Wills Group, the La Plata, Maryland-based fuels, convenience and car wash retailer, is giving consumers more reasons to visit its sites – see the video below!
The company, which operates a total of 280 locations, featuring 55 Dash In convenience stores and 53 Splash In car wash sites in the Mid-Atlantic states of Maryland, Virginia and Delaware, is investing heavily in its two key retail brands, according to Julian B. (Blackie) Wills, President and COO of the Wills Group.
“Outside of the convenience arm of the business we have a very large legacy fuels business, which is a combination of Shell stations plus Exxon; but growth going forward is with our proprietary retail brands Dash In and Splash In. We are not growing the oil side of the business,” Blackie says.
Central to that investment is the launch of a new Dash In Kitchen brand concept.
The first site opened in Chantilly, Virginia last month (March). Occupying 5,600sq ft, the store elevates Dash In’s foodservice credentials in preparing food on site using fresh and clean ingredients with the introduction of a new menu featuring signature dishes and specialities plus new beverage products. The store also offers both indoor and outdoor patio dining, encouraging guests to linger and enjoy the new store experience or hey can simply refuel and take advantage of the newly rebranded Splash In ECO Car Wash.
Dash In transformation
Dash In Kitchen is the latest evolution of the Dash In brand, which was launched by Blackie’s father, Julian Blacklock Wills, in 1979; initially with a test site and then the building of the first full size Dash In store in 1981.
Historically, the Wills Group, founded by Blackie’s grandfather James Wills in 1926, had been a fuels-led business, which had grown supplying the transportation industry and as a distributor of heating oil and kerosene.
The shift away from the automotive industry to convenience began in the late seventies, Blackie recalls.
The first incarnation of the Dash In brand was very much focused on comfort food with a menu of fried chicken and potato wedges, supplemented by a deli offering.
Fast forward to the 90s and the early 2000s and Dash In had begun to partner with national QSRs, introducing food court concepts featuring the likes of Subway, Dunkin’ Donuts and TCBY.
In 2003 the business transitioned back to a proprietary menu, since the Group had made a foray into franchising into order to assimilate its major oil acquisitions.
“We needed to invest in the oil assets we had acquired and we knew we couldn’t run them [Dash In] as corporate locations so decided to make a play at franchising,” Blackie explains.
As a consequence, the menu shift towards frozen heat and eat products and slider sandwiches.
“The menu was diluted a bit to what it had been. Even when Dash In started it was very much about prepared food. Now, after moving from franchising back into company operations we realised we had dumbed down the menu and needed a better food offering,” Blackie says.
Dash In transformation
Dash In Kitchen is the latest evolution of the Dash In brand, which was launched by Blackie’s father, Julian Blacklock Wills, in 1979; initially with a test site and then the building of the first full size Dash In store in 1981.
Historically, the Wills Group, founded by Blackie’s grandfather James Wills in 1926, had been a fuels-led business, which had grown supplying the transportation industry and as a distributor of heating oil and kerosene.
The shift away from the automotive industry to convenience began in the late seventies, Blackie recalls.
The first incarnation of the Dash In brand was very much focused on comfort food with a menu of fried chicken and potato wedges, supplemented by a deli offering.
Fast forward to the 90s and the early 2000s and Dash In had begun to partner with national QSRs, introducing food court concepts featuring the likes of Subway, Dunkin’ Donuts and TCBY.
In 2003 the business transitioned back to a proprietary menu, since the Group had made a foray into franchising into order to assimilate its major oil acquisitions.
“We needed to invest in the oil assets we had acquired and we knew we couldn’t run them [Dash In] as corporate locations so decided to make a play at franchising,” Blackie explains.
As a consequence, the menu shift towards frozen heat and eat products and slider sandwiches.
“The menu was diluted a bit to what it had been. Even when Dash In started it was very much about prepared food. Now, after moving from franchising back into company operations we realised we had dumbed down the menu and needed a better food offering,” Blackie says.
New technology
With such an extensive menu and one that’s focused on freshly prepared food that’s made-to-order it’s a wonder Dash In can live up to its moniker.
Blackie reveals the business utilises tech including kitchen production systems to monitor fulfilment time for orders in order to support the speed of service and track what the trends look like. “Ideally we want everything to be produced in five minutes or fewer,” he says. “We are a bit above that five minute target but we’ve researched that food needs to be produced in a four minute to five minute time frame; although when it’s fresher and more complex there is a little bit of flexibility,” he says.
Service is also sharpened by different need states, he adds.
Some guests want to choose from the full made-to-order menu and will totally customise their order. Time stretched customers, meanwhile, will opt for grab and go items. These products – both hot and cold food – are still made fresh daily and, because they are short shelf life items, will be date and time stamped and removed from counters prior to their expiration dates.
New technology aids efficiency at Dash In too. The sites offer touchscreen ordering through NCR plus mobile ordering and payment through the retailer’s app.
In addition, the business has introduced self checkout, which speeds customer through put at peak times. Next on the road map is to offer curbside delivery in the next 12 months. Dash In already partners with the third party delivery company Door Dash and Blackie reports the company is expanding the service to Uber Eats and Grub Hub.
Competitive set
Such developments will help Dash In keep ahead of the game.
The retailer’s two biggest competitors in the Mid-Atlantic are Wawa – famous for its hoagies and deli – and Royal Farm’s – renowned for its fried chicken and potato wedges.
“We differentiate with the likes of griddle pressed burgers, all day breakfast flatbreads, chicken wings and salads; as well as our made in-house donuts and chips,” Blackie says.
Those points of difference help to ensure shopper loyalty. That proposition is set to be enhanced with the pilot of a new corporate loyalty programme (Dash In Rewards) and mobile app, which will launch across the remainder of the year.
The loyalty programme will enable customers to earn rewards from purchases across all Wills Group businesses – fuel, convenience and car wash – for discounts on fuel, in-store and at the car wash as well as collect free items.
Splash In, which is a big part of the Wills Group business, is also launching car wash membership this year and will be rolling out the service across the network.
Crucially the new rewards programme and app will link the Dash In and Splash In propositions and provide a seamless access to services.
Customers enrolling in the rewards programme, for example, will do it in the mobile app, which also offers mobile ordering for food service.
“So it’s not just a loyalty programme, it’s enhancing the guest experience,” Blackie says.
Sustainability drives
From a sustainability standpoint, all the chemicals used in the Splash In car wash are non-toxic and the company reclaims the majority of water from the wash cycle, especially for use on wheels and under carriages.
New to market sites are also set to offer EV charging, where relevant. The company has just opened its first EV site in Richmond, Virginia, in tandem with Charge Point and is exploring a partnership with Shell Recharge, Blackie reports.
While EV uptake is much higher on the West coast, and in California in particular, EV registrations are pretty high in the Mid-Atlantic, Blackie says.
“The first location is on the Interstate 95, which is a strong vacation route and we expect to see a bit of usage – the timing is very good,” he adds.
Community engagement
Community engagement is paramount at Dash In and the company participates in two signature programmes: Nourishing Children and Families, which aims to help solve food insecurity and works with food banks and pantries in its localities; and Reimagining Outdoor Spaces, which explores opportunities to revitalise local parks, for example. In one recent example, Dash In invested $130,000 in revitalising a playground in its home town with repairs to basket ball courts, landscaping work, the creation of a walking trail to the playground and introduction of seating. “It’s now a vibrant fun place for the community to come together,” Blackie says.
“Another project is also under way – we try to do two projects per year and align them with the redevelopment of our convenience stores to show that we are not just coming in for the commercial business but investing in the neighbourhood and community.
“It creates better experiences for our guests. That’s where community engagement is huge – our neighbours will see that and recognise it and want to do business with us – it will pay us back over time,” Blackie maintains.
As well as being a good neighbour, Wills Group takes pride in being a good employer.
“We provide very competitive pay and an extensive benefits program,” Blackie reports. This includes a tuition reimbursement program; a 401k retirement savings plan with a 7% company match; three weeks of paid vacation to all employees, which grows through tenure; time off for personal days and paid time off for community service.
In addition, the business has provided a special contribution of $10k to all employees who worked over 1,000 hours the last two years. “Those benefits have been a significant retention tool for us – the compensation and benefits are extremely competitive in the marketplace,” Blackie says.
Subscribe to our free mailing list and always be the first to receive the latest news and updates.