# 7-Eleven closing 400 stores **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [October 13, 2024, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-eleven-closing-400-stores/1008714 "2024-10-13T14:28:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2024, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-eleven-closing-400-stores/1008714/101 "2024-10-15T17:38:48Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > But in many parts of the country, supermarkets are open 24 hours a day, as are some drugstores. > [@Ludovic](#): > > Around here, supermarkets were never 24 hours except for the Wal\*Mart Supercenter, which _used_ to be 24 hours but stopped 10 or so years ago. The local CVS also used to be 24 hours but stopped 5 or so years ago. I Similar here, in a fairly busy area of suburban Chicago. I don’t know if it was a side effect of COVID’s effect on retail, or what, but the vast majority of grocery stores (even the “supercenters”) and drug stores in this area close by 10pm. The exceptions: - One of my local supermarkets (a Jewel) is open until midnight. - The two nearest Walmarts are open until 11pm. - There are two 24-hour Walgreens within a 10-minute drive for me. - There’s one CVS, about a 20-minute drive away, which is open 24 hours. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2024, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-eleven-closing-400-stores/1008714/102 "2024-10-15T18:19:42Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > > [@aceplace57](#): > > > > Life without convenience stores would be miserable. > > Or indistinguishable from how things are now. It just depends how you use them (or not). If they all disappeared tomorrow, it wouldn’t even make a blip on my consciousness. When I drive by them, if I notice them at all, they’re a blight on the landscape. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2024, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-eleven-closing-400-stores/1008714/103 "2024-10-15T18:39:49Z")
Are you talking about places like 7-11 or drugstores like CVS? If drugstores disappeared where are people supposed to get prescriptions? Drugstores are super useful. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2024, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-eleven-closing-400-stores/1008714/104 "2024-10-15T18:45:07Z")
Some people don’t routinely shop at convenience stores. Walgreens and other drug stores are needed for medicine. But they also sell some grocery and household items. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2024, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-eleven-closing-400-stores/1008714/105 "2024-10-15T18:47:23Z")
Just the 7-11 type places. I don’t consider drugstores “convenience stores.” That’s weird. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2024, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-eleven-closing-400-stores/1008714/106 "2024-10-15T19:50:44Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Walgreens and other drug stores are needed for medicine. But anymore most OTC and prescription medicines can be procured at WalMart and places like Kroger grocery stores. I can even get flu and other shots at those places. If our local Walgreens closed their doors tomorrow, it would not matter to me at all. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2024, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-eleven-closing-400-stores/1008714/107 "2024-10-15T20:01:07Z")
Because those stores like Kroger and Walmart operate pharmacies within their stores. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2024, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-eleven-closing-400-stores/1008714/108 "2024-10-15T20:03:41Z")
That’s the sort of thing that really depends on location. I basically never go to 7-11 or any other chain convenience store unless I’m traveling. There’s no reason to - to get to the closest 7-11 I would pass at least two supermarkets, four drugstores and an uncountable number of delis/bodegas, all of which sell the same sort of items I might buy in a 7-11 ( except the delis/bodegas sell made to order sandwiches rather than pre-packaged) ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2024, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-eleven-closing-400-stores/1008714/109 "2024-10-15T20:04:07Z")
When I had to get compounded medications for our dog, we got them at Cost Plus (you don’t have to be a member to use the pharmacy there). > [@doreen](#): > > I basically never go to 7-11 or any other chain convenience store unless I’m traveling. I can’t remember going into one even when I was travelling. Although I haven’t made any long car trips since before Covid. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2024, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-eleven-closing-400-stores/1008714/110 "2024-10-15T20:13:22Z")
What I’m trying to say is that’s why some people sort of consider drugstores to be convenience stores - because in areas where there are few actual convenience stores , drugstores are one of the substitutes. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2024, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-eleven-closing-400-stores/1008714/111 "2024-10-15T20:15:31Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Life without convenience stores would be miserable. > > The grocery stores are so big. Milk is always on the back wall. Bread on a side wall. Soda in the middle. Groceries deliberately force shoppers to walk all around the store. Well, sure, So you impulse buy a chocolate bar. The amount you saved by shopping there will be larger than the candy, in all likelihood. I havent shopped at a 7/11 or similar in quite a long time. > [@Procrustus](#): > > Sounds like a good way to get your steps in every day. I’d drive an extra 5 miles to get milk at Safeway rather than 7-Eleven. But I get that other people are not me. Yep. The last time i shopped fairly often at a 7-11 was when the game store i was playing at had one within a short walk. > [@carrps](#): > > If they all disappeared tomorrow, it wouldn’t even make a blip on my consciousness. More or less. > [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > If drugstores disappeared where are people supposed to get prescriptions? Drugstores are super useful. I get mine from Kaiser. And my local Ralphs has prescriptions. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2024, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-eleven-closing-400-stores/1008714/112 "2024-10-15T20:37:35Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > What I’m trying to say is that’s why some people sort of consider drugstores to be convenience stores - because in areas where there are few actual convenience stores , drugstores are one of the substitutes. Oh. I was thinking the opposite. If they have a drugstore, they don’t really need convenience stores, unless there’s no other 24 hr place for emergencies. I also wouldn’t buy any groceries at one, either. They always seem to have items at or over the expiration dates (they don’t seem to clean out old stock that well), and they’re way more expensive than most grocery stores. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2024, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-eleven-closing-400-stores/1008714/113 "2024-10-15T20:55:22Z")
Convenience stores are by far the most common place to buy gas around here. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2024, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-eleven-closing-400-stores/1008714/114 "2024-10-15T21:40:58Z")
While I have bought gas at places on rare occasions that are also convenience stores, I have not otherwise patronized a convenience store in a long, long, long time. (The places I gas up have just a small booth for smokes, lottery tickets, etc.) I can’t conceive of what I could possibly want to buy at such a place that I couldn’t get somewhere else that is more trustworthy, cheaper and at least as convenient. Come to think of it, I am not sure where there is such a store anywhere in the region I currently live. The impact of this is zilch to me. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2024, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-eleven-closing-400-stores/1008714/115 "2024-10-15T21:45:55Z")
Y’all live in golden lands of 24hr stores, drug stores on every corner. Well lighted, conveniently located grocery stores. I live in a little town with nothing. A food desert. Not even a working ATM. We have to drive to get everything. But Walmart isn’t even open 24hrs.in that town. No grocery store open. There is a sketchy truck stop open 24 hrs. It ain’t no Buccee’s. A 2am milk/beer or newspaper run is not possible. No deliveries. Count your lucky stars. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2024, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-eleven-closing-400-stores/1008714/116 "2024-10-15T21:46:54Z")
Same with me; I may stop at a gas station/convenience store to buy gas. But if they have pay-at-the-pump, I’ll often not even enter the convenience store part. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2024, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-eleven-closing-400-stores/1008714/117 "2024-10-15T21:48:30Z")
But the 24-hour stores are only relevant if you _need_ stuff late at night. For me, it’s very rare that I’m not at home, or even in bed, between, say, 9pm-7am. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2024, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-eleven-closing-400-stores/1008714/118 "2024-10-15T22:01:22Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > Convenience stores are by far the most common place to buy gas around here. Gas stations are by far the most common place to buy convenience store products around here (California). ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2024, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-eleven-closing-400-stores/1008714/119 "2024-10-15T22:04:41Z")
The only thing I can think of that I might _have_ to buy at 2am is some OTC drugs for an unusual illness. Something that only a fully stocked drug store would have. (And none of the drug stores near me are open long hours. So this is a somewhat pointless thought exercise.) I have adequate supplies of what a Quickie Mart might carry in this _milieu_. I don’t think I’m going to have an urgent need to buy a few packets of Goody’s powder. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2024, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-eleven-closing-400-stores/1008714/120 "2024-10-15T22:06:25Z")
Everyone I know who was a new parent was very familiar with which drugstores were open overnight, because there was often some emergency involving the baby that required a late-night run. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-eleven-closing-400-stores/1008714.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/7-eleven-closing-400-stores/1008714.md?page=7)