America’s favorite coffee shop is the gas station

People are turning away from traditional shops in favour of gas stations when it comes to having a cup of coffee.

In honour of National Coffee Day on Sept 29, GasBuddy has revealed which gas station brands have the highest-rated coffee in each state.

According to NPD Group Inc, traffic growth to large coffee chains is slowing and traffic to small coffee chains and independent shops is declining. Consumers are noticing the growing number of other options available to them, including gas station convenience stores.

In 2017, hot dispensed beverages were the second largest category in convenience store foodservice at 14 percent of sales. The quality of coffee at gas stations have improved as well. Of the stations in the U.S that have ever received a coffee review in the GasBuddy app, more than 75 percent received positive reviews. Additionally, coffee was voted the “favorite food and beverage item in the gas station” according to a recent GasBuddy survey.

“Gas station convenience brands are investing heavily in their hot beverage programs, with retailers like 7-Eleven and Wawa adding permanent specialty coffee offerings at their locations,” said Frank Beard, convenience store and retail trends analyst at GasBuddy.

As for the gas station brand that has the best coffee, GasBuddy data scientists reviewed more than 3 million coffee ratings covering more than 150,000 retail locations where gasoline is sold and found that Buc-ee’s captured the highest ratings in the nation as being the best gas station c-store for a cup of joe. On the state level, QuikTrip captured the top spot in seven states, while Wawa and Cumberland Farms tied for second, both with six states.