# Mini-mart, 7-11, Convenience Store, Gas Station what do you call those places you buy bread & milk? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 6, 2012, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-mart-7-11-convenience-store-gas-station-what-do-you-call-those-places-you-buy-bread-milk/608648 "2012-01-06T18:43:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![kjckjc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e36b37/32.png) [@kjckjc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kjckjc)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2012, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-mart-7-11-convenience-store-gas-station-what-do-you-call-those-places-you-buy-bread-milk/608648/41 "2012-01-06T22:34:26Z")
Cumbies, Tedeschi’s, Curtis’ have all been used even if they were not actually those places in particular. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2012, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-mart-7-11-convenience-store-gas-station-what-do-you-call-those-places-you-buy-bread-milk/608648/42 "2012-01-06T23:18:21Z")
Depends. If I know exactly where I’m going and know the name I’ll call it by name. If I’m at my mother’s and running out for milk, I’m going to Mike’s and if he’s closed, then I’m going to MiniMart ( the store’s actual name). If I’m going out for a Slurpee, then I’m going to 7-11. If the availability of a parking space is going to determine where I stop for milk on the way home, then it’s the “deli”. ---
**Author:** ![UFC\_Is\_Sux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/46a35a/32.png) [@UFC\_Is\_Sux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UFC_Is_Sux)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2012, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-mart-7-11-convenience-store-gas-station-what-do-you-call-those-places-you-buy-bread-milk/608648/43 "2012-01-06T23:23:06Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > Stop and Rob This. One of the few things my ex ever said that: a) I found funny b) Was appropo c) Wasn’t a direct attack on my personality, income, looks, or the size of my junk ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2012, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-mart-7-11-convenience-store-gas-station-what-do-you-call-those-places-you-buy-bread-milk/608648/44 "2012-01-06T23:31:20Z")
The actual name, or “convenience store” if I don’t know the actual name. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2012, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-mart-7-11-convenience-store-gas-station-what-do-you-call-those-places-you-buy-bread-milk/608648/45 "2012-01-06T23:33:58Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > Stop and Rob > [@VunderBob](#): > > +1 > [@Drunky\_Smurf](#): > > I like this. I’m going to use it from on. > [@UFC\_Is\_Sux](#): > > This. > > One of the few things my ex ever said that: > > a) I found funny > b) Was appropo > c) Wasn’t a direct attack on my personality, income, looks, or the size of my junk Thanks, y’all. The thing is that this dates back to at least the 80’s and maybe even the 70’s, and it’s a common expression in these parts even for people who work at such places. l wish I could remember what movie or TV show it was where I heard it first, but it was so dead on that there was no way not to use that term from then on. It was knee-slapping funny the first time and has remained precise since then. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2012, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-mart-7-11-convenience-store-gas-station-what-do-you-call-those-places-you-buy-bread-milk/608648/46 "2012-01-06T23:35:02Z")
I say bodega. (You say bo-dah-gah.) ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-mart-7-11-convenience-store-gas-station-what-do-you-call-those-places-you-buy-bread-milk/608648/47 "2012-01-07T00:28:25Z")
By the proper name, be it 7-11, or Speedway, or whatever, but I wouldn’t go there to buy bread or milk. Those come from the grocery store. No, these places are for slurpees (and it’s always a slurpee even if not at 7-11) or coffee, maybe some junk food. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-mart-7-11-convenience-store-gas-station-what-do-you-call-those-places-you-buy-bread-milk/608648/48 "2012-01-07T01:00:40Z")
> [@Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](#): > > I just call it White Hen Pantry. You know, despite the fact that it’s no longer White Hen Pantry, and hasn’t been for yours. A crying shame too. White Hen was a great chain and their delis with fresh sandwiches were something that really made you want to go there. Then 7-11 bought the chain and took out the delis, “replacing” them with their crappy made-two-weeks-ago sandwiches. To hell with them. I’ve not shopped at a former White Hen ever since. I’m in Kansas City at the moment, and 7-11 has pretty much died here, crushed by the _vastly_ superior [QuikTrip](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QuikTrip). It turns out that if you pay enough to hire quality employees, staff the store properly so people don’t have to wait long, have fresh and hot food, etc. people will **want** to shop at your store. The QuikTrip around the corner from my KC apartment has 20 gas pumps, which are often all in use at once. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-mart-7-11-convenience-store-gas-station-what-do-you-call-those-places-you-buy-bread-milk/608648/49 "2012-01-07T02:01:40Z")
> [@Eve](#): > > I’m from Philly and yes, we go down to the Wawa for a Ho-Ho or a Ding-Dong. > > (You can’t get “arnj wudder-oice” there, though . . .) “arnj wudder-oice”? 😕 Wha-wha-what? ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-mart-7-11-convenience-store-gas-station-what-do-you-call-those-places-you-buy-bread-milk/608648/50 "2012-01-07T02:08:29Z")
Generally nothing since I wouldn’t often say I am going to one. The only time I am ever in one is when getting gas or ob my walk home from the train when I’m by myself. If talking generally for some reason id say convenience store. If talking about a specific one I’d use its name. If talking to anybody from mychildhod home town, I would say Minit Mart as that is what the local chain is called. ---
**Author:** ![ryan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a8b319/32.png) [@ryan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ryan)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-mart-7-11-convenience-store-gas-station-what-do-you-call-those-places-you-buy-bread-milk/608648/51 "2012-01-07T02:16:36Z")
7-11, bodega or “paki-stand”. ---
**Author:** ![bigdfrombigd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/df705f/32.png) [@bigdfrombigd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bigdfrombigd)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-mart-7-11-convenience-store-gas-station-what-do-you-call-those-places-you-buy-bread-milk/608648/52 "2012-01-07T02:20:46Z")
San Antonio, Texas here. Everyone I know calls convenience stores the “Ice House.” These are typically little shops that you can buy bread, milk, beer etc. They usually have a drive thru and there is a bar around the back. These are increasingly hard to find now though. I guess I’m showing my age Texans! ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-mart-7-11-convenience-store-gas-station-what-do-you-call-those-places-you-buy-bread-milk/608648/53 "2012-01-07T02:28:37Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I’ve been trying to remember what the mini-mart on base was called. Every base has a BX and Commissary. But there was also a small quik-stop type grocery too. > > This was many years ago when I was a kid and dad was in the Air Force. Today they probably have the gas stations with markets in them just like off base. It’s a Shoppette. And yes, the gas station/convenience store thing is firmly established on larger Air Force Bases. We have a variety of convenience stores around here. Robin already mentioned Sheetz, which is the typical go-to, but we also have some independents around with their own shorthand nicknames and some shops owned by foreigners which everybody calls Haji-Marts. And yes, they’ve been called that for as long as they’ve been around and I’ve lived here, so it’s firmly ingrained in the lingo around here. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-mart-7-11-convenience-store-gas-station-what-do-you-call-those-places-you-buy-bread-milk/608648/54 "2012-01-07T02:43:36Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > “arnj wudder-oice”? Orange Water Ice. Water Ice is not quite gelato and not quite sorbet. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus\_alba](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quercus_alba/32/4061_2.png) [@Quercus\_alba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus_alba)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-mart-7-11-convenience-store-gas-station-what-do-you-call-those-places-you-buy-bread-milk/608648/55 "2012-01-07T04:27:16Z")
> [@Tangent](#): > > I always say “Kwik-E Mart” because of _The Simpsons_. Ours is officially called “Kwik Trip”, but we ALWAYS call it Kwik-e-mart! ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-mart-7-11-convenience-store-gas-station-what-do-you-call-those-places-you-buy-bread-milk/608648/56 "2012-01-07T07:25:54Z")
We have convenience stores in Tucson called [Qwik Mart](http://www.quikmartstores.com.php5-4.websitetestlink.com/images/quik_mart001004.jpg). People have called them “Quickie Mart” for as long as I can remember. They predate the Simpsons’ Kwik-E-Mart. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 9:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-mart-7-11-convenience-store-gas-station-what-do-you-call-those-places-you-buy-bread-milk/608648/57 "2012-01-07T09:36:05Z")
For me, it’s just “the shop”. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-mart-7-11-convenience-store-gas-station-what-do-you-call-those-places-you-buy-bread-milk/608648/58 "2012-01-07T10:21:14Z")
I think in the industry it’s called a “Liquor and Convenience Store”, or L&C. I suppose if they don’t sell liquor, then it’s just convenience store. I know this from working for a company that made cash register (Point-of-Sale) software. Registers have to be configurable for various special needs for various retail niches, and L&C was one of those. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-mart-7-11-convenience-store-gas-station-what-do-you-call-those-places-you-buy-bread-milk/608648/59 "2012-01-07T12:05:19Z")
The spar, because of the chain in Britain, which I think is originally German (though I pronounce it as I do the verb “spar”). It’s just a more word-sounding word than “convenience story” or “mini-mart”. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-mart-7-11-convenience-store-gas-station-what-do-you-call-those-places-you-buy-bread-milk/608648/60 "2012-01-07T12:16:51Z")
In the tiny village where I grew up, it was called “The Shop” because it was [the only one](http://g.co/maps/6cxbg), and it served our entire little community. Colloquially, in New Zealand they’re called a _Dairy_, or in Australia they’re a _Milk Bar_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-mart-7-11-convenience-store-gas-station-what-do-you-call-those-places-you-buy-bread-milk/608648.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mini-mart-7-11-convenience-store-gas-station-what-do-you-call-those-places-you-buy-bread-milk/608648.md?page=4)