Why the Time Is Now — And Why the Concept Is Consumer Driven

 

Let me give credit where credit is due: Danielle Romano and Convenience Store News provide the foundation for this discussion with their excellent look at the return of Swiss Farms and its plan to evolve America's drive-thru grocer.

But from the perspective of Steven Johnson, the Grocerant Guru®, at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® the bigger story is not simply that Swiss Farms is coming back.

The bigger story is why the timing makes sense now.

Swiss Farms is showing what happens when a retail food concept starts with a consumer behavior and then builds the business around it.

That distinction matters.

Too many retailers begin with a facility, a menu, a format, a technology platform or an internal operating model and then ask consumers to adapt.

The Grocerant Niche works in the opposite direction.

Start with the consumer. Identify the friction. Solve the food occasion. Then build the format around the solution.

That is exactly what makes Swiss Farms interesting.

The Consumer Is Already Telling Us What Comes Next

For nearly six decades, Swiss Farms has built its identity around a simple proposition: consumers can get food and everyday essentials without leaving the vehicle. The company's current strategy keeps that drive-thru DNA while expanding fresh food, made-to-order food and beverages, grocery essentials, loyalty and eventually fuel.

That is not a random assortment of new ideas.

It reflects a consumer reality that has been accelerating across restaurants, grocery stores and convenience stores:

Consumers increasingly want the food they want, when they want it, in the easiest format available.

The National Restaurant Association's 2025 Off-Premises Restaurant Trends found that 47% of adults pick up takeout at least weekly and 42% use the drive-thru weekly. The same research identifies speed, customer service, technology, value and loyalty as basic requirements for repeat off-premises business.

That is important because it changes the competitive set.

Swiss Farms is not simply competing with another grocery store.

It is competing for the consumer's time.

And time may be one of the most valuable commodities in the modern food marketplace.

The Opportunity Is Not "More Food." It Is Less Friction.

Swiss Farms' leadership describes the problem with remarkable clarity.

Traditional grocery shopping can require parking, unloading children, walking through a large store and spending substantial time shopping for only a few products. Swiss Farms' answer is essentially: pull up, provide the list and open the trunk.

That is a Grocerant proposition.

The consumer isn't necessarily saying:

"I want another grocery store."

The consumer is saying:

"I need milk, breakfast, coffee, dinner, snacks and maybe gas — and I don't want to spend an hour accomplishing it."

That is a very different business proposition.

The National Restaurant Association's 2025 research reinforces the point. Consumers increasingly judge off-premises experiences on speed, value and ease, while younger adults report using takeout, drive-thru and delivery more often than the previous year.

The winning question is therefore not:

How do we get consumers to spend more time with us?

It is:

How do we give consumers more value for the time they give us?

Why the Time Is Now

The economic environment makes this even more relevant.

The National Restaurant Association reported in June 2026 that 36% of consumers said they were spending less at restaurants than the previous quarter, while more consumers were trading down, ordering fewer add-ons and choosing less expensive options.

At the same time, the Association reported in August 2026 that consumers continue to value convenience while household budgets remain under pressure.

This creates a fascinating intersection.

Consumers still want foodservice.

They still want fresh food.

They still want convenience.

But they are becoming increasingly deliberate about where their dollars go.

That is the environment in which hybrid concepts become especially interesting.

A consumer may not view a Swiss Farms purchase as "grocery" or "restaurant" or "convenience."

They simply see dinner.

They see breakfast.

They see something to eat now.

They see something to take home for later.

The consumer does not live inside industry silos.

Why should the operator?

Retail Foodservice Is Already Breaking Down the Silos

FMI's 2025 research found that consumers are increasingly treating grocery foodservice as an alternative to restaurant dining. The share of consumers choosing deli-prepared foods instead of restaurant meals more than doubled from 12% in 2017 to 28% in 2025. More than half of Americans now take a hybrid approach to meals, combining prepared foods with items from their own kitchens.

Read that again.

Hybrid is becoming normal.

That is the Grocerant Niche in action.

The meal doesn't have to come from one place.

Consumers can buy a prepared entrée, add a side from home, purchase a beverage at a convenience store and finish the meal with something already in the pantry.

The consumer creates the meal.

The retailer's job is to make that creation easier.

That is why Swiss Farms' plan for a curated grocery assortment is so intriguing. Instead of trying to reproduce a supermarket's thousands of SKUs, the strategy calls for carrying the top products in major grocery categories.

That is not about offering everything.

It is about offering enough of the right things.

The Consumer-Driven Concept Is Mix-and-Match

This is where the Grocerant Niche becomes particularly powerful.

I have long argued that consumers are increasingly comfortable with Mix-and-Match Meal Component Bundling.

The consumer does not necessarily want a conventional restaurant meal.

The consumer may want:

A breakfast sandwich and coffee now.

A take-home dinner later.

A Stromboli for one family member.

A milkshake for another.

Fresh groceries for tomorrow.

Snacks for the car.

Fuel while already making the trip.

Swiss Farms' evolving model touches each of those occasions. Its planned foodservice program includes breakfast sandwiches, coffee, Stromboli, refreshers, milkshakes and take-home meal options, while its broader strategy adds grocery essentials and fuel at new locations.

That is not simply an expanded convenience store.

It is a consumer-controlled meal ecosystem.

Convenience Is No Longer Enough

There is an important warning here.

Convenience by itself is becoming table stakes.

Consumers also want value, quality, freshness, variety and personalization.

Technomic's 2026 retail foodservice research identifies evolving expectations around value, quality and freshness, while also highlighting interest in made-to-order food, grab-and-go options, customization, breakfast sandwiches and other cross-category foodservice offerings.

That fits Swiss Farms' strategy surprisingly well.

The concept is not saying:

"We are fast, therefore we win."

It is saying:

"We are fast, while becoming more relevant."

That is a much stronger proposition.

Consumer Choice Is Becoming the Format

Swiss Farms plans to preserve its drive-thru while also adding a walk-in option at new locations.

That may be one of the most important details in the entire story.

Why?

Because the company is not forcing every consumer into one behavior.

The consumer who wants speed can use the drive-thru.

The consumer who wants to browse can walk inside.

The consumer who wants digital engagement can use the app and loyalty program.

The consumer who wants nostalgia can engage with the brand through merchandise and familiar visual cues.

That is consumer-driven retail.

The brand is adapting to the consumer rather than demanding that the consumer adapt to the brand.

And that distinction is increasingly important.

Why Restaurants Should Pay Attention

Restaurants should pay attention because Swiss Farms represents something larger than one company's growth strategy.

The competitive battlefield is increasingly moving from restaurant versus restaurant to food occasion versus food occasion.

FMI reported in 2024 that 29% of consumers said they were pulling back from restaurants and turning to grocery stores for convenient meal solutions, with prepared foods becoming increasingly relevant across breakfast, lunch and dinner.

That means a restaurant dinner can lose the occasion before a consumer ever thinks about visiting another restaurant.

The replacement might be:

A grocery deli meal.

A convenience-store dinner.

A drive-thru purchase.

A meal kit.

A prepared entrée.

A combination of several retailers.

Or some combination of all of them.

The consumer doesn't care which industry classification wins.

The consumer cares which solution wins.

And This Is Where "What's for Dinner?" Becomes a Retail Strategy

The fundamental food question remains remarkably simple:

What's for dinner?

The answer is increasingly not determined by a restaurant menu or a grocery shopping list.

It is determined by time, money, convenience, appetite, household needs and what the consumer wants to do next.

FMI's 2026 grocery research reports that shoppers are looking for help making lunch and dinner easier without sacrificing health or value. Better-value lunch options lead their requests, followed by healthier, fresher, more varied and better-tasting prepared foods.

That is exactly the consumer-driven opportunity.

Consumers don't necessarily want somebody to tell them what dinner is.

They want somebody to make their version of dinner easier.

Why Swiss Farms Matters to the Grocerant Niche

Swiss Farms is particularly interesting because it is retaining the thing that consumers already understand while adding the things consumers increasingly want.

Keep the drive-thru.

Add fresh food.

Add grocery essentials.

Add made-to-order.

Add take-home meals.

Add technology.

Add loyalty.

Add new formats.

Add fuel where appropriate.

But keep the consumer at the center.

That is the formula.

Not technology for technology's sake.

Not more SKUs simply to say you have more SKUs.

Not a restaurant bolted onto a convenience store.

Not a grocery store trying to become a restaurant.

Rather:

A consumer-driven food solution that crosses categories because consumers already cross categories.

And that may be the most important lesson of all.

The Grocerant Niche has never been about whether a product is sold by a restaurant, grocery store, convenience store, dollar store, warehouse club or another retailer.

It is about the consumer's decision to buy Ready-2-Eat or Heat-N-Eat food where it is easiest, most relevant and most valuable at that moment.

Swiss Farms is betting that the time is right.

The consumer data suggests the market conditions are moving in that direction.

The next question is whether more operators will recognize that the future of food retail is not being designed in conference rooms.

It is being designed one consumer occasion at a time.

Three Insights from the Grocerant Guru®

1. The time is now because consumers are already breaking the silos.
Restaurant, grocery, convenience and foodservice are increasingly interchangeable in the consumer's mind. The industry may still use separate boxes, but consumers increasingly do not. FMI's prepared-food data makes that migration measurable.

2. Consumer-driven concepts solve friction before they add complexity.
Swiss Farms starts with a very simple consumer proposition — get essentials quickly — then adds foodservice, grocery, technology, loyalty and fuel around it.

3. The next generation of Grocerant growth will be built around "one now, one later."
The strongest concepts will increasingly satisfy the immediate need while creating the next meal occasion. Breakfast now. Dinner later. Coffee now. Groceries later. Snack now. Take-home meal later. That is not simply convenience. That is consumer-centric food occasion management — and it is where the next wave of Grocerant growth can emerge.

Tap into the Foodservice Solutions® team for greater understanding of New Electricity or for a Grocerant Program Assessment, Grocerant ScoreCard, or for product positioning or placement assistance, or call our Grocerant Guru®.  Since 1991 www.FoodserviceSolutions.us  of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche. Contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or 253-759-7869

Restaurants Are Social Settings Stop Thinking of Them as Places That Just Sell Food

 

The restaurant's most valuable product may not be on the menu according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

Man is a social being.

That simple observation has enormous implications for restaurants, grocery stores, convenience stores and every other food retailer competing for today's consumer.

The pandemic changed where consumers ate. It accelerated delivery, takeout, drive-thru, digital ordering and eating at home.

But something else happened.

Consumers discovered that convenience has a limit.

People still want to get out.

They want to see people.

They want to be seen.

They want to meet friends.

They want to celebrate.

They want to discover a new food, flavor, beverage or restaurant.

They want to sit across the table from someone and talk.

And increasingly, they want the restaurant to give them a reason to do it.

That is why I believe restaurants should stop thinking of themselves simply as places that sell food.

Restaurants are social settings.

And that may become one of their greatest competitive advantages.

 

The Consumer Can Eat Anywhere

Let's start with the uncomfortable truth.

Consumers have never had more ways to get food.

They can cook it.

They can order it.

They can have it delivered.

They can pick it up.

They can use a drive-thru.

They can buy Ready-2-Eat or Heat-N-Eat food at a grocery store.

They can grab a meal at a convenience store.

They can eat in their car.

They can eat at their desk.

They can eat in front of a 65-inch HDTV.

So why leave home?

That is the question every restaurant operator should be asking.

Because if the only reason to visit a restaurant is the food, somebody else can eventually sell the consumer something similar—and perhaps cheaper, faster and closer to home.

But if the restaurant provides food + atmosphere + discovery + hospitality + human connection, the competitive equation changes.

The restaurant becomes an experience.

 

2026: The Data Says Consumers Still Want to Gather

The newest data makes the point remarkably well.

OpenTable's 2026 dining research found that 78% of Americans agree that dining out is a way to feel connected to others. Group dining involving six or more people was up 11% year over year, while 36% of consumers said they wanted more group and private dining in 2026.

Read that again.

Dining out is a connection business.

Not just a food business.

And the evidence goes even further.

OpenTable reports that experiential dining increased 46% year over year in 2025, while 37% of Americans said they wanted more experiential dining in 2026. Nearly half—48%—said they were more likely to dine at a restaurant hosting a pop-up, collaboration or other special experience.

Why?

Because consumers cannot duplicate that experience simply by opening the refrigerator.

The experience is the product.

 

The Restaurant Is Becoming the New Social Media

For decades, restaurant operators worried about location.

Then came websites.

Then online reviews.

Then Facebook.

Then Instagram.

Then TikTok.

Now the restaurant itself has become a form of media.

The food is photographed.

The beverage is photographed.

The dining room is photographed.

The décor is photographed.

The customer photographs the table.

The customer photographs the menu.

The customer photographs the experience.

OpenTable reports that 79% of Millennials and 68% of Gen Z consider a restaurant's Instagram/TikTok-worthiness important when deciding where to dine.

That is a remarkable transformation.

The restaurant is no longer simply the place where the marketing happens.

The restaurant has become the marketing.

Every table can become a billboard.

Every handheld can become an advertisement.

Every unusual beverage can become content.

Every interesting service interaction can become a story.

This is what I call Hand-Held Marketing—and today the consumer's hand may be holding both the food and the smartphone.

 

Consumers Want Discovery

My original thinking about young adult consumers was built around the idea that they wanted to explore.

That idea has not gone away.

It has become more important.

Consumers want something they have not experienced before.

A new flavor.

A new sauce.

A new beverage.

A new handheld.

A new preparation.

A new restaurant.

A new collaboration.

A new way to share food.

A new reason to gather.

In 2026, OpenTable reports that 54% of consumers are willing to pay a premium for a one-of-a-kind dining experience, while local charm and unique restaurant environments are increasingly important elements of restaurant design.

That is the opportunity.

Different does not have to mean expensive.

It means memorable.

 

Convenience Didn't Die—It Changed

Now here is where restaurant operators can get themselves into trouble.

They can hear "social experience" and conclude that consumers suddenly want slow service, complicated menus and leisurely dining every time they eat.

Wrong.

Convenience is still king when convenience is what the consumer wants.

The National Restaurant Association has continued to document the enormous importance of off-premises dining, particularly among younger consumers.

Consumers want restaurants to accommodate their lifestyles.

Sometimes that means:

“Get me in and out.”

Sometimes it means:

“Bring it to my house.”

Sometimes it means:

“I'm eating in my car.”

And sometimes it means:

“Give me a table where I can sit with my friends for two hours.”

The consumer isn't inconsistent.

The occasion is different.

That is an important distinction.

Speed of Service and Socialization Can Coexist

The smartest operators understand that speed and socialization are not opposites.

They are different consumer needs.

A commuter wants speed.

A parent between activities may want convenience.

A teenager may want a place to hang out.

A couple may want a date-night experience.

A group of friends may want a table.

A family may want food everyone can agree upon.

A senior may want conversation.

A businessperson may want lunch and Wi-Fi.

One consumer.

Multiple occasions.

That is why I have long argued that there are no silos in the consumer mind.

The consumer does not wake up and say:

“Today I am a restaurant consumer.”

They simply ask:

“What's for dinner?”

Or lunch.

Or breakfast.

Or a snack.

Or coffee.

Or something to share.

 

The Price-Value Equation Just Got Bigger

There is another critical issue.

Consumers still care about price.

In fact, they care enormously about price.

But price is not the same thing as value.

OpenTable's 2026 research identifies happy hour and value promotions as the No. 1 dining trend restaurateurs expect to see in 2026, while 51% of Americans said they wanted more happy-hour and value promotions.

That is not surprising.

Consumers want to know:

“What am I getting for my money?”

And increasingly the answer isn't just ounces of food.

It can include:

Food + service + atmosphere + convenience + entertainment + discovery + socialization.

That is a much larger definition of value.

A restaurant can therefore compete on value without simply becoming the cheapest restaurant in town.

The goal isn't always to lower the price.

Sometimes the goal is to increase what the consumer believes the experience is worth.

 

The Dining Room Has Become a Product

For years, restaurant operators treated the dining room as an operating expense.

I believe they should increasingly treat it as a product.

What does the consumer see?

What does the consumer hear?

Where do people sit?

Can people see other people?

Is the room inviting?

Can groups comfortably gather?

Is there counter seating?

Is there bar seating?

Can someone dine alone without feeling alone?

Can two people have a conversation?

Can six people celebrate?

Can a family spread out?

Can consumers discover something happening around them?

OpenTable reports that counter seating increased 26% and bar seating 23% year over year in its 2025 data.

That isn't simply furniture.

That's social architecture.

The way a restaurant is designed influences whether people interact with the environment around them.

 

The Best Restaurant May Give Consumers Something to Talk About

The old restaurant question was:

“Did you like the food?”

The new question should be:

“What did you experience?”

Was the burger different?

Was the beverage interesting?

Did the server make you laugh?

Was there a special event?

Did you discover something?

Was the dining room exciting?

Did you see something you had never seen before?

Did your friends enjoy it?

Did you take a picture?

Did you tell somebody about it?

That final question is critical.

Because when a consumer tells someone else about a restaurant, the consumer becomes the restaurant's salesperson.

That is powerful marketing.

And it doesn't require a television commercial.

Restaurants Are Selling "Together"

This may be the biggest opportunity of all.

The restaurant industry has spent decades selling:

Breakfast.

Lunch.

Dinner.

Snacks.

Beverages.

Desserts.

But perhaps the most important thing restaurants sell is:

Together.

Together with friends.

Together with family.

Together with coworkers.

Together on a date.

Together for a birthday.

Together after a game.

Together before a concert.

Together because nobody wanted to cook.

Together simply because people wanted to see other people.

OpenTable's 2026 research shows that birthdays were the most popular celebration associated with dining out in 2025, while anniversary dining generated 40% more spending per person than an ordinary restaurant visit.

That is the occasion economy.

And restaurants are perfectly positioned to own it.

 

The Grocerant Opportunity Is Bigger Than Restaurants

Here is where this becomes bigger than restaurants.

The same consumer behavior applies to:

Grocery store service delis.

Convenience stores.

Food halls.

Dollar stores.

Retail prepared foods.

Virtual restaurants.

Takeout.

Drive-thru.

Home delivery.

The consumer does not care who owns the kitchen.

The consumer cares about getting the right food for the right occasion at the right price with the right amount of convenience.

That is the Grocerant Niche.

The grocery store can become a restaurant.

The convenience store can become a café.

The restaurant can become a retailer.

The retailer can become a foodservice operator.

And the consumer simply moves between them.

No silos in the consumer mind.

 

The New Restaurant Question

So I would challenge every restaurant operator, foodservice executive and food retailer with one question:

If I removed your food from the equation, would consumers still want to be there?

If the answer is no, you have a food product.

If the answer is yes, you may have a destination.

That distinction matters.

Because food can be copied.

Menus can be copied.

Promotions can be copied.

Prices can be copied.

Even technology can be copied.

But community, atmosphere, hospitality and human connection are much harder to copy.

That is the restaurant's moat.

 

Three Insights From the Grocerant Guru®

1. Stop Selling Meals. Start Selling Reasons to Gather.

The consumer has never had more convenient ways to get food.

Therefore, convenience alone is not a sustainable competitive advantage.

The restaurant needs to answer:

“Why should I leave home for this?”

If the answer includes food, discovery, hospitality, atmosphere and people, you have created something that delivery cannot fully duplicate.

 

2. The Dining Room Is a Marketing Channel.

Restaurant operators should stop thinking about four walls, tables and chairs as simply operating costs.

The dining room is media.

What consumers see, photograph, experience and share becomes part of the restaurant's marketing.

Make the food visual.

Make the environment inviting.

Make the experience memorable.

Give consumers something worth talking about.

Let the customer help market the restaurant.

 

3. The Future Belongs to the Restaurant That Understands the Occasion.

Tuesday at 5:15 p.m. may require speed.

Friday at 7:00 p.m. may require atmosphere.

Saturday afternoon may require family convenience.

A birthday may require celebration.

A business lunch may require efficiency.

A group of friends may require a social setting.

Same consumer. Different occasion.

The winning operator doesn't ask:

“Who is our customer?”

The winning operator asks:

“What does our consumer want to accomplish with this meal?”

That is the difference between selling food and understanding the consumer.

And that, ultimately, is what the Grocerant Guru® has been saying for decades:

The consumer is not looking for a food category.

The consumer is looking for a solution to an occasion.

Restaurants that understand that will sell more than meals. They will become places people want to be.

And in an increasingly connected but increasingly isolated world, being a place where people want to be may be the most valuable product a restaurant can sell.

Success Leaves Clues—Are You Ready to Find Yours?

One key insight that continues to drive success is this: "The consumer is dynamic, not static." This principle is the foundation of our work at Foodservice Solutions®, where Steven Johnson, the Grocerant Guru®, has been helping brands stay relevant in an ever-evolving market.

Want to strengthen your brand’s connection with today’s consumers? Let’s talk. Call 253-759-7869 for more information.