Roll Another One

The roller grill is the perfect example of retail creativity, a breakthrough for Foodservice in its day.

The roller grill stands out. There’s nothing else like it. It does only one thing and does it well.

It also is one of the best examples of manufacturing innovation fitting hand in glove with retail innovation. If you’re looking for a match made in convenience retail heaven, search no further than the c-store and the roller grill.

Events leading up to the invention of the roller grill started in earnest in the 1970’s, which is when, as reported by the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS), store count growth, national chain expansion, and retail format recognition started to drive consumer awareness of c-stores. And once c-store operators got a foothold in their own markets, they started to look for realistic ways to compete by expanding their offerings.

The roller grill fit—in more ways than one. Not only was it a scalable, low maintenance profit center, it was a bit of a marketing novelty, too: the display of hot food with movement added something a little extra to the consumer experience of the time. It helped make hot dogs a keystone of early combo promotions, where they were often bundled together with chips, and a drink.

None of this happens without breakthroughs on the manufacturer side, though. Earlier cooking solutions for hot dogs came with drawbacks. Steam tables and water warmers, popular at Mid-Century major league ballparks, for example, were fussy to work with, looked unappetizing, and could scald the operator.

Burn risk was only one of the drawbacks of flat or ribbed grills, a second legacy solution used to cook sausages and the like. Inconsistency of temperature and a lack of scalability also proved problematic. These types of grills required more attention than the faster pace of a c-store could afford.

Actually, if you were to identify a kind of “missing link” between today’s roller grill and what came previously, consider horizontal rotisserie rods, which were essentially mini-spit systems designed for sausage-shaped foods:

Rotisseries had plenty of their own drawbacks: limited capacity, cleaning hassles, cumbersome loading and unloading—but they did introduce a crucial idea: continuous rotation prevents scorching and promotes even heating.

The idea wasn’t lost on companies that had their roots in concession and foodservice equipment. By the 1970s, as convenience stores were growing rapidly in number and profile, these suppliers began to see them as an increasingly important product channel to complement their business supplying stadiums, movie theaters, fairgrounds, and drive-ins.

So roller grill vendors cranked up the innovation. Among the key advances they achieved, from a convenience retailer’s perspective, included the machine’s small footprint; its ease and economy of installation and upkeep; the internally heated rollers that reduced burn and fire risk; the synchronized rollers that helped maintain cooking consistency; and chrome, easier-to-clean attachments.[1]

It’s not hype to credit the roller grill as being the first great Foodservice success story for the industry. Today over 80 % of c-stores include roller grills in their offerings — a testament to their durability and role as a high-margin staple.[2]

Profitability is anything but guaranteed, though. To make this part of the store work, you still have to execute good management processes—keeping abreast of item turnover and replenishment, how your related combo promotions are performing, and the exact cost of spoilage and waste, among other things.

Fortunately, the technology is available to help make sure you get the most profit out of your roller grill items, in the form of such SSCS software as the Computerized Daily Book back office software. If you want to make sure your roller grill—or any other part of your Foodservice is earning maximum revenues, give us a call at (800) 972-7277. We helped pioneer technology to manage foodservice, and we can find solutions for you.

[1] “History of the Roller Grill; uncredited, RollerGrill.com; undated.

[2] “Roller Grill Revival” (2009) CSP Magazine, undated; Convenience Store News, Category reporting (2025)