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Breakfast, lunch and dinner of Champ(ion)s

By Staff | Jan 20, 2017

(Carissa Mavec/PCT) Kitchen Supervisor LaRae Selvig (left) and Store Assistant Supervisor Donna Gunderson have been working at Rugby Cenex for 21 years. Cenex’s fare includes Champ’s Chicken, which serves more than just chicken—customers can choose from fish, shrimp and a variety of side dishes; or Hot Stuff Pizza, which offers pizzas of all sizes, including personal pans. Soups are offered daily, and the bakery section has donuts, rolls and pastries.

cated along Hwy-2, offers more than fuel for your vehicle. It also offers fuel for your body.

Hot Stuff Pizza opened in Rugby almost 21 years ago on February 29, a leap day. Orion Food Systems developed Hot Stuff in 1986, and it has become their most recognizable brand. With its first convenience store location opening 29 years ago, Rugby’s Envision-owned C-Store was not far behind in the pizza game.

With options for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack times, Hot Stuff Pizza has something for all.

One thing customers can always count on is the $10 large, single-topping pizza. A deal that Rugby Cenex Supervisor Bill Schaan says has been around for a really long time.

“We have a great working relationship with Orion,” Schaan said. “They do a great job, and they have a lot to offer.”

Hot Stuff also offers breakfast pizzas, something unique to Hot Stuff, according to Assistant Supervisor Donna Gunderson.

Breakfast menu items from Hot Stuff include breakfast pizzas, breakfast sandwiches, breakfast burritos and breakfast quesadillas.

Pizzas are available in all sizes, including personal pan pizzas. Hot Stuff also offers a “Big Stuff Pizza,” which is 5-feet long. Frozen, “take and bake” pizzas are also available.

Champs Chicken opened in Rugby Cenex three years ago in March. Champs offers fried chicken, wings, shrimp and fish. Side dishes include corn, potato wedges, mashed potatoes and gravy, hush puppies, macaroni and cheese, green beans and candied apples.

Currently, Champs is offering a $4 Dipper Bowl, which combines mashed potatoes, gravy, corn and chicken dippers, all topped with shredded cheese.

During Lent, Champs will be offering a Fish Special that will start the end of January and last throughout the Lenten season.

The C-Store kitchen also offers sandwiches, hamburgers and chicken burgers, which the staff calls “food on the go.”

There is a small bakery section, as well, complete with donuts, rolls and pastries. Two soups are available daily. To find out the soups of the day, listen to KZZJ radio.

Other food offerings include mozzarella sticks, jalapeno poppers, nuggets and more.

“We’re always looking to bring new stuff in,” Schaan said.

“We listen to the community and see what they want us to have,” Gunderson added. “We always bring in what they want if we can.”

Gunderson, along with her sister, Kitchen Supervisor LaRae Selvig, have been working at Hot Stuff since its opening 21 years ago.

“Envision is a great company to work for. The board and the CEO really care about the employees. We’re community oriented, family oriented,” Gunderson said.

“We have a good crew in the kitchen. They’re all really good people, and we have a friendly staff,” Selvig said. “[My favorite part of being kitchen supervisor] is seeing all the regular customers who come in everyday and getting to know them. You don’t necessarily know their names, but you know their faces.”

Schaan explained that the staff enjoys being part of the local community and takes pride in helping where needed around town. “We like to help out in the community in any way we can,” he said, adding that Hot Stuff makes the pizzas available during the school games.

Cenex’s dining section has recently been remodeled, with new blinds and walling in the area. The area is not done yet, however. Painting is scheduled, as well.

One thing Schaan would like customers to know about the dining area is that there is free wifi. “It’s a great place to have a cup of coffee and a donut in the morning, bring your computer, and just enjoy,” he said.

Schaan, Gunderson and Selvig encourage customers to check back with the kitchen often, as specials and deals are always changing.

The C-Store kitchen is open Monday-Saturday, from 5:30 a.m. – 10 p.m. The kitchen is currently closed on Sundays.

To order from Hot Stuff Pizza or Champs Chicken, call the “Hot Stuff Hotline” at (701) 776-6383.