C-stores continue to act more like restaurants. Solo dining is having a moment. A chain prepares to unveil a new take on the café experience. Restaurant remodeling gains momentum. These stories and more This Week in Foodservice.

Remodeling interiors remains a focal point for restaurant operators, per the latest reader survey from restaurant development + design magazine.

In fact, remodeling interiors is the area where 31% of survey respondents said they saw the greatest operator investment so far this year.

Another 20% called out updates to the back of the house as the greatest area of operator investment this year.

Foodservice News

• Seeking to “reach guests where they are,” Perkins plans to roll out its new take on the café experience later this month. Known as Perkins Griddle & Co., the concept will feature a streamlined design while providing an “elevated café experience,” per a company release. Perkins worked with The Aria Group to develop and design this concept, which it says will fit into both traditional street-front retail settings and non-traditional venues such as airports, casinos, hospitals, hotels, travel plazas, universities, and more. The unit will have a footprint of 1,500 square feet and will seat 65 guests.
• Solo dining is having a moment. As the name implies, this is when a party of one chooses to dine on-premises at a restaurant. This may be common at coffee shops, but other concepts are starting to get into the act. Looking to cash in on this movement, Shwarma Press is starting to offer “intimate booths and counter seating to make solo diners feel more comfortable and engaged,” per a company release.
• C-stores continue to look for ways to eat into restaurants’ share of consumers’ wallets. From adding global flavors to dirty sodas to value bundles, c-stores continue to rip page after page from restaurants’ playbooks to drive traffic and more, as this Restaurant Business story notes.
• A hub and spoke approach could figure prominently in the next chapter of the Great Harvest Bread Co. Looking to improve unit economics, the chain’s hub and spoke approach utilizes the three storefront revenue model of a bakery, a sit-down cafe and a deli counter for grab-and-go sandwiches, breads and coffees. A full-service bakery café with a baking capacity greater than the volume of a single location serves as the hub, per a Franchise Times story. “By adding a spoke that can use the hub to provide baked goods, you increase sales, more efficiently use production capacity and have a second location at a fraction of the cost of a second full-service location,” per a company spokesperson.
• McDonald's continued the expansion of its CosMc’s concept by opening a seventh location. Based in San Antonio, this unit represents the fledgling chain’s sixth Texas location. CosMc’s also added six new drinks to its menu, per Nation’s Restaurant News.
• Chipotle has made an investment in the emerging Mediterranean-inspired chain Brassica through its Cultivate Next venture fund. The Ohio-based chain was founded in 2015 and its menu includes house-made falafel, organic pita and more. The company also invested in Lumachain, an artificial intelligence supply chain platform.
• Citing a “tough consumer spending environment,” convenience store chain 7-Eleven plans to close 444 locations in North America, C-Store Dive reported. This announcement comes shortly after the parent company of rival C-store chain Circle K made a bid to acquire 7-Eleven. In announcing the unit closures, 7-Eleven’s parent company said it is experiencing “a growing polarization of consumption due to a decline in labor incomes, which is a result of challenging employment conditions, as well as inflationary pressures and high interest rates.”
• Darden Restaurants completed its acquisition of Chuy's Holdings, the company announced. Originally announced in mid-July, the all-cash transaction had an enterprise value of approximately $605 million.
• The football field at Western Michigan University’s Waldo Stadium will be named Stafford-Smith Field. The name change is in recognition of a $5 million gift from David and Ronda Stafford and family, per a Western Michigan University release. David Stafford attended Western Michigan University, where he was on the football team from 1986 to 1988. He is the president and CEO of Stafford-Smith, which is a Kalamazoo, Mich.-based foodservice equipment and supplies dealer.

Economic News

• The Consumer Price Index increased 0.2% in September, per the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This increase is in line with August and July. For the 12-month period ending in September, the CPI has increased 2.4%. Restaurant prices increased 3.9% for the 12-month period ending in September, which is 2.6% greater than grocery store prices. The good news is that wages are rising faster than prices, as this Restaurant Business story notes. Also, prices for some products, like gasoline and furniture, have decreased. The bad news is that analysts don’t expect prices to decline in other areas, as this CNBC story notes.
• The Producer Price Index for final demand was unchanged in September, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Final demand prices advanced 0.2% in August and were unchanged in July. On an unadjusted basis, the index for final demand rose 1.8% for the 12 months ended in September. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for a monthly gain of 0.1% after August’s increase of 0.2%, per CNBC.
• Consumer sentiment ticked down slightly in October, according to the initial data from the University of Michigan. Its Index of Consumers Sentiment came in at 68.9 in October, which is down 1.2% from the previous month. This also snaps a streak of two consecutive monthly gains. “While inflation expectations have eased substantially since then, consumers continue to express frustration over high prices,” notes Joane Hsu, the university’s surveys of consumers director.
• Initial claims increased 33,000 for a total of 258,000 for the week ending October 5, 2024, per the U.S. Department of Labor. This is the highest level for initial claims since August 5, 2023, when it was 258,000. Analysts attribute the surge to several factors, including Hurricane Helene and a strike a Boeing, per the Associated Press. The 4-week moving average was 231,000, an increase of 6,750.