Fewer Cooks in the Kitchen

This article is brought to you by Merrychef.

Foodservice is an important driver of profit for convenience stores. The category makes up 28% of in-store sales and contributes 38.3% of the in-store gross margin, according to the NACS State of the Industry Report® of 2025 Data. 

But as foodservice offerings grow, Merrychef U.S. General Manager Garamy Whitmore is hearing the same thing from operators: “Labor is the biggest pressure on their business right now.”

“They’re looking for ways to simplify operations, cut down on training time and still get consistent results, even with staffing challenges,” he said.

The average employee turnover rate in 2025 was 108.8%, according to the NACS State of the Industry Talent Insights Dashboard.

Operators looking to beef up their foodservice business should prioritize selecting the right equipment, such as high-speed and connected ovens, according to Whitmore. “[Some operators] choose pieces of equipment that are basically one-trick ponies that keep them from growing their business or adapting over time,” he said.

Operators should prioritize equipment that makes it simple to maintain a foodservice offering, Whitmore said. “It's got to be easy to clean, easy to maintain and easy to operate,” he said. “It's a better operator experience, which then leads to a better customer experience.”

Whitmore shared an example of how a high-speed oven from Merrychef can help make it easier for staff by displaying pictures of the menu offerings. 

“The larger display that we have helps eliminate language barriers and reduces that training time when you’re getting someone up to speed,” Whitmore said.

Connected equipment like Merrychef’s conneX series of high-speed ovens allow operators to log in remotely and to download their menu to the equipment, relieving even more workload, Whitmore said. 

“If you've got 30 stores or 300 stores, being able to remotely download a new menu item is huge, especially if you're doing it once a quarter or even bi-monthly,” Whitmore said. “It's a tremendous workload to make sure all your stores are consistently on the same menu program.”

The connectivity can also help minimize downtime, according to Whitmore. 

“Our team can log on to an oven remotely if they're having any sort of issues or concerns,” he said. “We can log on and see the oven in real time. We can see the incoming voltage. We can see the temperature at the control board. We can gauge what errors they've seen, run diagnostic tests remotely.”

This is the first article in a two-part series from Merrychef. Look out for part two tomorrow, which will explore the benefits of energy efficient equipment.