retail

Operations

Should Cracker Barrel get out of the gift shop business?

Reality Check: The retail component of the family dining concept drew off sales and profits during the brand's most recent quarter. Maybe it's time to leave the shops out of future Cracker Barrels.

Technology

Kitchen United shuts down its Kroger food halls

The unexpected move comes about a year after Kroger was part of a $100 million investment round in the ghost kitchen operator, which said it is shifting its focus to software.

Foxtrot Market and Dom's Kitchen & Market, which offer both freshly made meals and groceries, are merging to create Outfox Hospitality.

About 25% of shoppers cooked for themselves or purchased ready-to-eat supermarket items during 2023, compared with a 17% rate last year.

Malls with a Cheesecake Factory are more likely to be current on their loans, according to a Moody’s analysis. But the chain may not be retail's white knight.

Tech Check: Grocery is one of the few industries that may be even less techy than foodservice. Instacart wants to help it catch up, and could get a boost from its IPO.

Atul Sood sees a lot of opportunity in the company's partnerships with Kroger and Circle K, but not so much in its stand-alone ghost kitchens. “You’ll probably see less of those,” he said.

Sheetz closed the college-adjacent unit, which differed from most of the chain's stores by forgoing gas pumps.

Wawa and Casey’s are upping their pizza games, threatening to take share from other pizza players.

A Deeper Dive: Heather Lalley, editor-in-chief of RB sister publication Winsight Grocery Business, joins the podcast to talk about grocers’ intent on pushing more into prepared foods.

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