Spinx/Stewart's Chicken & Biscuits, Greenville, S.C.

While Greenville, S.C.-based Spinx Co. isn't an emerging brand, its foodservice operation, Stewart's Chicken & Biscuits, certainly falls under that category. The company's point of entry into the foodservice arena opened just five years ago and takes its name from founder Stewart Spinks,

Spinks spent several years working for Shell Oil, then took a risk and went out on his own, forming Spinx Oil Co. Inc. on Dec. 1, 1972. The initial operation consisted of a home heating oil delivery company and one gas station in Greenville, S.C. In 1977, the company registered its original Spinx trademark and opened its first independent branded c-store at the corner of Laurens Road and Washington Street in Greenville. Since then, the company reshaped its logo and, subsequently, its overall image to present itself as a “meeting place” for customers where they can get branded Spinx petroleum products, good food and fast service. The c-store even holds charity events and fundraisers, competing against other area c-stores.

Sixteen of the 62 Spinx locations throughout South Carolina feature the Stewart's Chicken & Biscuits brand, raking in about 30 percent of overall c-store sales for the chain. The generally recent development of the Stewart's brand reflects the situation of many other c-stores: Declining profits from low-margin gas sales led to the need to add another commodity to its product mix — food. And not just any food, but good, fresh food, too, not the kind you get in a package. Those c-stores wanting to compete in the foodservice arena need to follow a similar approach.

As the name indicates, fried chicken and more fried chicken is what's on the menu at Stewart's Chicken & Biscuits. But responding to overall consumer trends that place a growing emphasis on healthier eating, Spinx spent the past year expanding its menu to appeal to its existing customers and attract new ones, says Bill Reilly, chief marketing officer. While many people love fried chicken and biscuits, most really can and should only eat it once in a while. Doctor's orders. In order to get those customers to keep coming into Spinx for other food, Stewart's also offers healthier sub sandwiches, wraps and traditional wedge sandwiches, all made on-site and prepackaged ahead of time for grab 'n go convenience. “We're trying to play that 'Every day that goes by I'm more starved for time,' card with our customers using the cold grab 'n go items,” Reilly says. “Plus, fruit cups are more car-friendly for the on-the-go customer in addition to being a healthy alternative.”

Introducing healthier items as such has also helped attract more female customers to Stewart's, Reilly says. Typically, Stewart's customers tend to be predominantly male, and many are construction workers or others working on the road in labor-focused positions who seek heartier breakfasts and lunches that they can take with them to their job sites. Reilly says many c-stores affectionately refer to this group as “Bubba.” With more healthy wraps and sandwiches available, a growing number of women now patronize Spinx during lunchtime hours. That includes younger women and those with children in tow looking for healthier items.

Breakfast also draws a good crowd with egg, cheese and meat variations on home-baked biscuits. “We serve cold grits in a cup and specialty grits with cheese, for example, plus egg scramblers and basically any breakfast item you can think of in a cup to go,” Reilly says. Stewart's also caters to the afternoon student population with a line of hot snack food items like nachos, pizza sticks and hot dogs, and precooked hamburgers that a staff member rethermalizes in a convection oven. The c-store has capitalized on these items in order to maintain a steady flow of customer traffic throughout the day and offer customers something that satisfies their between-meal hunger but does not necessarily come in a wrapper or package, Reilly says.

The exposed kitchen features several ovens for preparing the biscuits and pizza sticks, and retherming products; an average of two fryers per store; cold tables for deli sandwiches; and six-foot glass, hot display cases for the chicken and biscuit sandwiches. Customers approach the counter to request their food from one of the staff members. At four of the Stewart's locations, customers can opt to take their food to the dining area and eat it there. The number of seats at these locations ranges from nine to 17. Moving forward, Reilly says all new Spinx stores will have dining areas. Reilly adds the company plans to open five stores in South Carolina next year, with two already under construction. “That growth will be fairly consistent year after year,” he says.

Most of the food items are brought in from a distributor, including the pre-sliced deli meats, the instant grits, pizza sticks and precooked hamburgers. Chicken, however, gets breaded and fried from a raw state, and staff make all the subs, wraps and other sandwiches on-site. Biscuits are proofed and baked on-site, too. Staff come in about an hour before the store opens at 6 a.m. to bake the biscuits and pre-make sandwiches using food items stored in walk-in coolers and freezers in back. This prepping process will last throughout the day. Most of the Spinx stores close at 9 p.m., although some locations operate 24 hours a day, drawing business from overnight travelers and truckers.

Spinx continues to work on introducing touch-screen, customer-activated ordering systems in some of its stores and in some locations, at the gas pumps. These POS systems have had a significant impact on speed of service and accuracy of orders, Reilly says. Customers can come in, and place their order on the computer system, including making modifications to their order such as requesting no mayonnaise on their sandwich or adding french fries with their chicken order. The order gets transmitted to staff behind the counter who then prepare the food.

In addition to consistency and increased speed and accuracy, the systems save tremendously on labor, freeing up staff to just make the food and not have to deal with order-taking, Reilly says. The technology has also helped attract a younger crowd to Stewart's. “Being an innovator with the customer really resonates with technology-savvy young adults, which are the customers we're looking to attract and develop over the course of our lifetime,” Reilly says. Initial research on the new ordering system, he adds, demonstrated potential for a significant return on investment. The driving factor here is the system's ability to inconspicuously up-sell the customer by prompting them about side orders, add-ons, extras and other small price increases that translate to profits over time.

To keep customers interested and coming back to Stewart's, every two months the menu changes for a total of six rotations per year. Each rotation features new ideas to create excitement among the c-store's customer base. These items have included pork chops, polish sausages and other meat-heavy meals. “We'll advertise these new items throughout our stores and also within the community in order to draw in more customers,” Reilly says.

While every store design differs, the goal is to save labor wherever possible, Reilly says. That might mean joining the Stewart's Chicken & Biscuits aspect of the business with the retail side at one cashier. “We try to create as many adjacencies as possible to save labor,” Reilly says.

As far as staff training, all members must undergo ServSafe training because of the raw poultry product that's handled in stores, although the chicken comes in pre-cut. In addition, Spinx puts a strong focus on excellent service, timeliness and above all, friendliness. Even the company web site shows Stewart Spinks himself in one photo gesturing seemingly energetically with a wide smile.

Spinx has also delved into some “green” initiatives on the fuel side of its business. The company sells biodiesel at 41 of its locations and claims to be the leader among retailers selling this natural, emission-free petroleum. The goal in using biodiesel, according to the web site, is to reduce dependency on foreign oil and increase jobs for farmers, transporters, engineers, manufacturers and others on a local level, aside from reducing pollution. The switch to biodiesel is in anticipation of stricter laws expected in the next year that will require all diesel engines to burn lower emission products in efforts to reduce pollution.

Staying on top of current trends and investing in new technologies represents a part of Spinx's strategy for keeping abreast of competition and, of course, increasing that bottom line. By catering to its regular customers by switching up its menu at Stewart's, and by attracting new ones through new technologies and healthier foods, and even, healthier oil so to speak, Spinx has been able to reap success in sales and expansion, and shows no signs of slowing down.