Target Self Serve Snack Bar

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storewanderer
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Re: Target Self Serve Snack Bar

Post by storewanderer »

babs wrote: July 6th, 2019, 12:48 am Just keep in mind that Costco sets the standard for in-store food service!
I still remember when their food service was a hot dog cart...

They are trying to add some healthy, higher ticket items to their food service operation...
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Re: Target Self Serve Snack Bar

Post by Super S »

storewanderer wrote: July 6th, 2019, 9:55 am
babs wrote: July 6th, 2019, 12:48 am Just keep in mind that Costco sets the standard for in-store food service!
I still remember when their food service was a hot dog cart...

They are trying to add some healthy, higher ticket items to their food service operation...
Yeah, it started as a hot dog and a CAN of Pepsi you grabbed from a nearby cooler (and I think Pepsi was the only choice. Maybe Diet Pepsi too, but the choices were very limited) Costco has come a long way.
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Re: Target Self Serve Snack Bar

Post by Alpha8472 »

The Costco snack bar probably does not make that much money. They keep the prices affordable so that it attracts customers to shop in the rest of the store.

The Target Food Avenue tried to attract customers, but the food is not as good as Costco. People go to the Costco snack bar just for the affordable food. The pizza slices and hot dogs are popular. Even Julia Child loved the hot dogs. The new Target Snack Bar has no appeal.
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Re: Target Self Serve Snack Bar

Post by storewanderer »

Alpha8472 wrote: July 6th, 2019, 3:50 pm The Costco snack bar probably does not make that much money. They keep the prices affordable so that it attracts customers to shop in the rest of the store.

The Target Food Avenue tried to attract customers, but the food is not as good as Costco. People go to the Costco snack bar just for the affordable food. The pizza slices and hot dogs are popular. Even Julia Child loved the hot dogs. The new Target Snack Bar has no appeal.
I suspect Costco Snack Bar operates at breakeven. How much money they make probably depends on the sales mix. If all everyone is buying is hot dogs and soda, no way they make money. Add some of the other items to the mix and they have a chance of making some money perhaps. From what I see it is mostly hot dogs and pizza being sold. The pizza probably has some profit, though it is questionable how much of that is eaten by prep labor, oven, cutting labor, box cost, etc.
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Re: Target Self Serve Snack Bar

Post by pseudo3d »

Super S wrote: July 5th, 2019, 6:58 am Target was pretty consistent in offering food service in most, if not all, of their stores. It's interesting how they have done an "about face" recently. But look at other discounters....Walmart has mostly phased out their "Radio Grill" in favor of McDonalds, Subway, etc. (And in some cases has removed restaurants during remodels) And Kmart eliminated the restaurant altogether in a good chunk of their stores, converting it into additional retail space. And many department stores also once had restaurants. It is clear that the restaurants have limited appeal to those not shopping in the stores and really aren't money makers in most cases.
There was only one Walmart (Supercenter) that I'm aware of that straight-up removed their food service option (outside of a few other examples--I'm pretty sure at least one small rural Wal-Mart had a McDonald's during a 1990s remodel and later removed it), but it was a store where the McDonald's had been located in the BACK of the store, and it probably wasn't feasible to move it to the front.

Walmart's Radio Grill was a brief thing in the 1990s and for my store it replaced a McDonald's, not the other way around. (Plus the food was hardly worth writing home about). As for Kmart, their in-house cafés were largely eliminated by the 1990s with the Little Caesars Pizza Stations (they might have had other food, I don't know), and as the company crumbled, the restaurants were the first to go anyway.
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Re: Target Self Serve Snack Bar

Post by storewanderer »

pseudo3d wrote: July 7th, 2019, 8:59 pm
Super S wrote: July 5th, 2019, 6:58 am Target was pretty consistent in offering food service in most, if not all, of their stores. It's interesting how they have done an "about face" recently. But look at other discounters....Walmart has mostly phased out their "Radio Grill" in favor of McDonalds, Subway, etc. (And in some cases has removed restaurants during remodels) And Kmart eliminated the restaurant altogether in a good chunk of their stores, converting it into additional retail space. And many department stores also once had restaurants. It is clear that the restaurants have limited appeal to those not shopping in the stores and really aren't money makers in most cases.
There was only one Walmart (Supercenter) that I'm aware of that straight-up removed their food service option (outside of a few other examples--I'm pretty sure at least one small rural Wal-Mart had a McDonald's during a 1990s remodel and later removed it), but it was a store where the McDonald's had been located in the BACK of the store, and it probably wasn't feasible to move it to the front.

Walmart's Radio Grill was a brief thing in the 1990s and for my store it replaced a McDonald's, not the other way around. (Plus the food was hardly worth writing home about). As for Kmart, their in-house cafés were largely eliminated by the 1990s with the Little Caesars Pizza Stations (they might have had other food, I don't know), and as the company crumbled, the restaurants were the first to go anyway.
There were still a select few Kmarts that had the "Eatery" in the back of the store up until the Big Kmart remodels took place in the late 90's. That was when those finally got removed for good. Some Kmarts lost those in the mid 90's remodels in favor of a Little Caesars build over on the softlines side of the store.
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Re: Target Self Serve Snack Bar

Post by Super S »

pseudo3d wrote: July 7th, 2019, 8:59 pm

There was only one Walmart (Supercenter) that I'm aware of that straight-up removed their food service option (outside of a few other examples--I'm pretty sure at least one small rural Wal-Mart had a McDonald's during a 1990s remodel and later removed it), but it was a store where the McDonald's had been located in the BACK of the store, and it probably wasn't feasible to move it to the front.

Walmart's Radio Grill was a brief thing in the 1990s and for my store it replaced a McDonald's, not the other way around. (Plus the food was hardly worth writing home about). As for Kmart, their in-house cafés were largely eliminated by the 1990s with the Little Caesars Pizza Stations (they might have had other food, I don't know), and as the company crumbled, the restaurants were the first to go anyway.
The West Longview, WA Walmart (my local store) removed the restaurant completely during the supercenter conversion just a few years ago. It had a McDonald's, odd because of a McDonald's also across the parking lot in front of the store. (This location also removed the optical and auto centers during the conversion)
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Re: Target Self Serve Snack Bar

Post by cjd »

pseudo3d wrote: July 7th, 2019, 8:59 pm
Super S wrote: July 5th, 2019, 6:58 am Target was pretty consistent in offering food service in most, if not all, of their stores. It's interesting how they have done an "about face" recently. But look at other discounters....Walmart has mostly phased out their "Radio Grill" in favor of McDonalds, Subway, etc. (And in some cases has removed restaurants during remodels) And Kmart eliminated the restaurant altogether in a good chunk of their stores, converting it into additional retail space. And many department stores also once had restaurants. It is clear that the restaurants have limited appeal to those not shopping in the stores and really aren't money makers in most cases.
Walmart's Radio Grill was a brief thing in the 1990s and for my store it replaced a McDonald's, not the other way around. (Plus the food was hardly worth writing home about). As for Kmart, their in-house cafés were largely eliminated by the 1990s with the Little Caesars Pizza Stations (they might have had other food, I don't know), and as the company crumbled, the restaurants were the first to go anyway.
The one here at least, offered food other than the pizza part. There was the popcorn and icees and typical fast food items like hamburgers, hot dogs and fries, and they also made breakfast. I don't remember any of it being great quality though, most of it was average at best. The branding had "K-Cafe featuring Little Caesars" on the signage.

It makes me wonder, if any Kmart stores still have a Little Caesars/Cafe still open.
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Re: Target Self Serve Snack Bar

Post by cjd »

Super S wrote: July 7th, 2019, 9:38 pm
The West Longview, WA Walmart (my local store) removed the restaurant completely during the supercenter conversion just a few years ago. It had a McDonald's, odd because of a McDonald's also across the parking lot in front of the store. (This location also removed the optical and auto centers during the conversion)
That's quite interesting they would eliminate those departments. I know of a Walmart that has a Subway in the store, and another regular one in a strip mall out front of the parking lot.
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Re: Target Self Serve Snack Bar

Post by storewanderer »

cjd wrote: July 9th, 2019, 6:19 pm
The one here at least, offered food other than the pizza part. There was the popcorn and icees and typical fast food items like hamburgers, hot dogs and fries, and they also made breakfast. I don't remember any of it being great quality though, most of it was average at best. The branding had "K-Cafe featuring Little Caesars" on the signage.

It makes me wonder, if any Kmart stores still have a Little Caesars/Cafe still open.
Bishop, CA and Guam both still have Little Caesars inside Kmart.
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