Long Island is reportedly home to seven of the eleven top-grossing 7-Eleven convenience stores in our country. The Irving, Texas-based company owns or franchises about 7,800 stores in the United States. The most profitable one is in Montauk.
Truthfully, the ratio is better than 7-11. We claim eight out of the top ten stores, though seven of eleven 7-Elevens sounds better.
7-Eleven traces its roots back to 1927 when several ice houses merged to form the Southland Ice Company in Dallas, Texas. The ice houses eventually began selling food items. In 1946, they renamed the stores to highlight its expanded hours of operation, 7:00 AM – 11:00 PM, seven days a week, which was novel at the time. The company is proud of its legacy. 7-Eleven touts itself as the first convenience store to offer to-go coffee, self-serve soda fountains, twenty-four hours operation, and ATM service. It also highlights its signature products, the Big Gulp and the Slurpee.
Speaking of the Slurpee, beginning in 2002, the company started celebrating National Free Slurpee Day on July 11, or 7-11. So this Sunday, 7-11, please feel free to visit your local 7-Eleven to receive your free small Slurpee. Better yet, stop by in the morning for a coffee-to-go on your way to Sunday worship. Then, join us for our liturgies at 9:15 AM (indoors) or 10:30 AM (outdoors drive-in) to receive a Big Gulp of God’s love, and we can all say, “Oh, Thank Heaven for 7-Eleven!”