Operations
Entrepreneur Jay Dhaliwal is leveraging a heavy-traffic “one-stop-shop” mannequin in Fort Value by working a lean Hungry Howie’s franchise inside a co-branded fuel station and liquor retailer advanced targeted on neighborhood engagement and operational effectivity.
Jay Dhaliwal with the Hungry Howie’s mascot in his new Fort Value restaurant. Picture courtesy of Hungry Howie’s.
April 2, 2026 by Mandy Wolf Detwiler — Editor, Networld Media Group
In January, Hungry Howie’s franchisee and entrepreneur Jatinder “Jay” Dhaliwal opened a retailer inside a newly constructed advanced that features a fuel station and liquor retailer in Fort Value, Texas.
The outcome? One of many area’s most handy one-stop buying and eating locations.
The Hungry Howie’s location additionally serves a number of close by faculties and Texas Wesleyan College which is only a mile away. With 680 sq. toes, the situation celebrated its opening with specials and giveaways.
Dhaliwal selected Hungry Howie’s after researching a number of franchise choices and discovering the model particularly keen to collaborate on a footprint of this measurement, in accordance with a press launch.
“From day one, Hungry Howie’s labored intently with us to design a structure that match our house with out compromising my imaginative and prescient,” Dhaliwal mentioned within the launch. “The assist has been hands-on, private and intensely collaborative. It is also the most effective pizzas on the market. The flavour, high quality and worth surpass main rivals, and there is large potential to develop the model in Fort Value, particularly amongst households and youthful shoppers.”
Hungry Howie’s is understood for its flavored crust. The model has greater than 500 shops in 19 states throughout the U.S.
Pizza Market reached out to Dhaliwal in an e-mail interview to study extra about his dream of entrepreneurship, how the fuel station location is working and the way working lean is sweet for enterprise.
Q: You talked about your purpose was to create a one-stop vacation spot. Past comfort, what particular shopper behaviors did you discover in Fort Value that made you assured a pizza-gas-liquor trio would thrive right here?
Dhaliwal: First, there is a robust “one-stop-shop” mindset. Shoppers persistently look to maximise effectivity, particularly busy households, shift staff and commuters. In high-traffic corridors and close to residential progress areas, folks want to consolidate errands right into a single cease. When gas, meals and alcohol can be found collectively, it eliminates a number of journeys and will increase attraction organically.
Second, Fort Value has a robust tradition of social gatherings: yard barbecues, game-day watch events, rodeo occasions and household get togethers. Pizza is a pure group meals, and liquor gross sales are likely to rise round those self same events. The overlap between “fueling up for the week,” “grabbing dinner” and “selecting up drinks for the night” is critical. That cross-occasion habits creates built-in synergy between the three classes.
Third, I observed a excessive stage of impulse buying. Shoppers regularly enter for fuel and go away with snacks, drinks or ready meals. By positioning recent, scorching pizza alongside alcohol and comfort objects, you seize each deliberate and impulse purchases. In lots of circumstances, shoppers weren’t simply shopping for what they got here for, they had been open to add-ons if the provide was seen, quick and well-priced.
Moreover, Fort Value’s blue-collar and commuter-heavy workforce values velocity and worth. Fast-service meals choices which are reasonably priced, constant and out there late carry out properly. A pizza-gas-liquor mixture helps a number of dayparts; lunch, after-work, late evening, whereas leveraging the regular visitors gas brings in.
Lastly, inhabitants progress and suburban enlargement create micro-markets the place conventional full-service eating places could not but be established. In these areas, a hybrid mannequin turns into greater than handy; it turns into a neighborhood hub.
It was at all times my imaginative and prescient to be part of the neighborhood, whereas constructing a neighborhood.
Q: A 680-square-foot footprint is remarkably lean for a pizza kitchen. What had been the largest hurdles in designing this structure, and the way did you make sure the kitchen stays environment friendly throughout a dinner rush?
Dhaliwal: At first, it takes a inventive genius to pack a lot into such a small footprint, however fortunately Hungry Howie’s had the reply to that! The first problem was guaranteeing we had satisfactory storage and prep capability to assist gross sales quantity with out compromising workflow.
Understanding operational circulate was essential. Each station was strategically positioned to attenuate steps, cut back bottlenecks and keep a seamless manufacturing line. In some ways, the smaller footprint works to our benefit. With a streamlined structure, crew members can transfer effectively between stations, permitting one particular person to cowl extra floor and full a number of duties successfully.
This intentional design allows us to function with a lean crew whereas sustaining velocity, accuracy and consistency, even throughout a high-volume dinner rush.
Q: Hungry Howie’s is getting into a aggressive Texas pizza market. How does the “Flavored Crust” USP (distinctive promoting proposition) enable you stand out towards the larger, extra established chains within the Metroplex?
Dhaliwal: Hungry Howie’s “Flavored Crust” is a real level of differentiation in a crowded Texas pizza market as a result of it offers shoppers one thing the bigger, extra established chains merely do not personal. In an area the place most rivals compete on worth, velocity or limited-time affords, Flavored Crust is a built-in product benefit that enhances each pizza we promote. It is not a seasonal promotion; it is a part of our core identification. What different model can provide 40,000 taste mixtures?
Q: How do you intend to leverage the fuel station foot visitors? For instance, will there be particular cross-promotions — like a reduction on a slice with a fill-up — to transform commuters into pizza clients?
Dhaliwal: Sure, we completely plan to implement cross-promotions. It provides worth and profit to each companies. They’re already stopping right here; we are going to merely give them a compelling purpose so as to add pizza to their routine. The Hungry Howie’s identify is of their face all over the place they appear: home windows, the fuel station counter and each fuel pump.
Research present that over 65% of fuel station/c-store meals and beverage purchases are impulsive, rating these shoppers extra impulsive than every other retail sector’s shoppers. You add a promotion into the combo and it will increase the impulsive tendency of the patron.
Q: You moved from a serious tech hub to Texas to construct this from the bottom up. What has been probably the most stunning distinction within the enterprise tradition or buyer expectations right here in Fort Value in comparison with California?
Dhaliwal: One of the crucial stunning variations has been the emphasis on relationships and neighborhood in Fort Value. In California, particularly in a serious tech hub, the enterprise surroundings strikes extremely quick. It’s extremely data-driven, innovation-focused and infrequently transactional. Right here in Fort Value, enterprise remains to be strategic and aggressive, nevertheless it’s way more relationship centered. Folks wish to know who you’re, what you stand for, and whether or not you are invested in the neighborhood long run.
Buyer expectations mirror that as properly. In California, comfort and velocity are likely to dominate the dialog. In Fort Value, whereas comfort completely issues, hospitality carries extra weight. Friends anticipate to be greeted, appreciated and remembered. There is a robust sense of loyalty whenever you earn it, and that loyalty may be extremely highly effective for a rising model.
Q: In a digital age, you have put in a bodily neighborhood bulletin board. Why was it vital to you to supply a low-tech house for native church buildings and faculties to attach, and what has the response been up to now?
Dhaliwal: It is very important attain the patron the place they’re at. In some areas, the digital attain is not as profound as one thing tangible, or it does not resonate with 100% of the folks in your neighborhood. Group is about togetherness and inclusivity, so I needed to make sure 100% of the folks in my neighborhood may very well be reached the place they had been at. To not point out, in such a digital, fast-paced period, there’s something nostalgic about standing in entrance of neighborhood bulletin boards, making connections.
Q: You’ve got expressed curiosity in increasing. Do you see this co-branded fuel station mannequin as the first car for Hungry Howie’s progress in Texas, or was this a novel one-off venture for this particular website?
Dhaliwal: After creating this idea to completion, I am assured that is the appropriate path ahead, no less than for me personally. The twin-concept mannequin creates a built-in benefit: the fuel station already drives constant foot visitors, giving us a gradual stream of potential clients strolling by the door day by day. If you mix that in-built comfort with the impulse-buying nature of meals purchases — and layer within the daring, craveable flavors that Hungry Howie’s is understood for — it turns into a pure match. It is a good, strategic pairing that merely is sensible.
About Mandy Wolf Detwiler
Mandy Wolf Detwiler is the managing editor at Networld Media Group and the positioning editor for PizzaMarketplace.com and QSRweb.com. She has greater than 20 years’ expertise overlaying meals, folks and locations.
An award-winning print journalist, Mandy brings greater than 20 years’ expertise to Networld Media Group. She has spent almost twenty years overlaying the pizza business, from impartial pizzerias to multi-unit chains and each measurement enterprise in between. Mandy has been featured on the Meals Community and has received quite a few awards for her protection of the restaurant business. She has an insatiable urge for food for studying, and may let you know the place to seek out the most effective slices within the nation after spending 15 years touring and consuming pizza for a residing.
