Dash In’s SERIES 3 EVOLUTION

Dash In introduces its third-generation store with an enhanced menu, new store design and refreshed branding as it sets its sights on expansion.

Erin Del Conte • Editor-in-Chief

Dash In recently unveiled its thirdgeneration (Series 3) c-store format, showcasing its evolution into a food-centric one-stop shop, complete with an elevated made-to-order menu, a revamped layout and a transformed visual identity.

The 55-store chain with 41 franchise locations and 14 companyoperated sites in Maryland, Virginia and Delaware plans to aggressively build 15 more Series 3 stores in the next 24 to 30 months. It’s also delving into technology with self-checkout stations and a mobile app launching this summer that includes a new loyalty program, mobile ordering, delivery and payment capabilities.

With its new Series 3 prototype, the evolution of Dash In’s brand strategy is on full display as it looks to deliver an ecosystem with convenience retailing, transportation fuels, food, beverage and car wash all in one spot.

The first new-to-industry (NTI) Series 3 site celebrated its grand opening on March 31 in Loudoun County, Va.

Julian “Blackie” Wills III, president and chief operating officer of The Wills Group, Dash In’s parent company, noted that the Series 3 store represents a five-year journey that included the goal of reimagining the store experience.

“In 2017, we were still focusing on pieces of the store without the overall plan for, ‘What do we want to be as a brand? What does Dash In want to stand for, and how do we want to show up to our guests?’” Wills said.

From 2017 to 2018, Dash In set about answering those questions by embarking on a full brand strategy review that included consumer research. The findings showed that Dash In was viewed as a destination for gas and general convenience vs. prepared food and beverage, and that the Dash In brand was being overshadowed by the gas brands in the forecourt. The feedback set Dash In on a mission to grow its brand awareness.

“It started with brand strategy work,” noted Wills.“That led to things like brand positioning and customer journey or touchpoint mapping. Building that out then ultimately fed into things like visual identity development, menu development, facility development and architectural design and interior design.”

Dash In’s new visual identity is a large part of the c-store chain’s transformation.

Both the Series 3 Dash In and the co-located Splash In car wash feature an updated look and new logos to differentiate them from competitors in the marketplace. The new Dash In logo is a wordmark-style logo with ‘Dash In’ scrawled in marker script. It also includes a map maker symbol that resembles a Google Maps pin.

“We wanted to bring the Dash In and Splash In brands closer together so they were more complementary,” Wills said. “They were different in terms of color palette and typeface. And now, we have very similar color palettes and typefaces, so it feels much more like sibling brands.”

Over time, some legacy Dash In sites are expected to receive the new logo.

“But we’re only going to do it where we start to integrate the other brand elements,” Wills said. “We would have to integrate the menu as part of that shift because we don’t want to create confusion. We want this visual identity of the brand to provide consumers certain cues about what they’ll be able to expect inside the store.”

How It Began

Julian Wills, and his brother Joe Wills, executive vice president of fuels marketing and real estate & development, are fourth-generation members of their family business, The Wills Group, which the family has owned and operated for 97 years.

The Wills Group was founded in 1926 by Wills’ greatgrandfather Jim Wills and his business partner Harold

Swann, who had been road engineers.

In the late 1920s, the partners saw an opportunity and entered the fuels transportation business. They became Texaco motor oil distributors and began building Texaco service stations, while also distributing Texaco heating oil and kerosene.

“They had a partnership agreement that said the surviving member of the partnership would buy out the other family’s interest,” Wills explained.

After Swann passed away, Jim Wills continued running the company, and later his wife Julia Wills took over the running of the business when he died.

“Julia ran it until my grandfather, Blackie, could run the business. Then it was handed down from my grandfather to my father, Lock. And now, it’s been passed down to the fourth generation,” Wills explained.

Wills noted he is celebrating 16 years with the business this month.

The Wills Group founded Dash In in 1979, and the first store opened that same year in Annapolis, Md. The first fullsize Dash In Food Store on Route 198 in Laurel, Md., opened on May 1, 1981, and was a standalone c-store without fuel and the first c-store in Maryland to feature a foodservice program, serving up fried chicken and potato wedges.

“We literally were food stores where we had deli, bakery and food. … That business was really separate from the fuels business. We had the service station business and the standalone convenience business,” Wills said.

In the late 80s into the 90s, The Wills Group began combining Dash Ins with fuel stations. In the 90s, Dash In began partnering with co-brands and quick-service restaurants on the foodservice end.

“Then in the early 2000s, we started to migrate away from that back to a Dash In proprietary menu, and we really got into franchising at that time,” he said.

Following several major oil acquisitions with Shell Oil predominantly in the early 2000s, Dash In became a “rejuvenation brand.”

“We went into these old, tired convenience stores that were in need of some investment and used the Dash In brand to modernize and add category management, pricebook, a dispensed beverage program and a smallformat foodservice program,” Wills said.

Over the last decade, Dash In has been reintegrating prepared food and beverages.

In 2014, Dash In launched its Neighborhood Store format that included made-to-order food offerings, and in 2017 it introduced its second-generation stores that brought advancements to the menu, as well as the kitchen and beverage equipment package.

Over the past six years the company has been focused on growing its company-operated stores. Its Series 3 store is now set to lead it into the future.

Welcoming Design

Dash In’s Series 3 site features a modern look with organic materials, such as concrete, brick and hardwood — including exposed wooden beams — to give the store an organic feel. The floors are made of polished concrete.

The color scheme includes muted hues, with the primary colors being black and white.

The store’s exterior also features a black-and-white color scheme with white brick piers and black along the roofline. Wooden beams are visible on the decking of the roof.

“We wanted to make sure that the environment felt welcoming and organic for guests,” Wills said. “We think we’ve been able to raise the bar overall for the industry in terms of what a convenience store environment could look like.”

The 5,600-square-foot store features 17 fueling stations, much larger than the chain’s traditional sites that span 3,200 square feet to 3,400 square feet.

The biggest design change occurred inside the store within the center store merchandising area, where Dash In brought down the height of the gondolas to 48 inches to improve sight lines.

“We wanted to allow the guests to be able to see completely across the store,” he said.

Dash In was also intentional about providing wayfinding throughout the store, employing a significant amount of directional signage, as well as headers around the store to identify products and amenities.

Historically, Dash In stores have not offered seating, but most of the planned Series 3 stores, including the Loudoun County site in Virginia, provide both indoor and outdoor seating.

Fresh-made, craft-made burgers are part of Dash In’s commitment to a fresh and elevated menu.

Foodservice acts as the centerpiece of the store’s design.

“The food is very much front and center when you first walk in,” Wills said. “We’ve got a big wayfinding sign that says, ‘Fresh Eats,’ and has this chevron (patterned) wooden backing to it, and you can see the open kitchen there.” Dash In first introduced the open kitchen concept, where customers can see the food being prepared, in its second-generation store.

The company has planned three versions of its Series 3 prototype. The Loudoun County store features the largest version of the design, which includes alcoholic beverages, a beer cave and a wine merchandiser. A 4,500-square-foot version excludes alcoholic beverages, while a 3,400-square-foot version will be used sparingly and excludes indoor seating. All three feature the full food and beverage menu.

The Series 3 prototype offers unbranded fuel, as Dash In prioritizes brand awareness in the forecourt. Dash In’s other sites have partnerships with Shell and Exxon, which will remain in place.

“We have extensive relationships with Shell and Exxon outside of Dash In,” Wills noted. “The Wills Group has another 225 locations that operate under the legacy gas station model; predominantly, the Shell flags, some Exxon and some other major oil brands. But at least for Dash In, particularly in this (Series 3) model, it’s always going to be private label.”

Out of the 15 Series 3 stores planned over the next 24