Giordano's, the Chicago-based deep-dish pizza chain, will open a new unit at Mall of America in Bloomington, Minn., on July 16, extending the brand's reach into one of the country's highest-traffic retail destinations.
The location will offer grab-and-go service alongside the brand's signature stuffed deep-dish pies, a format increasingly relevant as foodservice operators seek to capture impulse purchases from foot-traffic-heavy venues. The unit will also carry retail exclusives — a move that mirrors the broader trend of restaurant brands monetizing brand equity through packaged goods sold at point of visit.
Foodservice Format Shift
The grab-and-go component is worth noting for convenience-channel observers. As foodservice-at-c-store programs continue to evolve, the blurring of lines between quick-service restaurants, food halls, and high-volume retail venues reflects the same consumer behavior driving prepared-food sales growth inside the forecourt. NACS data has consistently shown prepared food and dispensed beverage as the highest-margin inside-sales categories for c-store operators, and the race to capture those dollars is intensifying across all channels.
Giordano's mall presence positions the brand against a growing field of regional QSR and fast-casual concepts testing non-traditional venues — airports, transit hubs, and destination retail centers — as alternatives to standalone street-level buildouts. For single-store operators and regional chains watching foodservice program expansion, the economics of high-foot-traffic anchor locations present both a competitive benchmark and a potential partnership model.
Retail Exclusives Play
The addition of retail exclusives at the Mall of America unit adds a consumer-packaged-goods dimension to what is otherwise a foodservice opening. Brands that sell proprietary retail items at company-operated locations capture incremental basket revenue while reinforcing brand identity — a tactic that translates directly to c-store category management strategy, where proprietary or exclusive SKUs drive differentiation at the cooler and on the roller grill.
Mall of America draws an estimated 40 million visitors annually, making it a de facto test bed for format viability at scale. A successful grab-and-go operation there would provide Giordano's with proof-of-concept data applicable to future non-traditional or travel-channel locations.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
