Dive Brief:
- GetGo Café + Market, the c-store arm of supermarket chain Giant Eagle, will open its first new-build c-store with a drive-thru lane on Feb. 2, according to an emailed announcement.
- Located in Mentor, Ohio — about 24 miles northeast of downtown Cleveland — the store will offer GetGo’s made-to-order foodservice program and online ordering capabilities, according to the retailer’s website. It is GetGo’s third location in Mentor.
- Although still uncommon for c-stores, drive-thru operations have begun emerging in the space over the past few years, as retailers increasingly emphasize foodservice to better compete with fast-food restaurants.
Dive Insight:
Large chains like Wawa and 7-Eleven have experimented with drive-thru operations over the past few years. But even smaller retailers, such as two-store chain FavTrip and single-store operator Pit Stop Market, have opened drive-thru lanes.
For GetGo, drive-thru operations began in September 2021 at a store in Avalon, Ohio. And now, with its first new-build c-store to feature a drive-thru, the Pittsburgh-based retailer continues to be among the operators leading the charge on the innovation front. In 2020, GetGo debuted checkout-free technology at a store in Fox Chapel, Pennsylvania, and a year later, became the first U.S. c-store company to accept PayPal and Venmo as in-store forms of payment.
“We’re all about fresh food, and with this drive-thru lane, we’re thrilled to bring the Mentor community our delicious made-to-order menu with the convenience you’d expect from GetGo,” a GetGo spokesperson said in the announcement.
The store’s grand opening on Feb. 2 will begin at 9 a.m., with a ribbon-cutting ceremony set for 12:30 p.m. The celebration will include live music, giveaways, raffle drawings, food and beverage samples and celebrity appearances. GetGo will also present a donation to Hunger Network, the area’s second-largest emergency food distribution and recovery organization.
Guests attending the ceremony will receive a variety of GetGo merchandise and coupons, and will be able to try several of GetGo’s made-to-order appetizers and entrees.
Giant Eagle owns and operates more than 260 GetGo c-stores in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Maryland and West Virginia. Besides made-to-order foodservice, many locations offer WetGo car washes.
