PHOTO GALLERY — What's In Store: Parker's Kitchen, QuikTrip & Thorntons
NATIONAL REPORT — The convenience store industry landscape is constantly changing as chains open and close stores each week. On a regular basis, Convenience Store News highlights these comings and goings in this special roundup.
Love's Travel Stops
Jamba, a global lifestyle brand serving on-the-go freshly blended fruit and vegetable smoothies, bowls and bites, and Blendid, a robotic foodservice solutions leader, teamed up with Love's Travel Stops to open a second Jamba by Blendid autonomous robotic smoothie kiosk. It is located in Corning, Calif. Love's first Jamba by Blendid kiosk opened in September in Williams, Calif.
The self-operating kiosk allows motorists to customize their smoothie orders around the clock by adjusting ingredient quantities or adding boosts directly through the Blendid app. They can order on-site or schedule a preferred pick-up time in advance when they order on the Blendid app.
Parker's
Parker's recently opened a new Parker's Kitchen in Charleston, S.C., bringing the company's store count in South Carolina to 29.
Strategically positioned in West Ashley near the intersection of Highway 17 and Main Road, the location is the company's 72nd convenience store. Its design features Southern vernacular architecture and offers a contemporary glass-front look with an expanded retail footprint, optimized layout for higher operational efficiency and handsome lime-washed brick exterior, according to Parker's.
"We're delighted to expand to meet the growing demand for Parker's Kitchen food, fuel and other essential items throughout the greater Charleston area," said Parker's Founder and CEO Greg Parker. "We're extremely grateful for the positive response we've received from customers across Charleston County."
The newest Parker's Kitchen in West Ashley offers grab-and-go options as well as a hot bar with signature items like never-frozen, antibiotic-free, double-breaded Southern Fried Chicken Tenders, mac 'n' cheese and jalapeno cornbread. In addition, the store offers a complete menu of breakfast offerings, from egg casserole to sausage, egg and cheese biscuits.
Additional highlights include the Parker's Kitchen Spicy Chicken Tender Sandwich, fresh-made salads, gourmet coffee, freshly brewed sweet tea, lemonade, 28-degree beer, fountain drinks with Chewy Ice and a wide range of convenience items. The new store also offers regular, diesel and marine fuel.
A wide range of Parker's Kitchen items are prepared fresh on-site and are available seven days a week. The entire menu is handcrafted on-site.
QuikTrip
QuikTrip Corp. opened a new remote travel center in Humble, Texas. It joins two additional QuikTrip (QT) remote travel centers in the greater Houston area in Conroe and Cleveland.
The travel center features a larger designed lot and a more spacious store than a traditional QT. The site can service 20 cars for gas and six diesel bays for trucks.
The travel center features a larger designed lot and a more spacious store than a traditional QT. The site can service 20 cars for gas and six diesel bays for trucks.
QT's new store model was created specifically for highly traveled areas of the country that are within a reasonable proximity to a QT distribution center for access to fresh food. The company offers a fullservice kitchen with fresh, made-to-order snackles, as well as fresh food delivered daily through it bakeries and commissaries.
Humble customers can enjoy the full line of QT snackles, including freshly brewed coffee and fresh-brewed QTea, as well as its complete menu of grab-and-go items like fresh donuts, salads, wraps, QT's signature pizza by the slice and roller grill items. The Humble Travel Center also features an expanded QT Kitchens location, offering fresh, made-to-order food, premium specialty drinks and tasty frozen treats.
Stewart's Shops
Stewart's Shops kicked off December with two new store openings in upstate New York.
The convenience store operator welcomed customers at a new build in West Colonie. It is the fifth Stewart's Shops store in the Colonie area and the 39th in Albany County. The store at 2005 Central Ave. offers all Stewart's products along with a beer cave and an iced coffee/cold brew beverage bar. It also features seating, parking and fuel service with premium non-ethanol gas and diesel.
Stewart's Shops also threw open the doors of a new build in Watertown. It is the fourth store in Watertown and the 11th in Jefferson County. The store at 715 Washington Street features a more spacious and modern flow than the previous Stewart's Shops site down the street. It also has an expanded grocery/snack section, a beer cave, food bar, hot chocolate machine and diesel at the pumps.
Thorntons
Thorntons opened its newest Chicagoland store and its second location in the Cary, Ill., community. The store at 104 S. Northwest Highway welcomed its first customers on Nov. 18. The company now operates a total of 87 stores in Illinois, 67 of which are in Chicagoland.
The new 5,500-square-foot facility is set on 3.1 acres and features several amenities to serve our on-the-go guests including self-checkout; LED lighting; freshly made burritos and sandwiches prepared throughout the day in the store's onsite kitchen; a variety of beverages, including fresh bean to cup coffee and ice-cold fountain beverages with nugget ice; and 20 auto fueling positions.
TravelCenters of America
TravelCenters of America Inc. welcomed customers at a new in California. The site adds 78 truck parking spaces to the Madera area along Highway 99.
The travel center's amenities include five showers, six diesel bays with diesel exhaust fluid, laundry facilities, a driver lounge, pet area and CAT scale. Food offers include Cinnabon, Indian Curry NAAN Stop, Fatburger, Yogurtland and Pizza Hut Express.
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