HOUSTON – More people aren’t stopping at gas stations based on the price of fuel—it’s for what’s inside the store, Bloomberg reports. “There’s a shift in people buying gas based on the quality of the sandwich as opposed to getting a sandwich based on the price of gas,” said Jeff Lenard, vice president of strategic industry initiatives for NACS.

“You can’t just have good gas prices,” said Billy Milam, president of RaceTrac Petroleum Inc. “Back 20 years, we’d rarely talk about what we’d sell in stores, but it’s really taken root over the past 10 to 12 years and we had to reshape our business to make that possible.”

From RaceTrac to QuikTrip, Wawa to 7-Eleven, chains and independent stores have been focusing on customer service and modern convenience—and fresh foodservice. QuikTrip highlights made-to-order pizzas, flatbreads and sandwiches on its website, while 7-Eleven often advertises its Big Gulps and Slurpees. Wawa’s billboards usually showcase its hoagies or breakfast sandwiches.

The snack and drink emphasis keeps these chains in the black. Even stores run by oil companies have turned their attention to the inside, rather than the pumps. For example, Refiner Marathon Petroleum Corp. will shell out $380 million to increase the private-label products for Speedway.

QuikTrip estimates that its in-store transactions generate a fourth of its revenue. “We wouldn’t be investing our money on in-store sales if we didn’t think that was the future,” said spokesman Michael Thornbrugh.