"What Goes Around Comes Around": Hilton’s DoubleTree Hotels Reignite Full-Service Dining with the Comfort of Piebird

 

If warm cookies in the lobby say “Welcome,” then a made-from-scratch chicken pot pie says “Stay awhile.” As travel rebounds and guest expectations evolve, DoubleTree by Hilton is launching Piebird, a full-service, three-daypart restaurant concept designed to bring hotel dining back to its roots—with flavor, comfort, and care.

Opening first in Nanuet, New York, by late 2025 and Asheville, North Carolina, in early 2026, Piebird is the latest culinary creation from Hilton’s Stir Creative Collection, a team reshaping what hotel food and beverage can be—not just for convenience, but for connection.

Why Full Service is Making a Comeback

“For years, hotel dining leaned on speed—buffets, grab-and-go coolers, lobby coffee bars,” says Grocerant Guru® Steven Johnson, a leading voice in foodservice evolution. “But travelers today want food that feels personal and memorable. They don’t want to microwave a sandwich. They want to settle in, be served, and feel something real.”

Here’s why that shift is resonating:

·       61% of U.S. travelers now say dining is a top reason for choosing a hotel, up from just 42% a decade ago, according to the Global Hotel Guest Preferences Survey.

·       Over 78% of guests traveling for leisure say they would rather enjoy one “great” meal onsite than several quick bites, signaling a return to food-first decision making.

·       ‘Comfort food with a twist’ is the fastest-growing restaurant menu category, up 24% in the past three years according to Datassential, reflecting diners’ desire for familiarity paired with creativity.

The Flavor of Home, The Ease of a Stay

Piebird is deeply rooted in comfort. Think chicken and waffles with a honey-thyme drizzle, Sunday pot roast with root vegetables, and slow-baked macaroni and cheese—not to mention a rotating seasonal pie menu. Signature dessert? A silky chocolate custard pie crowned with chocolate malt balls.

“Piebird builds on the emotional warmth of DoubleTree’s famous cookie,” says Adam Crocini, Hilton’s global head of wellness, design, and F&B. “It’s that same hospitality, just taken to the table.”

A Hospitality Revival: What Goes Around Comes Around

Johnson notes that hotel food trends have come full circle:

1.       Mid-Century Dining Rooms (1950s–1970s) – Elegant full-service meals were once a highlight of travel. Menus were local, portions generous, and every table had a story.

2.       Buffet Boom (1980s–2000s) – With rising travel volumes, hotels turned to buffets and breakfast bars. Quantity took priority over quality.

3.       Grab-and-Go Era (2010s–2022) – Speed ruled. Guests were offered packaged meals and mini-marts—efficient, but impersonal.

4.       The Full-Service Revival (Now) – Stir is bringing back the heart of hospitality with concepts like Poppy’s, Haley and Bear, and now Piebird, where meals aren’t just served—they’re remembered.

Designed for Travelers, Built for Memories

Each Piebird location is turn-key for hotel owners, but rich in detail for guests. Stir delivers not just recipes and rituals, but curated music, lighting, uniforms, and mood—all to ensure that the meal matches the memory.

“We’re not just opening restaurants,” Crocini says. “We’re creating moments that become part of the journey.”

Whether it’s a hearty breakfast before hiking the Blue Ridge Mountains or a slice of pie after a long business trip, Piebird is more than a meal—it’s a feeling.

As Johnson puts it: “The grocerant revolution taught us that food can be fast and fresh. But when time allows, we don’t just want food—we want comfort, care, and community. That’s what’s coming back, and that’s why Piebird matters.”

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Food Channel Blurring Garners Attention as Food Retailers Evolve

 

In 2025, where, how, and why consumers buy food continues to be transformed at breakneck speed. From app-based ordering to c-store meal kits and AI-powered restaurant recommendations, the boundaries between traditional foodservice channels are virtually nonexistent—at least in the eyes of the consumer.

Yet, some legacy brand managers still cling to outdated silos. "Channel blurring only exists in the blind eye of Neanderthal chain restaurant and grocery store brand managers," declared Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA-based Foodservice Solutions®, back in 2010. Fifteen years later, that statement is more relevant than ever.

Today’s consumers expect to find food anywhere, anytime—and they do. Whether it’s ordering sushi from a gas station via DoorDash, picking up ready-to-eat bowls from a grocery store fridge, or grabbing a latte and artisan sandwich at the pharmacy, the consumer's path to purchase is fluid, mobile, and personalized.

Retail Evolution is Consumer-Driven

Recent data backs this up. An industry report found that c-store giant Wawa outperforms even upscale restaurant chains in service satisfaction, ranking ahead of brands like Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Seasons 52. This is no anomaly: Wawa also scored high in customers’ likelihood to return—surpassing 600+ restaurant brands, trailing only behind Qdoba and Carvel.

“Wawa meeting or exceeding service expectations compared to fine-dining brands underscores how consumer expectations have shifted,” said Victor Fernandez, Executive Director of Insights at Black Box. “People expect something different from Wawa, and Wawa consistently delivers.”

While the restaurant industry as a whole saw a 6.4% drop in consumer intent to return in the past year, Wawa and similar forward-thinking retailers gained ground. Customization, convenience, and perceived value are fueling these shifts. Service expectations are no longer based solely on a white-tablecloth experience but on speed, accuracy, and emotional relevance.

From Protectionism to Personalization

As the Grocerant Guru® puts it: “Retail foodservice today is about share of stomach. You’re either capitulating customer count or capturing it—one meal, one occasion at a time.”

The era of channel protectionism is over. Consumers no longer differentiate between "grocery store food," "restaurant food," or "convenience store food." They differentiate based on price, authenticity, convenience, and service—factors that map directly to what Johnson calls the Five P’s of Food Marketing: Product, Packaging, Placement, Portability, and Price.

That framework has become even more vital as personalization and customization have become the hallmarks of the fast-growing grocerant niche—a blend of grocery and restaurant formats offering chef-prepared, grab-and-go, and heat-and-eat options. This sector continues to outpace traditional grocery and QSR growth, particularly among Gen Z and younger millennials who prioritize flexibility, flavor exploration, and frictionless experiences.

The Numbers Don’t Lie

In 2025, more than 62% of food shoppers report purchasing prepared meals at least once a week from non-traditional outlets like drugstores, c-stores, or dollar stores—up from 41% in 2020. At the same time, restaurant traffic remains flat or negative, with cost, convenience, and meal relevance driving consumer defections.

Incremental data also revealed a 1.2% decline in food quality perceptions across restaurant chains, even while service perceptions rose by 10.2%. This suggests that consumers are increasingly measuring brands not just on execution but on relevance—whether the food fits into their life.

And here’s the rub: consumers have moved on. The only people still talking about channel silos are those protecting legacy systems, not those pursuing growth. The modern consumer is driven by immediacy, personalization, and omnichannel access—not loyalty to outdated formats.

Evolve or Be Eclipsed

"Are you still doing what you've always done the way you’ve always done it?" Johnson asks. “If so, you’re not just standing still—you’re moving backward.”

Today’s winners are those who blur lines, collapse channels, and innovate with intent. Retailers and restaurants alike must pivot to meet consumers wherever they are—on mobile, in-store, at the pump, or on the go.

For those ready to embrace the future of food, Foodservice Solutions® offers strategies rooted in data, driven by consumer behavior, and designed for growth. Learn how to integrate the Five P’s of Food Marketing to capture more share of stomach and future-proof your brand.

Ready to evolve?
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The Struggles of Tom Thumb: A Legacy Brand Trapped in the Middle

 

Once a hallmark of Dallas-Fort Worth suburban shopping, Tom Thumb now stands as a legacy grocery brand at a crossroads. Despite its deep local roots and longstanding customer loyalty, the banner has become emblematic of a broader identity crisis within its parent company, Albertsons. Caught in a web of corporate consolidation, national branding, and evolving consumer expectations, Tom Thumb has lost its edge in a fiercely competitive Texas grocery landscape—where players like H-E-B, Central Market, and Eatzi’s have mastered the art of differentiation.

The Identity Crisis

Tom Thumb was once seen as an upscale neighborhood grocer—a reliable place for quality produce, attentive service, and a curated shopping experience according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®. But as Albertsons acquired the brand (and also operates Safeway), it has since diluted Tom Thumb’s identity. With overlapping private label products, indistinct store layouts, and vanilla marketing strategies, Tom Thumb has been reduced to a generic clone within a system that prioritizes scale over distinction.

Now caught in what marketing experts call the "Middle Market Trap", Tom Thumb is neither price-competitive enough to go toe-to-toe with Walmart or Aldi, nor premium or experiential enough to contend with H-E-B's immersive flagship stores, Central Market’s gourmet innovation, or Eatzi’s prepared foods dominance.

Grocerant Failure: Losing the Modern Customer

The term grocerant—a hybrid of grocery and restaurant—describes the modern trend of blending food retail with freshly prepared, on-the-go meals and dining experiences. This segment is growing rapidly as busy consumers seek convenience without sacrificing quality or freshness. H-E-B’s chef stations, Central Market’s wine bars and sushi counters, and Eatzi’s full-scale kitchen operations have turned food shopping into an experience.

Tom Thumb, however, has failed to innovate in this space. Its prepared foods are largely uninspired, its store ambience dated, and its meal solutions fall short of the quality and variety offered by competitors. Customers looking for a reason to visit Tom Thumb—beyond sheer proximity—have found increasingly fewer incentives to return.

 

Six Reasons Tom Thumb Should Be Rebranded as Albertsons or Safeway

1.       Brand Confusion Erodes Trust
Tom Thumb, Albertsons, and Safeway now share overlapping branding elements—from digital apps to reward systems and private labels. Maintaining separate banners creates confusion and undermines customer trust. A unified brand would streamline marketing and operational clarity.

2.       Lack of Differentiation
Tom Thumb lacks a compelling, ownable position in the market. It’s not low-cost, not premium, and not local in a meaningful way anymore. Rebranding to Albertsons or Safeway consolidates messaging and allows investments to focus on fewer, stronger identities.

3.       Operational Redundancy
Operating multiple banners increases complexity in logistics, supply chain, and store management. Simplifying the brand portfolio could reduce costs, improve consistency, and accelerate innovation—especially in key areas like fresh foods and tech-enabled convenience.

4.       Lost Customer Loyalty
Longtime Tom Thumb customers feel increasingly alienated as the brand loses its distinct voice. A transition to Albertsons or Safeway—with a promise of consistency, quality, and loyalty rewards—could reinvigorate disaffected shoppers with a refreshed identity.

5.       Market Positioning Misalignment
Texas consumers are rapidly migrating toward either high-experience or low-price grocery options. Tom Thumb’s position in the middle is untenable. A shift to a unified, possibly more upscale Safeway brand (with enhanced grocerant offerings) might help recapture some of that audience.

6.       Merger and Acquisition Synergy
With Kroger’s planned acquisition of Albertsons looming, there's increasing pressure to rationalize store footprints and brand identities. Rebranding Tom Thumb now could preemptively ease future integrations and avoid being the odd brand out in a merger shuffle.

Do You Want a Larger

Share of Stomach? 

 

The Road Ahead

Tom Thumb is a case study in what happens when a legacy brand fails to evolve with its market. Its stagnation is not just a product of competitive pressure—but also a consequence of strategic indecision. The grocerant revolution has changed consumer expectations. Shoppers want experiences, not just transactions.

If Albertsons hopes to preserve and grow its market share in Texas, it needs to make bold moves. That starts with saying goodbye to Tom Thumb and investing in a unified brand identity that delivers on relevance, experience, and innovation.

Because in today’s grocery game, being “middle of the road” is the fastest way to get run over.

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Starbucks’ 3 Slippery Slopes: Yesterday’s Strategy in Today’s Evolving Retail Landscape

 

In 2025, the restaurant and foodservice industries are being reshaped by AI-driven personalization, convenience-focused ecosystems, and social-first brand cultures according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®. Yet Starbucks, once the global poster child for innovation, is increasingly struggling to keep pace. Despite its historic reputation for leading retail evolution, the company’s recent moves reflect a boardroom stuck in the past, repackaging old strategies in a world demanding reinvention.

Let’s explore three slippery slopes that reveal how Starbucks’ leadership has created friction with modern consumers—along with a deeper look at C-level missteps that further underscore the widening gap between their actions and today’s consumer expectations.

 

1. Pricing Problems: Premium Without Purpose

2025 Insight: According to Mintel, 68% of coffee drinkers aged 18–34 say Starbucks is “too expensive for what they get”, and 41% say they’ve switched to more “functionally valuable alternatives.”

Over the past three years, Starbucks’ C-level team — particularly under CFO Rachel Ruggeri — has prioritized margin expansion over customer retention, leading to an aggressive pricing structure that simply doesn’t hold water in the current inflation-sensitive environment.

Examples:

·       A 16 oz. iced oat milk latte, which cost $5.45 in 2021, now surpasses $7.95 in major U.S. cities.

·       Seasonal drinks, previously tied to excitement and indulgence, now leave customers feeling gouged.

While prices soar, perceived value remains stagnant. There’s been little investment in enhanced product quality, upgraded ingredients, or new formats like bottled functional brews or health-forward coffee blends, which are thriving in convenience retail and grocerants.

Grocerant Insight: In today’s hybrid retail/restaurant space, value is measured by versatility, functionality, and experience—not legacy branding alone. Starbucks’ C-suite pricing approach looks more like 2012 than 2025.

 

2. Speed of Service: Still Stuck in Line

2025 Insight: QSR Tech Digest reports Starbucks ranks among the bottom quartile in mobile order fulfillment speed, averaging 7.4 minutes, compared to 3.8 minutes at chains like Dutch Bros and Blank Street.

Despite boasting early digital success, Starbucks’ CTO-level decisions have failed to evolve the mobile and in-store fulfillment experience. Clunky handoffs, delayed pickups, and a growing number of order cancellations due to long waits are pushing loyal customers elsewhere.

C-Level Missteps:

·       Leadership continued to emphasize app UI updates and loyalty gamification rather than investing in AI-powered order prediction, geofencing, or automated espresso stations.

·       While competitors invested in robotic beverage arms and smart lockers, Starbucks doubled down on its traditional bar setup, now overwhelmed by hybrid in-store and mobile volume.

Grocerant Insight: Today’s speed-first, snack-focused retail landscape doesn’t tolerate delays. Grocerants, C-stores, and QSR upstarts have innovated with prep tech while Starbucks acts like every customer still wants to "lounge and linger."

 

3. Brand Messaging and Labor Relations: A Values Disconnect

2025 Insight: A national Edelman trust report reveals a 19% decline in trust among Gen Z consumers for brands perceived as anti-union, with Starbucks ranked in the bottom 10 of foodservice brands on labor transparency.

Starbucks' CEO Laxman Narasimhan has chosen to publicly defend corporate control over union resistance, further amplifying a growing disconnect between the brand’s values and its actions. This isn’t 2005, when internal politics rarely made national news. In the age of TikTok organizing, Reddit-driven exposés, and employee-generated content, union busting isn’t just controversial—it’s brand erosion in real time.

C-Level Missteps:

·       Multiple executive memos were leaked in 2024 threatening location closures tied to unionization efforts.

·       Legal spending on union opposition campaigns surpassed $62 million, a staggering figure that speaks to prioritizing control over collaboration.

·       Meanwhile, competitors like Chipotle and REI gained goodwill by piloting employee equity programs and transparent pay band systems.

Grocerant Insight: In the food retail space, brands must align operations with aspiration. Fighting frontline employees while marketing "inspiration and nurturing the human spirit" creates irreconcilable tension.

 

Additional Executive-Level Missteps: Boardroom Blind Spots

🔹 Ignoring Packaging Evolution:
While grocerants and premium C-stores are investing in recyclable, reheatable, and modular packaging, Starbucks continues with single-serve, brand-forward packaging that lacks functionality. The executive team missed a massive opportunity to lead on reusable ecosystems, unlike Panera’s 2025 success with its “Bowl-Back” loyalty program.

🔹 Missing the Ready-2-Drink Boom:
Competitors like La Colombe, Peet’s, and even Coca-Cola's Costa Coffee have entered the convenience channel with better-for-you, RTD options. Starbucks still lags behind in delivering innovation through the grocery and C-store landscape — despite those being key growth channels for 2025 consumers.

🔹 Global Store Bloat:
In 2024, Starbucks added over 1,400 new stores globally, even while traffic per store declined in North America. The executive team’s reliance on a “growth by footprint” model reflects a decade-old Starbucks strategy that ignores today's need for efficiency, community relevance, and omnichannel adaptability.

 

Think About This: Yesterday’s Playbook in Today’s Game

Starbucks is standing on increasingly slippery ground. With pricing that outpaces value, slow service delivery in a speed-first market, and a brand identity that no longer matches consumer sentiment, the company is operating from a boardroom echo chamber that sounds more like 2013 than 2025.

In contrast, grocerants and next-gen food retailers are combining value-forward pricing, rapid service innovation, and cultural authenticity to meet consumers where they are—and where they're going.

Yesterday's solutions for today's evolving landscape have created a slippery slide that looks harder and harder to navigate. Unless Starbucks’ C-suite wakes up to the new rules of retail food culture, it risks becoming a legacy brand with an increasingly limited future.

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.

Stay Ahead of the Competition with Fresh Ideas

Is your food marketing keeping up with tomorrow’s trends—or stuck in yesterday’s playbook? If you're ready for fresh ideations that set your brand apart, we’re here to help.

At Foodservice Solutions®, we specialize in consumer-driven retail food strategies that enhance convenience, differentiation, and individualization—key factors in driving growth.

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