7-Eleven Inc., which is piloting several restaurant concepts at its growing
chain of Evolution test stores, intends to "aggressively" roll out restaurants
across the U.S., opening nearly 150 of them in 2021, said Chris Tanco,
7-Eleven's executive vice president and chief operating officer, in a recent
news release.

"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," Tanco said. "Today's opportunity is in the QSR
(quick-serve restaurant) space."

Tanco stated 7-Eleven's food service plans as it announced its latest Evolution
Store, a Manassas, Virginia, location that is the first to house two restaurant
options -- Raise the Roost Chicken and Biscuits and Parlor Pizza. 7-Eleven said
it launched its first Raise the Roost restaurant a year ago in Manhattan,
serving proprietary fried chicken tenders, fresh-baked biscuits, bone-in and
boneless wings, chicken sandwiches and breakfast sandwiches. Parlor Pizza is an
onsite pizzeria with hand-tossed, made-to-order pizzas, as well as calzones,
garlic knots, pepperoni rolls and hot and cold sub sandwiches.

The Manassas store is only about 30 miles from Washington, D.C., where 7-Eleven
opened an Evolution Store with a Laredo Taco Company restaurant, the restaurant
brand acquired when it purchased 1,000 stores from Sunoco LP in 2018. The
company's announcement said it now has eight experiential Evolution Stores in
the U.S. -- all of them offering restaurants -- in north Texas, New York City,
San Diego, Washington, D.C., as well as Manassas.

The Manassas store has other exclusive features including a wine cellar, beer
cooler, fresh-baked-on-site croissants and cookies, customized espresso drinks,
artisan craft sodas and sparkling waters. It is also the first Evolution Store
serving as a testing ground for 7-Eleven's Sips and Snacks emerging brands
program, where customers can buy products not found at many other 7-Elevens or
retailers, the announcement said.

--Reporting by Donna Harris, dharris@opisnet.com; Editing by Barbara Chuck,
bchuck@opisnet.com



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