The convenience store you know as 7-Eleven began in 1927 in Texas, but not with one in every urban neighborhood. A man named Jefferson Green, known as “Uncle Johnny,” ran an ice house, and started selling staple items he noticed customers needed, such as milk, bread and eggs, according to the company website.
He figured out that if he sold these goods on Sundays, when major grocery stores were closed, he’d build a following. Eventually he changed his store’s name to “Tote’m” (referring to how customers toted away their goods). In 1946, the store changed its name to 7-Eleven, which referred to the store hours, from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. seven days per week.
Later, in the 1960s, company President John P. Thompson expanded operations, kept some locations open 24 hours a day, and started franchising out its stores. Now 7-Elevens can be found in 18 countries, including Canada, Mexico, Japan, Thailand, South Korea, Taiwan, China, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Australia, Norway, Sweden and Denmark.
