Cumbies, Tedeschi’s, Curtis’ have all been used even if they were not actually those places in particular.
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”.
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
The actual name, or “convenience store” if I don’t know the actual name.
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.
I say bodega. (You say bo-dah-gah.)
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.
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. 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.
“arnj wudder-oice”?
Wha-wha-what?
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.
7-11, bodega or “paki-stand”.
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!
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.
Orange Water Ice. Water Ice is not quite gelato and not quite sorbet.
Ours is officially called “Kwik Trip”, but we ALWAYS call it Kwik-e-mart!
We have convenience stores in Tucson called Qwik Mart. People have called them “Quickie Mart” for as long as I can remember. They predate the Simpsons’ Kwik-E-Mart.
For me, it’s just “the shop”.
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.
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”.
In the tiny village where I grew up, it was called “The Shop” because it was the only one, and it served our entire little community.
Colloquially, in New Zealand they’re called a Dairy, or in Australia they’re a Milk Bar.