Since Today is 7/11, Free Slurpees for You at 7-Eleven
It's time to look into this free Slurpee day and all the things you may not know.
Starting today at 11 am you can get a free small Slurpee. The offer is good until 7 pm tonight. Apparently, select locations are getting a special Cap'n Crunch's Crunch Berries Slurpee as a new featured flavor. Did you know the first 7-Eleven opened right here in Texas? That's right, Oak Cliff is home to the first 7-Eleven.
I have seen several outlets refer to today as the company's birthday and I don't know if that is entirely true. I can't find anywhere that says the company started on July 11, 1946. The reason the company is named 7-Eleven is because that was their hours seven days a week. They were open from 7 am to 11 pm. A rarity back in 1946 for a business to stay open that late seven days a week. Wait a minute, we all know 7-Eleven as the 24-hour store. You can thank the University of Texas at Austin for that.
Apparently, after Longhorns games the 7-Elevens were so packed near closing that owners would stay open later. Then they saw all the money they made after hours that they started staying open 24/7. This would then start to expand to other locations and would eventually take off nationwide.
So enjoy a Slurpee today on what looks like we will be hitting the high 90s later this afternoon. If you're in Oklahoma enjoy an Icy Drink today. Yeah, that's right. Oklahoma doesn't have Slurpees, they have Icy Drinks. Here is a section of a story on why this came to be.
The convenience stores owned and operated by 7-Eleven Stores of Oklahoma are the only independently owned stores that carry the 7-Eleven brand, thanks to a special arrangement made in 1953 between owner William "Bill" Brown and 7-Eleven Inc. The Oklahoma stores are neither licensees nor franchisees of the national chain, but are totally independent. The Oklahoma company is led by Brown's son, James Brown, president. The familiarity of the chain name with customers gives the company an advantage over smaller mom-and-pop chains. The 7-Eleven Stores of Oklahoma differ just slightly from the national chain, mostly in terms of its foodservice product line. Most notably, the Oklahoma stores do not brand their frozen fountain beverages as "Slurpee." Instead, the company sells its signature Icy Drink.
Good job Oklahoma, you just had to be different from everybody else, didn't you? I will never call it an Icy Drink in my life. It's a Slurpee and I don't care what they say north of us.
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