Gas Station Pizza Emerges as Fast-Rising Rival to Traditional Pizzerias

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2▲1 ▼2Impact / 5
Summary · why it matters

Convenience stores and gas stations are increasingly serving made-to-order pizza that rivals traditional pizzerias, a shift a recent pizza-industry research report says is reshaping the competitive map and eating into pizzeria profits, especially in small towns with fewer dine-in and delivery options. Casey's General Stores, which operates roughly 2,600 locations across the Midwest and beyond, has built its pizza business by installing on-site ovens and kitchens and turning convenience stores into neighborhood pizzerias, expanding alongside its store network through new construction, acquisitions and kitchen investments, and developing its own distribution network to control logistics costs. Hunt Brothers Pizza, a family-owned, Nashville-based business founded in 1991 by four brothers, supplies a branded pizza program to convenience stores and gas stations rather than running stand-alone restaurants, and is now found in more than 11K locations across 33 states, scoring very high on consumer review sites compared with national pizza chains. Over the last year, Domino's has snapped up market share from rivals such as Pizza Hut and Papa John's even as it faces the new threat in rural areas from gas station operators with updated pizza ovens.

Impact on assets 5

Consumer Discretionary▼
Domino's Pizza Inc Common Stock
DPZ
± MixedCompetitionrelevance

Domino's gained share from Pizza Hut and Papa John's but faces a new competitive threat from gas-station pizza operators in rural areas.

Papa John's International Inc
PZZA
▼ NegativeCompetitionrelevance

Papa John's is named as a rival that lost market share to Domino's amid rising competition from gas-station pizza.

Yum! Brands Inc
YUM
▼ NegativeCompetitionrelevance

Yum! Brands' Pizza Hut is cited as losing market share to Domino's as gas-station pizza reshapes the competitive map.

Consumer Staples▲
Caseys General Stores Inc
CASY
▲ PositiveDemandrelevance

Casey's is expanding its made-to-order pizza business via ovens, kitchens, new stores and acquisitions, gaining share from traditional pizzerias.

Off-coverage companies 1

Hunt Brothers Pizzai
Private▲ PositiveDemandrelevance

Hunt Brothers Pizza's branded program is now in over 11K convenience-store and gas-station locations across 33 states with strong consumer reviews.