7-Eleven is starting to get in the swing of things

Today we’re dropping in on a brand new convenience store! The last time we discussed 7-Eleven on the blog we found that progress on new stores in the Houston area was extremely slow. It all started in 2013 when the company acquired four Tetco stores to convert to 7-Eleven locations. By 2014 these locations would be had their names and signs changed and were carrying 7-Eleven branded products. It seemed like things were on track for future conversions, however this was the only progress that would be made for several years. In 2018 Stripes and Laredo Taco Co. were both purchased by 7-Eleven with an intent on conversion. The quick effects from this were the replacement of Slush Monkey icee drinks with Slurpees, and the discontinuation of Stripe’s private label products. However 7-Eleven was still unwilling to build new stores. In 2020 we finally saw the full switch over from former Tetco stores to full scale 7-Eleven concepts and the conversion of some unopened Stripes locations. Now just under a year later we’re starting to see the first new stores.

These new 7-Eleven locations are distinct from most other locations I’ve been to. They’re much smaller, and much more modern than the 7-Elevens I have shopped at in other parts of the country. The Laredo Taco Co. inclusion is also a new concept and while Stripes did test the concept at a few stores outside of Texas the brand has been otherwise dormant since the Sunoco acquisition. Hopefully these new stores will help relaunch 7-Eleven while keeping Stripes around.

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