7-Eleven's Push Into QSR Calls for 150 New Restaurants in 2021
IRVING, Texas — 7-Eleven Inc. plans to offer customers more quick-serve restaurant (QSR)-quality dining options than ever before, starting at its newest Evolution store.
Located at 10601 Lomond Drive in Manassas, Va., it is the first store to offer 7-Eleven's Raise the Roost Chicken and Biscuits restaurant as well as Parlor Pizza, an on-site pizzeria with hand-tossed, made-to-order pizza pies.
Other exclusive features available at the newest Evolution store — which is located approximately 30 miles west of Washington, D.C. — include a wine cellar and beer cooler, fresh baked-on-site croissants and cookies, customized espresso beverages, artisan craft sodas, and sparkling water.
7-Eleven's Evolution stores serve as experiential testing grounds where customers can try and buy the convenience store retailer's latest innovations in revolutionary new store formats. Other Evolution stores are located in north Texas; New York City; Washington, D.C.; and San Diego. All Evolution stores include a restaurant concept.
"Since 7-Eleven began selling milk and bread from an ice dock in 1927, our spirit of innovation has allowed us to evolve to meet the ever-changing needs of customers for over 90 years," said 7-Eleven Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Chris Tanco. "Today's opportunity is in the QSR space, and we are responding by aggressively rolling out our restaurants across the country — both in Evolution stores and beyond. Our plan is to open nearly 150 restaurants in 2021."
Raise the Roost Chicken and Biscuits and Parlor Pizza are located inside the Evolution store. They have separate ordering counters but share indoor and outdoor seating.
Raise the Roost is billed as "Chicken Worth Crossing the Road For" and offers a simple menu of fried chicken tenders that are hand-breaded with a proprietary blend of southern spices, freshly baked flaky biscuits, bone-in and boneless wings tossed with "made in coop" sauces, signature chicken sandwiches and breakfast sandwiches. Both made-to-order and grab-and-go options are available.
Parlor Pizza has a full pizzeria menu that includes New York-style pizzas, calzones, garlic knots, pepperoni rolls, and hot and cold sub sandwiches. Customers can choose from baked whole pizzas or slices, or select made-to-order, 18-inch hand-tossed pizzas with premium ingredients, including 100-percent whole milk mozzarella cheese. Specialty pizzas with premium ingredients created by the restaurant team are also on the menu.
Parlor Pizza's conveyer-style oven ensures that pizzas, calzones and other baked items are ready in minutes, according to 7-Eleven.
Additionally, the Manassas Evolution store is the first to serve as a real-world testing ground for 7-Eleven's Sips and Snacks emerging brands program. Since 2018, 7-Eleven has hosted the invitation-only showcase for up-and-coming entrepreneurs to present their most innovative products. Franchisees and their employees vote on their favorites, and the hand-picked winners hit store shelves to give customers the final say. As a result, customers are able to purchase items unavailable at many other 7-Eleven stores or retailers.
Irving-based 7-Eleven operates, franchises and/or licenses more than 72,800 stores in 17 countries, including 12,000 in North America.