Made-to-order foodservice is nothing new for RoadDog Convenience Stores, the 12-location chain owned by Ohio-based energy company Duncan Oil. But the retailer is trying a new approach at one c-store that could eventually expand across the chain.
The move comes as convenience retailers increasingly look to foodservice as a key traffic driver and point of differentiation. Many are expanding beyond traditional grab-and-go offerings to narrow the competition gap with QSRs.
Enter the retailer’s new Roadie’s Grub ‘N Go barbecue program, which debuted Aug. 31 at a Dayton-area store.
While RoadDog’s mainstay sandwiches, pizza and fried chicken haven’t left the menu, the new program features an array of barbecue dishes such as brisket, pulled pork, smoked chicken wings and sides like hush puppies and baked beans. RoadDog is using seasonings and sauces from food and beverage company Blues Hog Barbecue in the program, according to Ryan Jones, food operations manager for Duncan Oil.
Jones said the new concept gives RoadDog — which he described as “a small fish in a big pond” — another way to compete with larger chains while maintaining the flexibility of a smaller operator. Some RoadDog team members had previous barbecue experience, giving Jones and his team the confidence that the program would be easy to execute, he said.
“We still wanted to keep the core things that make RoadDog RoadDog, but we added a smoker, so we kind of wanted to add another layer to everything that we already do,” Jones said.
Adding the smoker required a significant investment in the store’s foodservice operation. RoadDog built an entire new kitchen inside the store to accommodate the large appliance, which can hold up to 240 pounds of heavy cuts of meat per load.
“We did want to completely revise the front-of-house as well, so we just kind of gave [the store] a whole new makeover,” Jones said.
For now, Roadie’s Grub ‘N Go is only in the Dayton-area location. But if the program is well received, RoadDog could bring the concept to additional stores, Jones said.
“If all goes well and all goes according to plan, then this could be a core RoadDog system in the future,” he said.
