7-Eleven Crosses Finish Line in Massive Renovation Effort in Record Time

DALLAS -- 7-Eleven customers in the Mid-Atlantic/Northeast region are seeing some big changes at their local stores. The locally headquartered convenience store chain finished up its fastest renovation effort in its history, updating more than 1,000 of its stores on the East Coast.

The renovation drive started in March when the company began adding revamped coffee bars, hot-foods equipment and, in some cases, updating the stores' interiors with new walls, floors, ceilings, lighting and fixtures. It's all part of a campaign to present a consistent and fresh customer experience in each of its stores in New York City, northern and central New Jersey, Baltimore and Washington, D.C.

7-Eleven Inc. executives set a four-month construction schedule that called for 60 stores to be renovated each week. According to the company, most stores kept their doors open during the remodeling process. Each store upgrade took five days or less and the work occurred at night to avoid interfering with heavy customer traffic times.

In addition to the massive overhaul of the 1,000-plus stores, 7-Eleven also replaced floors, repaved parking lots and upgraded the exteriors of another 550 locations.

"We want to present one updated and refreshed store face to our guests in these markets, and offer a quality alternative to fast-food restaurants, which includes expanded fresh-food selections, hot foods and a new coffee island with dispensers that ensure high quality at every location," said Jesus Delgado-Jenkins, senior vice president of merchandising, marketing and logistics.

To get the word out, the company is launching a "More in Store" media campaign that includes television and radio spots, outdoor and online advertising and newspaper ads for free fresh and hot foods offerings.

In other 7-Eleven news, the company is opening a new store in Center City Philadelphia. The store at 152 N. Broad St. is the first corporate 7-Eleven store to open in the City of Brotherly Love in recent years; additional locations are expected to be added in the Philadelphia metro area, according to Citybizlist.com.