Dive Brief:
- West Coast retailer Rebel Convenience Stores opened its first Hatch Chicken Co. QSR in the Midwest last month, a spokesperson from c-store solutions firm GSP Retail, which helped design the restaurant, confirmed to C-Store Dive.
- The QSR is located inside a 4,700-square-foot Rebel c-store in Romeoville, Illinois, about 35 miles southwest of downtown Chicago. Like Rebel’s Hatch locations out West, the menu includes a variety of chicken tenders, sandwiches and sides like mac and cheese, biscuits and waffle fries, as well as lemonade and a line of organic teas.
- The QSR is part of Rebel’s broader expansion plans for Hatch, which includes opening 20 of the chicken restaurants in 2025.
Dive Insight:
According to the city of Romeoville, Rebel began remodeling the c-store back in June. GSP's spokesperson noted last week that the grand opening for Hatch was on Sept. 24. Although the Hatch restaurant is brand new, Rebel has operated the Romeoville c-store since its parent company, Anabi Oil, acquired it back in 2021, according to county records.
In addition to bringing Hatch’s chicken inside the Illinois store, Rebel also installed a drive-thru, as well as outdoor patio seating with two tables and benches, as seen in photographs shared by GSP. The Hatch restaurant took over the space that was formerly a Dunkin’, according to the city of Romeoville.
During the store’s grand opening event in September, Sam Anabi, founder of Anabi Oil, said Rebel also replaced the fuel equipment in the forecourt and added Apple Pay capabilities inside the store as part of this remodel.
“Competition came from across the street, so we had to step up our game,” Anabi said during the grand opening. “We went to the city and said, ‘Help us beautify [the store],’ and they just welcomed it with open arms.”
The Hatch rollout comes during a busy period for Anabi, which earlier this month agreed to acquire Las Vegas-area c-store chain Green Valley Grocery’s 87 locations. Anabi will continue operating the c-stores under the Green Valley Grocery banner, a company spokesperson confirmed at the time.
