12 minute read
Huck’s Market Elevates Food
Editor’s Memo
For any questions about this issue or suggestions for future issues, please contact me at jlofstock@wtwhmedia.com.
The NAG/Ken McMullen Memorial Scholarship Is Open
We all understand the value of a well-educated workforce and the convenience store industry is certainly no exception. The National Advisory Group (NAG) scholarship fund was developed to help qualifi ed individuals offset some of the costs of higher education. Among NAG’s core mission is to help cultivate and ready the c-store leaders of tomorrow.
In keeping with this theme, I am extremely proud to report NAG will once again award fi ve $1,000 scholarships to employees and dependents of NAG member companies in 2022. Thanks to the generous contributions of NAG’s dues-paying members, we have a healthy scholarship fund to ensure NAG members and their dependents will receive fi nancial assistance to pursue their goals of becoming the leaders of tomorrow. This program was started in the late ’90s and to date has distributed more than 125 scholarships totaling more than $144,000 to deserving students. The college scholarship program is a key benefi t of NAG membership.
The 2022 NAG Scholarship has also been renamed in honor of Ken McMullen, CEO of Weigel’s, who passed away July 29, 2021. The Weigel’s team has been active in NAG for three decades. Ken’s affi nity for, dedication to and support of NAG has been a key reason for our success. In showing our appreciation for Ken’s friendship and efforts, we are humbled that the 2022 scholarships will be given in his honor.
Ken began his career at Weigel’s in 1981 as operations manager. He was a driving force in the expansion and growth of the company with his innovative sprit, servant leadership and expertise. He was the fi rst non-family member to serve as president when he took on the role in 2001. In 2017, the company promoted Ken to CEO. Through his leadership, drive and perceptive ability to see forthcoming trends, Weigel’s was named CStore Decisions’ 2019 Convenience Store Chain of the Year.
Ken also helped propel Weigel’s charity efforts — specifi cally, the Weigel’s Family Christmas, through his dedication in wanting to make a difference in the lives of East Tennessee’s community. When Ken’s wife Lana passed away in 2019, the annual NAG Scholarship for 2020 was dedicated in her honor.
“We are very honored to have this scholarship named after Ken,” Bill Weigel, chairman of Weigel’s, told me. “Ken was a great man who did great things in and outside of the convenience store industry. We are glad to present these scholarships to deserving individuals in his honor. Thank you, NAG, for giving these awards in Ken’s name.”
To apply, visit: learnmore.scholarsapply.org/nationaladvisory-group.
Here’s a look at the program’s particulars:
THE PROGRAM
The NAG Scholarship Fund is managed by the NAG Board of Directors, CStore Decisions and Scholarship America, and it’s sponsored by the retailer and supplier members of NAG. Awards are not renewable, though students may reapply to the program each year they meet eligibility requirements. Applications must be postmarked by April 28, 2022.
ELIGIBILITY
Applicants who work in the c-store industry must be employees or children of employees who have a minimum of one-year employment with a NAG member company. Applicants must plan to enroll in a full- or part-time undergraduate course of study at an accredited two- or four-year college, university or vocational-technical school. Applicants who are current students or who have attended school within the past three years must have maintained a minimum 2.5 GPA on a 4.0 scale.
I hope you’re able to take advantage of this program and honor Ken’s memory by becoming a member of NAG. To learn more about NAG or fi nd more information on the scholarship, visit Nagconvenience.com. And please be sure to mark your calendar for the 2022 NAG Conference in La Jolla, Calif., March 27-30.
Should you have any questions, please contact me at (201) 321-5642 or via email at jlofstock@wtwhmedia. com. For information about Scholarship America, contact program manager Kelly Anderson at kanderson@ scholarshipamerica.org or (507) 931-8368.
John Lofstock
Huck’s Market Elevates Food
Huck’s is remodeling stores to its new design that highlights foodservice, while integrating technology for a seamless shopping experience.
Erin Del Conte • Executive Editor
Following its rebrand as Huck’s Market in 2020, Huck’s has been busy redesigning stores, growing its foodservice menu and investing in new technology, including selfcheckout and frictionless payments.
Carmi, Ill.-based Huck’s can trace its roots to 1960 when founders Frank Bayley and Bob Martin partnered to open Big John supermarkets. They grew the business from southern Illinois into Kentucky and Tennessee.
Huck’s is adding bean-tocup coffee to its new and newly remodeled locations.
“After they got started with Big John’s, they realized that Walmart and other bigger retailers were going to be main players in the grocery business,” said Brittany Bayley, vice president of marketing at Huck’s and a third-generation member of the family business.
That inspired the founders to evolve and open the first Huck’s convenience store in Grayville, Ill., in 1974.
Today, Huck’s operates 125 c-store locations in five Midwest states — Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri and Tennessee.
Huck’s most recent new-to-industry store opened last month in Hannibal, Mo., the hometown of Mark Twain, who wrote “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” for which Huck’s is named. Twain published the renowned book on Feb. 18, 1885. By coincidence, the Huck’s team planned the store opening Feb. 17, just one day shy of the publication’s anniversary. “It was just a cool fact that we found out after we were getting ready to launch the store,” Bayley said.
Huck’s operations area is positioned within the vicinity of its warehouse, Carmi Wholesale Distributors, which delivers to its c-stores twice a week. “I would say 85% if not more of our items that you see in the store retail-wise are delivered by our warehouse,” Bayley said.
That includes foodservice products and ingredients — such as the breading for its chicken program — and tobacco items, cold vault and freezer products, and more.
“We are our distributor, except for a handful of direct store delivery suppliers,” Bayley said.
FAMILY BUSINESS
The second and third generations of the Martin and Bayley families are active in the company today. “My grandfather was Frank Bayley,” Bayley noted. Her father, Mark Bayley, is currently the chairman of Huck’s parent company, Martin & Bayley Inc. Her brother Landon is the company’s vice president of fuel. Charles Martin, Bob Martin’s son, serves as vice-chairman. His son Lance Martin is a regional director at Huck’s.
Brittany Bayley started with the company in 2009. Each member of the third generation — Brittany, Landon and Lance — started out working in the c-stores after college, training at the associate level, managing stores and working their way up through the company.
“We like to ensure that all of us have a good idea of how our stores work and what our associates and our managers go through each and every day,” Bayley said. “So, that’s kind of the base training for anybody you would see at our position, or even at the field level. We like to promote from within. That’s really part of our culture.” That applies even to Martin & Bayley’s CEO Murat Tokad, who joined Huck’s in 2004 as division manager and worked his way up through the company, holding roles as regional director, vice president of operations, executive vice president and president before taking the helm as CEO in May 2019.
In March 2001, the families turned the company into an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), an employee benefit plan that gives workers ownership interest in the company.
“That decision empowered the associates to be more than just an employee. They’re an owner. We went along that trail to empower them to think more as running their own business and not someone else’s,” Bayley said. “The ESOP acts as an additional retirement plan that doesn’t require any contribution from the associate, other than their time.” The ESOP helps employees see firsthand how their work makes a critical impact on the business’s success, Bayley noted, and helps to grow their retirement account.
REBRANDING INITIATIVE
Huck’s introduced a prototype store in January 2020 in Seymour, Ind., featuring a fresh design with
Huck’s Market at a Glance
Headquarters: Carmi, Ill. Founders: Frank Bayley and Bob Martin Parent company: Martin & Bayley Inc. Location and date of first Huck’s store: Grayville, Ill., in 1974 Current store count: 125 Current area of operation: Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri and Tennessee Foodservice: Godfather’s (more than 70 locations), proprietary Cluck’s Chicken (72 locations), developing its Huck’s Kitchen program, which includes Bigg Fresh, Bigg Bakery and Bigg Breakfast offerings Second generation of the family business: Mark Bayley, chairman of Martin & Bayley Inc.; Charles Martin, vice-chairman, Martin & Bayley Inc. Third generation of the family business: Brittany Bayley, vice president of marketing; Lance Martin, regional director; and Landon Bayley, vice president of fuel CEO: Murat Tokad Vice president of foodservice: David Grimes
Huck’s design incorporates the legacy Huck’s feel, but evolved to emphasize foodservice and the market approach to convenience.
updated branding refl ecting a name evolution to ‘Huck’s Market.’ “We saw things evolving and other retailers changing around us. We felt like there was a need for us to center ourselves and position ourselves with a new look,” Bayley said.
Huck’s partnered with GSP on the store’s design to incorporate that legacy Huck’s feel and evolve it into something fresh and new that emphasized the market approach to convenience, emphasizing foodservice. “A big part of the redesign was not only branding the Huck’s Market, but better focusing and showcasing our food programs, which had always been there, but we wanted to bring them to the forefront because we know food is our future,” Bayley said.
The updated color scheme fades out the previous red and yellow with a modern, woodgrain look.
Huck’s has since completed several remodels on legacy stores and is continuing its remodel and rebranding initiative in 2022, with a goal of rolling the design out to its entire fl eet of stores in the next three years. Huck’s also has plans to roll the new look out to new-to-industry stores in the future. “We have several properties that are secured for the new look,” Bayley said.
New-to-industry stores will measure over 6,000 square feet, up from the 3,000-4,200 square feet of legacy stores. Most of Huck’s stores feature Huck’s branded gas and six to 14 gas pumps in the forecourt. It’s also testing electric vehicle charging at its We’re in the process of developing our “
Huck’s Kitchen brand underneath the Huck’s
Market umbrella. The development of the
-David Grimes, vice president of foodservice
Beaver Dam, Ky., location, where it’s encouraging customers to spend time in-store while they charge up.
ELEVATING FOOD
Huck’s features grab-and-go, proprietary and co-branded foodservice, with plans to expand into made-to-order in the future.
“We are partnered with Godfather’s at over 70 locations. We also offer our proprietary brand of chicken, the Cluck’s Chicken brand, at 72 locations,” said David Grimes, vice president of foodservice for Huck’s.
Grimes has been with Huck’s for nine years. He served as a district manager and regional director before stepping up to the plate to direct foodservice initiatives.
“We’re in the process of developing our Huck’s Kitchen brand underneath the Huck’s Market umbrella,” Grimes said. “The development of the Huck’s Kitchen logo is complete, and we continue to evaluate and enhance our offers.”
As part of the Huck’s Kitchen program, the chain is offering new foodservice concepts including Bigg Fresh, Bigg Breakfast and Bigg Bakery.
Bigg Fresh features several wrap varieties, including Crispy Buffalo Chicken, Crispy Ranch Chicken, a Caesar wrap, turkey and ham wraps, as well as sub sandwiches on both traditional and pretzel buns. The program also includes several different salads. The Bigg Breakfast program includes sausage and bacon offerings on bagels, biscuits, croissants or burritos. Offers also include Texas Toast sandwich varieties, breakfast steak and biscuits, and gravy.
Customers can fi nd Bigg Breakfast items in the hot hold and Bigg Fresh items in 48-inch deli cases. Huck’s also features a smaller ‘Snack Attack’ case that includes grab-and-go items such as meat snacks, cheeses and healthy options.
INTRODUCING OUR NEW
Huck’s stores feature its Bigg Swigg fountain program, plus a Fresh Blends smoothie unit with milk, fruit and coffee-based smoothies at its newest locations.
“Bigg Bakery includes several doughnut varieties, to include long johns, ring donuts, Persians and a variety of delicious muffins and cookie offers,” Grimes said.
The chain’s proprietary Cluck’s Chicken program includes hand-breaded chicken.
“We proudly sell a marinated chicken tender with our proprietary breading blend that we use to handbread our products. Other category offers include potato wedges, bone-in chicken, honey-battered wings, and livers and gizzards,” said Grimes. “Our proprietary blend of seasoning is something that we are super proud of. We think it’s just a great product. It gives a great flavor profile to our tenders, our wedges, our bone-in chicken.”
Huck’s features a coffee section branded Daybreak Café. As it remodels stores and opens new locations, it’s adding bean-to-cup coffee. “At this point, I would say we’re pretty happy with it,” Grimes said.
When it comes to cold dispensed, Huck’s features its Bigg Swigg fountain program and also offers a Fresh Blends smoothie unit featuring fruit, milk and coffee-based smoothies at its newest locations. The chain is also delving into catering.
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