Jigar Patel grew up in the convenience retail business. His first store was an unbranded location “in the middle of nowhere with an apartment upstairs,” the Alabama retailer recalled. “I’d work it from open to close.”

Now, after purchasing the Fastime brand three years ago, Patel owns five stores, the flagship location of which is in Daphne, Alabama, and he’s about to break ground on his sixth in Century, Florida.

When he bought the brand, Patel saw potential in the Fastime fan base and its Southern food. But the stores had a lot of room for improvement, and so Patel embarked on the process of remodeling the stores and upgrading them to high-quality c-stores, starting with his first c-store in Bay Minette and the Daphne location.

The Daphne store “really shined after the renovations,” Patel said. “We gave the store some TLC, made it better and more efficient, and we will rebrand our other stores to Fastime.”

Executing the Vision

Patel’s vision as an owner-operator is to provide the best experience possible to his customers. That experience starts before the customer pulls into the parking lot: “The moment they lay their eyes on the price sign on the road, it has to make them want to pull in,” Patel said.

Additionally, Patel wants customers to see that the forecourt is clean and that the store looks inviting and appealing from the outside. “The inside of the store needs to be well lit and the windows shouldn’t be blocked by signage. That’s a pet peeve of mine.”

It took a lot of work to make updates to the stores Patel acquired. Around the exterior, Patel updated the price sign to an LED, redid the landscaping, added new canopy lights and new pumps with an updated logo, plus upgraded camera systems and the store’s exterior lighting.

“Inside, we redid all the counters, shelving and kitchen appliances and other equipment,” he described. “We made the fountain options available to customers and brought in bean-to-cup machines so people have fresh coffee all day.”

“We tore the kitchen apart down to the studs,” he added. The team also brought in new kitchen equipment and changed menus to monitors.

The restrooms also needed an upgrade, so Patel spruced them up by replacing the sinks and other fixtures.

“If I don’t feel like using the restrooms at my store, then no customer will want to use them,” Patel said. “We clean them every hour and we pride ourselves on having clean restrooms”

Fastime’s Foodservice

More than 40% of Fastime’s sales come from food. “I have a lot of experience on the food side and so I knew foodservice would be profitable if it was done right. We also knew there would be more opportunity if we could make it even better,” he said.

Patel prefers having his own menu and the flexibility to change up items rather than a branded foodservice program.

“We are known for our livers, gizzards and chicken sandwiches—livers and gizzards are our most popular menu items,” he said. The retailer has also sold about twenty thousand biscuits so far this year, with the chicken biscuit being the top seller followed by the sausage biscuit.

The chicken sandwich is another top seller. “It’s made to order with a chicken breast filet, which makes a 100% difference, though some customers substitute chicken tenders,” said Patel. “But the trick is that we cook them fresh.” Customers can customize their sandwich, but the “All the Way” version has a bun, mayo, lettuce, pickle, onions, breast filet, jalapeños and a slice of cheese.

Patel said the secret to offering good food versus better food “is how clean you keep your food. If you have good quality oil that is clean and filtered, then the food will look good and taste good. We focus on that a lot,” he said.

Solving the Staffing Challenge

Staffing is a major challenge for many retailers.

“We’re all facing the same problem. I don’t think there’s a book out there that will give you a tailor-made solution for your store—there’s no one solution that fits all my five stores,” Patel said. “I have to be nimble and flexible.”

Fastime tries to set itself apart by offering flexible scheduling, health and dental insurance, and competitive pay.

“When employees are off the clock, we extend the employee discount to them. I don’t see any other way to attract and retain employees. We need people who understand the company’s vision.”

The Patel family has been in the convenience business since the 1980s, and Patel said the family came up with its own training system that he now uses in his stores. “It’s the nitty gritty of operating the equipment, stocking, etc., but the one simple ingredient is we tell our people ‘you treat others as you want to be treated.’”

He also focuses on setting his stores apart from the competition.

“In the sea of c-stores that sell the same items, how do you differentiate yourself from them? To me, customer service is the only thing that will set you apart.”

For Patel, it’s all about people and relationships—for both customers and employees, and those crucial relationships are what builds loyalty to the store.

“We don’t differentiate how people are treated at the stores. Everyone is treated with respect,” he said.