Casey's Launches First Pan Pizza Across 3,000 Stores

Casey's will roll out its first-ever pan pizza at nearly 3,000 stores across 19 states starting Oct. 28, the chain's biggest crust upgrade in years and its latest push to take share from QSR pizza players.

The permanent menu item arrives with a loyalty hook: Casey's Rewards members who buy a pan pizza on launch day get a "Crust Credit" for a free large single-topping pizza, redeemable from Oct. 29 through Nov. 18.

The economics behind the launch are geographic. Internal data shows nearly 80% of the small towns Casey's serves have no nearby pan pizza offering, so the crust fills a genuine menu gap rather than chasing a trend.

"Casey's has become a destination for pizza in the communities we serve, and our all-new pan pizza gives our guests another reason to choose us," Tom Brennan, chief merchandising officer, said in a statement.

Why the crust took two years

Brennan said the company spent nearly two years developing the thicker, square crust, made with olive oil, honey, sea salt and finely milled double-zero flour. The dough is engineered for load-bearing — it holds structure under more toppings while keeping the airy center pan pizza is known for.

"We created a crust with the ideal balance of structure and softness, built to hold Casey's generous toppings while preserving the signature airy center of pan pizza," Executive Chef and Culinary Director Andrew Kintigh said in a statement.

The pan crust works across all Casey's pizza builds, including breakfast pizza, and joins the existing original and thin crusts.

What does this change for the pizza segment?

Plenty, on paper. Casey's is already the third-largest convenience store chain and the fifth-largest pizza chain in the U.S. It sells roughly 50 million whole-pizza equivalents a year, and about half its stores face no national pizza competitor in their market.

The Iowa-based company has grown its footprint nearly 50% over the past decade. In 2025, year-over-year sales rose 10.5% to $1.5 billion, according to Technomic.

Bank of America analysis found Casey's holds a pricing edge over larger rivals because customers come for food and then buy fuel and merchandise on the same trip. An unpromoted large pizza at Casey's averages $13.99 — below the $17.10 Midwest average for the same product and roughly $1 to $3 less than national competitors.

Pan pizza is contested territory

Pizza Hut popularized pan pizza in 1980, and the category remains one of the segment's most competitive. Pizza Hut added a Crispy Parm Pan Pizza in May. Papa Johns brought back its pan pizza this year for the first time since pulling it in 2019.

Casey's entry into that fight comes as convenience stores press their broader advantage over QSR. 7-Eleven, which ended last year with roughly 12,700 domestic locations, also just upgraded its pizza crust and added larger boneless wings.

Speaking at the FSTEC conference, Rich Shank, senior principal and vice president of innovation at Technomic, said QSRs' biggest competitors in 2026 are convenience stores.

"Ninety-five percent of C-store operators confirm that foodservice is a strategic priority for their business," Shank said. "Eighty percent agree that foodservice is vitally important to the success of their total store. … They're coming aggressively for the restaurant space, because they see a pretty big opportunity to compete with all of us."

With a two-year development cycle, a below-market price point and half its markets free of national pizza competition, Casey's has positioned pan pizza as a share-gain vehicle — not a limited-time test.