We all know the names of the pizza chains with the most stores in America: Pizza Hut, Domino's, Little Caesars Pizza, Papa John's, Casey's General Store ...Yup, that's right, if each of Casey's convenience storesserving made-to-order pizza were counted as restaurants, the Iowa-based chain would rank fifth.
While its pizza occasionally grabs national headlines, Casey's is the fourth largest convenience store chain in the United States with 46 Wisconsin locations. The Ankeny, Iowa-based company is continuing its push into Wisconsin, including recent store openings in Oshkosh, Menasha and Wautoma. Casey's hasadded 36 stores in Wisconsin since 2016, and will add to that number Fridaywhen the next Casey's opens in Blue Mounds.
If there isn't a Casey's in your town yet, but you come upon this convenience store during holiday travels across Wisconsinor a neighboring state,here are seven things to know.
It's a Midwestern, small town thing
There are more than 2,100 Casey's in 16 Midwestern states, though not every location serves pizza, bakery, subsand other hot foods.The first Casey's opened in 1968 in Boone, Iowa. The next store opened in Waukee, Iowa, a city with a population of 1,500.
Thriving in small towns is still a big part of the publicly traded company's business plan.
Today, more than half of the Casey's stores are in cities with population under 5,000 people. Fewer than 20% of locations are in cities with populations over 20,000.
Pizza makes Casey's famous beyond its regional borders
Food & WineranksCasey's sixth(out of 22)in its list of convenience stores serving the best food. In 2018 the magazine also published an article praising Casey's pizza.
If you're wondering, "How good can gas station pizza be?" That's a fair question. We've all seen the triangle boxes under heat lamps at a convenience store and wondered if they've been sitting there longer than that lonelyhot dogspinning on the roller grill.
Each store's pizza is made fresh. The dough, made in store daily, is stretched to a Midwestern style or hand-tossed thickness. The sauce is balancedbetween sweet and spicy. The cheese is gooey.
Pizza toppings come in all the classic options(pepperoni, sausage, mushroom, etc.) and plenty of specialty choices like mac and cheese, barbecue beef and taco.
Breakfast pizzas start withcheese sauce or sausage gravy base and get topped with cheese, scrambled eggs and choice of meat (yes, that includes bacon)and veggies.
Doughnuts, bakery and coffee
Bakers arrive by 4 a.m. to fill the bakery case. The company's original cake doughnutis made from scratch in nearly allstores, says communications director Katie Petru. Bakers also ice doughnuts by hand, bake cookies, turnovers, raspberry cheese flips and cinnamon rolls in store every morning.
New to the case is a churro doughnut, a twisty ring dusted with cinnamon sugar and topped with a vanilla glaze drizzle.
Sub sandwiches are made to order
Sandwiches are made to ordersub-shop style along an assembly line of bins holding meats, cheeses and veggies.
Casey's offers the expected options. White and wheat bread. Tomatoes, lettuce, onions,pickles and five other veggies. Five cheeses from American to Swiss. (Yes, that includes pepper jack.) Fifteen sub options including turkey club, meatball and Italian.
But there also a few wrinkles. Zesty Parmesan or jalapeno cheddar for the bun. Barbecue beef or barbecue chicken for the meat.
There's also a rotation of limited-time sandwiches like pastrami on a pretzel bun.
Multiple restaurant foodsin one stop
Beyond the subs there isa sausage sandwich made with mild or hot sausage covered with marinara and mozzarella cheese served on a toasted hoagie bun. There's also a breaded pork sandwich served on a warm hamburger bun.
Burgers, wraps and salads are also on the menu.
It takes multiple video boards to list all the options including sides like cheesy breadsticks, chicken tenders and potato wedges.
Basically, everyone in a group with diverse tastes can find the food they are looking for.
When in doubt start with the favorites
Popular foods with Casey’s guests, Petru says, include the Italian sub, cake and glazed doughnuts, and pepperoni pizza. The breakfast and taco pizzas have a loyal fan base as well.
Petru says the sugar cookie should not be overlooked, "as the recipe includes the perfect hint of lemon."
Hours, ordering, and prices
Store hours and amenities vary by location.
All Casey's are convenience stores, so there's going to be coolers filled with bottled water, soft drinks and other beverages along with packaged foods like chips, candy and meal bars. Food services that vary by location include pizza, subs, bakery and soft serve ice cream.
Pizzas, subs and sandwiches can all be ordered in store. It takes about 10 minutes for a pizza to go from the time the dough is stretched in the pan to bubbly golden cheese emerging from the oven. Subs get assembled in a matter of minutes.
If that's too long a wait, pizza slices and hot sandwiches are usually available for grab-and-go options. There are also store made, ready-to-go sandwiches, wraps and salads in a cooler.
Otherwise, orders can be placed ahead of time through the Casey's app or on the company's website. Both the app and website will let you know which amenities are available at each store.
Prices for sandwich are mostly in the $4 to $7 range and whole pizzas are about $10 to $16.However, Casey's is no stranger to running deals, specials and other promos so there's a good chance to find a food deal most times of the year.
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Contact Daniel at (920) 996-7214or dphiggin@gannett.com. Follow himon Twitter and Instagram at @HigginsEats and LinkedIn athttps://www.linkedin.com/in/higginseats/.
