- You can't talk
about the meteoric rise of the modern convenience store
without talking about 7-Eleven.
And you can't go to 7-Eleven without purchasing gum,
beef jerky, a slice of pizza, a large Slurpee,
a small coffee, an apple fritter,
a lotto ticket, a tank of gas,
basically everything you need for a life well lived.
This is how a humble ice house in the roaring 20s turned
into the modern, international 24/7 convenience store.
In 1927, a man known as Uncle Johnny,
not to be confused with Uncle Jesse,
turns his industrial ice house in Dallas
into a retail store.
It's basically a giant walk-in freezer selling milk, eggs,
and other stuff that needs to be cold.
In 1928, someone from the company allegedly comes back
from an Alaskan vacation with a totem pole
and puts it in front of one of the ice houses,
which hence becomes known as a tote'm store
because you "toted" things from the store.
See, it's a pun.. and cultural appropriation.
By 1937, Southland Ice Company president and founder,
Joe C. Thompson Jr., not to be confused with Uncle Joey,
helps bring Uncle Johnny's idea
to ice houses all over the country.
And spoiler alert, it was a smash success.
In 1939, the world is at war!
1946, the war is over. We won!
Later that year, the post-World War II economy is booming
and it's time for a rebrand.
Goodbye, tote'm stores. Hello, 7-Eleven.
Not only does the name rhyme,
it also signals the new extended hours of operation,
7:00 AM to 11:00 PM, seven days a week.
So, throughout the 50s,
children named Deborah and 7-Eleven stores start popping up
all over the country.
7-Eleven cements itself as America's preeminent late night,
early morning store.
In 1959, Dairy Queen store owner, Omar Knedlik,
puts some soda bottles in his freezer
after his refrigerators break.
He sells the frozen pops
and surprisingly, it's a massive hit with customers.
So, he starts selling frozen sodas on purpose
under the name Icee.
In 1963, right outside the University of Texas,
late night crowds after college football games
force one 7-Eleven to extend their hours on game nights.
The after hours experiment was so successful,
7-Eleven officially changed their hours to 24/7,
making us all wonder, why do they still have locks
if they're always open?
Anyway, this same year,
7-Eleven grows to more than 1,000 stores.
1965, 7-Eleven makes a licensing deal
with the Icee Company with one special change.
The 7-Eleven Icee would be called the Slurpee.
The drink was wildly successful.
People slurped down Slurpees
like they'd never slurped before.
There were literally pins associated
with each of the Slurpee flavors.
One of the pins just says,
"I HAVE SLURPED," and let's just leave it at that.
In 1974, 7-Eleven opens its 5,000th store
and expands internationally to Japan.
By the end of the decade,
we see the advent of the countertop microwave oven,
the roller grill, the self-serve soda fountain,
which, of course, births a soda drink
to rule all soda drinks, the Big Gulp.
In the 90s, convenience stores become glorious backdrops
for emerging indie and stoner culture.
Just look at "Clerks".
I think we can all agree that Jay and Silent Bob are
the unofficial guardian angels of convenience stores, right?
In 2003, guess how many 7-Eleven there are?
OK, OK. I'll tell you, 25,000 internationally.
Throughout the European and Asian markets,
7-Eleven becomes a household name,
and in many ways, a symbol of American culture.
By 2007, 7-Eleven has outgrown McDonald's by 20,000 stores.
I still haven't outgrown McDonald's,
and I'm in my late 20s.
One BTS meal, please!
In 2012, 7-Eleven expands
to Indonesia where stores have wifi
and live music, like coffee shops.
In countries like Thailand, the Philippines,
and South Korea, 7-Eleven becomes immensely popular.
And people actually love their convenience store riffs
on local food.
In 2014, Beyonce releases a song called "7/11"
that I'm pretty sure isn't about 7-Eleven.
Anyway, in 2018,
Taiwan opens a completely automated 7-Eleven.
Let's just hope the robots don't turn on us.
Can you imagine "Terminator 2" with a Slurpee machine?
By 2021, AKA now, 7-Eleven is nearly a century old
and totally feeling itself, just like Harry Belafonte.
They've got 60,000 stores worldwide and counting.
7-Elevens in Hong Kong look like open air bars.
A lot of Hawaiians say that 7-Eleven is actually
the best place to get Spam musubi.
And in 7-Eleven-obsessed Denmark,
you can grab a latte at the mega 7-Eleven
in downtown Copenhagen.
There's even a 7-Eleven Airbnb you can rent
to fulfill your dream of sleeping
inside a convenience store.
We've come a long way from Uncle Johnny's ice house,
but 7-Eleven still feels like home.
So, we salute you, 7-Eleven, for keeping our tanks full.
our gulps big, and our road trips stocked
with various types of jerky.
Now say it with me, "I HAVE SLURPED!"
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