Hunt Borthers or Hot Stuff Foods (QSR Pizza)

Hi,

Are there any particular locations where Hunt Brother’s of Hot Stuff foods Pizza sell well?

I know, I know: it sells well in a city with no taste.

But I’m curious how these guys book sales with their shrink-wrap, cardboard flavor pies. It’s not eat-in, it’s not delivery. Where do these guys get their sales from? Who’s buying their pies?

(And I think they sell lots of pies, they both have thousands of locations inside C-Stores)

Thanks!

we’re opening a pizza/sub shop in a c-store in 30 days…tight space, but a new opportunity 4 us…we’re going to treat it like a free-standing pizza joynt that also sells gas!

there is a gas station chain called Hess/Armada that features Godfathers pizza in their stores…

these folks provide a service for their customers and get the incremental sales…I believe Hunt Bros. have switched to a “rise-in-the-oven” pizza and thereby increased quality…Hot Stuff is a bigger outfit tho (I met the CEO many yrs ago)

the trend seems to be the more successful operations are going “upscale”, so thats the direction we’re leaning toward…

the little gas station down the street from me has Hunts bros,. Once people got a better fresh baked i have about knocked it out of business.
In the bigger town a few miles away, they advertise thst if you buy a hunts bro. unbaked on your food stamps they will bake it for free. I am not sure how legal this is but have been researching it. That is why a lot of the take and bake in my area is doing so well because the customer can buy it on food stamps. anyone here buying hunts bros. is kids with very little money or people with no taste!!!

I worked for Hot stuff Pizza as a DM for several years and found that the concept was quite successful in C stores located in towns that were too small to support a full blown pizzeria. In larger communities, the only time it was really successful was when it was in a c store close by an industrial park, where workers need to be able to grab something quick.

Patriot, good luck with your operation, one word of advice - don’t be afraid to toss product that has lost it’s freshness. One common thread that I continually saw in underperforming stores was that they left their product in the warmer too long. Instead, keep close track of how much you’re selling each hour of the day. Make enough to cover projected sales, plus about 10%. Adjust these figures twice each month. As you gain experience at it, also look at figures for the same time last year to adjust for seasonality. Another thing that worked extremely well for stores that promoted it right was to offer 10 cents per gallon off with each large pie purchased up to 20 gallons - you just pay the station owner the $1.50 - $2.00 for each redemption and collect full price for your pizza rather than offering a direct discount for the large pie. Most people today are not nearly as concerned with pizza prices as they are with gas prices.

Good Luck!

We’re really struggling w/the concept…a lot of experience in the industry, but zero in this side oc the c-store biz…

Plan A is to focus on fried chicken, subs & slices for lunch and pies and such 4 the evening period…

Only 500 sq. ft. spot, so space is quite tight…

Probably going to mimic LC in some respects and a $9.99 any topping pizza as well…

Always willing to listen to suggestions!!!

New Guy,

How well does Hot Stuff do at a C-Store/Gas Station on a busy highway exit?

Our exit has two other gas stations (none selling hot food), a McDonalds, and a Burger King. The exit leads to a really really small town with not much to do.

Thanks!