Parker’s nor Botrista could be reached by press time to answer questions about the scope of the agreement.
Beverages have been a point of focus for Parker’s before. The chain launched the Chewy’s Drink Club subscription program in 2023, and its beverage lineup includes the company’s signature Southern sweet tea and fancy lemonade, as well coffee and frozen beverages.
The Port Wentworth store offers Parker’s proprietary foodservice program, which includes fried chicken and seafood along with multiple sides and a broad array of breakfast items. Indoor dining space as well as digital kiosk ordering are also available.
The company plans to open 17 new stores this year and expand into new markets, including Jacksonville, Florida and Columbia, South Carolina. Parker’s last year outlined plans to open up to 25 stores each year through 2030.
Parker’s is the latest company turning to tech to enhance and grow its beverage program. In the past year, Wawa increased its coffee personalization while QuikTrip revamped its dispensed beverage program.
