Best Foodservice Launch Awards

6,200 sites in Europe, the U.S. and Australia.

Ria’s Pizzeria first opened at a Cumberland Farms in Adams, Mass., in early November 2022, and its second site is located at the Cumberland Farms in Norton, Mass., at 60 West Main St.

Ria’s most recent location opened at a Cumberland Farms in East Providence, R.I., which also operates a drive-through.

“We worked closely with a trusted consumer research company, using internal focus groups and company surveys to select the name for Ria’s Pizzeria from ideation lists,” said Cindy Rantanen, senior vice president, food and franchise business at EG America. The new foodservice concept borrowed from several other successful proprietary offers EG already implemented in its stores in the Northeast.

“Our premium pizza offer in the Fastrac banner was the catalyst for our new varieties at Ria’s,” said Rantanen. “We drew inspiration from some of our existing fan favorites while curating brand-new offerings to give our Ria’s guests a fresh, new pizza experience with outstanding and reliable quality.”

Authentic Pizza Offerings

EG’s highly experienced culinary team created Ria’s pizza options with proprietary dough and quality ingredients.

Consumers have their choice of traditional pizzas such as the chain’s four signature menu items — Cheese, Over the Top Pepperoni (topped with 80 pepperoni slices), Veggie and Ultimate Meat — as well as specialty pizzas, including Nashville Hot Chicken, Chicken Bacon Ranch and Loaded Baked Potato. Other specialty pizza offerings are Buffalo Chicken, Steak & Cheese, Supreme, BBQ Chicken and Hawaiian.

The whole pies are the traditional thin-crust variety and come in a 16-inch size cut into six slices. Customers can also order pizza by the slice or choose to receive their pizza made to order.

Ria’s Pizzeria offers breakfast pies for its morning commuters from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m., with options ranging from Veggie, Egg and Cheese to Bacon, Egg and Cheese or Sausage, Egg and Cheese.

Apart from its pizza offerings, the chain serves snack-sized strombolis (Bolis) and Ninos, which are bite-sized dough snacks that come in a four-pack. The ninos are available in Pepperoni & Cheese, Garlic Parmesan and Cinnamon Sugar.

“Ninos and Bolis were driven by the need for a portable, easily consumable snack that could be maintained on a hot slide and eaten in the car or on the go,” said Rantanen.

Daily Operations

Ria’s uses sleek red branding in a move to signify a stark differentiation from the rest of the store, “marking Ria’s as a deliciously competitive pizzeria and separate establishment optimized to craft craveable pies,” Rantanen explained.

Larger store layouts allow for indoor seating, but smaller formats do not have the space for it.

The restaurant operates with two to five team members throughout the day, however that number can fluctuate based on guest volume.

EG leveraged on-site trainers and computer-based learning to train its store team members using a program that runs parallel to existing food training. A soft launch for friends and family served as a practice event for the restaurant team.

The Ria’s team utilizes industrystandard ovens.

“Replicating the equipment we use in our Fastrac locations, we decided on a brand that delivers on quality and is widely trusted in the pizza business,” noted Rantanen.

In the future, the brand plans to implement a by-the-slice loyalty program to thank and reward its guests.

With the newly added Ria’s Pizzeria to EG’s family of restaurant brands, the c-store chain has furthered its opportunities to reach customers in a time when consumers are thinking more carefully about where and how they will spend their money.

“(Ria’s) serves as a best-in-class elevation of our existing offers and makes us, not just ‘great for a c-store,’ but the best pizza offer in any town we operate in,” said Rantanen.