You’re probably within a ten-minute drive of a 7-Eleven right now. They are everywhere. But if you’ve ever wondered where did 7-Eleven start, the answer isn't some high-tech corporate lab or a modern retail strategy meeting. It actually started with a massive block of ice in a dusty Texas suburb. Back in 1927, people didn't have electric refrigerators in their kitchens; they had "iceboxes." If you wanted to keep your milk from spoiling or your Sunday roast from turning into a science project, you had to trek down to the local ice dock.
It was inconvenient. Honestly, it was a pain.
That’s where Joe C. Thompson Jr. comes in. He worked for the Southland Ice Company in Dallas. One of his buddies, a guy named "Uncle Johnny" Jefferson Green, ran one of the company's ice docks in the Oak Cliff neighborhood. Johnny noticed something. Customers were coming in for ice, but they were constantly complaining about having to go to a separate grocery store for basic stuff like bread, milk, and eggs. Most grocery stores back then closed early. They weren't exactly built for the "oops, I forgot the butter" crowd.
Johnny decided to stock those staples right there on the ice dock. He realized that if people were already stopping for ice, they’d probably grab a gallon of milk if it was sitting right there. He was right. This tiny, makeshift operation in Dallas is the literal DNA of every convenience store on the planet today.
The Dallas Ice Dock That Changed Everything
So, the specific spot where did 7-Eleven start was an unassuming Southland Ice Company plant at the corner of 12th and Edgefield in Dallas, Texas. It wasn't called 7-Eleven yet. In those early days, it was just an extension of the ice business. Joe Thompson eventually realized Johnny Green was onto something huge and bought the concept, turning these ice-dock-grocery hybrids into a chain called Tote'm Stores.
Why Tote'm? Because people "toted" their bags away. They even had genuine Alaskan totem poles out front to drive the theme home. It was kitschy. It was 1920s marketing at its finest.
The Great Depression almost killed the whole thing. In 1931, the Southland Ice Company went into receivership. It was a mess. But Thompson fought through it, kept the stores alive, and eventually emerged on the other side. By the time World War II was over, the world was changing. People were moving to the suburbs. They had cars. They had busy schedules. The old "Tote'm" name felt a bit dated, and the company needed a way to signal that they were different from the local grocer who closed at 5:00 PM.
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Why the Name Changed in 1946
In 1946, the company rebranded to the name we all know: 7-Eleven. The reason was simple, though it sounds almost quaint now. The stores were open from 7:00 AM to 11:00 PM, seven days a week. At the time, those hours were absolutely insane. Most people thought nobody would ever need to buy a loaf of bread at 10:30 at night on a Tuesday.
They were wrong.
The name stuck because it promised something no one else offered: accessibility. Eventually, even those hours weren't enough. In 1963, a 7-Eleven in Austin, Texas, near the University of Texas campus, stayed open 24 hours to accommodate students coming back from late-night study sessions (or parties). It was so successful that the 24-hour model became the gold standard for the brand.
The Evolution of the Slurpee and Big Gulp
You can't talk about the history of the company without the Slurpee. It’s the unofficial drink of childhood. Funnily enough, 7-Eleven didn't actually invent the machine. A guy named Omar Knedlik, who owned a Dairy Queen, had a broken soda fountain and put some bottles of soda in the freezer to keep them cold. They turned into a slushy consistency, and people loved them.
7-Eleven licensed the technology in 1965.
Initially, they just called them "frozen carbonated beverages." Boring, right? An ad executive named Bob Stanford came up with the name "Slurpee" during a brainstorming session, describing the sound the drink makes when you suck it through a straw. It was a marketing masterstroke.
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Then came the Big Gulp in 1976. This was the era of "bigger is better." Before the Big Gulp, a "large" soda was about 12 or 16 ounces. 7-Eleven introduced a 32-ounce cup. People thought it was ridiculous. Who could drink that much? Everyone, apparently. Within weeks, they were flying off the shelves. It changed the way Americans consumed beverages, paving the way for the 64-ounce "Double Gulp" and the massive fountain drink culture we see today.
Modern Expansion and the Japanese Connection
While the roots are firmly in Dallas, the 7-Eleven we know today is actually a global powerhouse with a very strong Japanese influence. In the 1970s, a Japanese company called Ito-Yokado brought the franchise to Japan. They absolutely perfected the model. While American 7-Elevens are often known for hot dogs and gas, Japanese 7-Elevens (Seven & I Holdings) became high-end hubs for high-quality fresh food, bill payments, and logistical services.
By the early 1990s, the American parent company was struggling financially. The Japanese affiliate actually stepped in and bought a majority stake to save it. Today, 7-Eleven is technically headquartered in Irving, Texas, but it’s owned by Seven & I Holdings Co., Ltd., based in Tokyo.
This cross-cultural exchange is why you see such a disparity in store quality depending on where you are in the world. If you walk into a 7-Eleven in Tokyo, you’ll find gourmet onigiri and high-end bento boxes. In the U.S., the focus remains heavily on the classic "convenience" staples: fuel, snacks, and the ever-present Slurpee machine.
Key Milestones in the 7-Eleven Timeline
- 1927: "Uncle Johnny" Green starts selling milk and eggs at an ice dock in Dallas.
- 1928: The stores are branded as Tote'm Stores.
- 1946: The name changes to 7-Eleven to reflect the 7 AM to 11 PM operating hours.
- 1963: The first 24-hour store opens in Austin, Texas.
- 1964: The company enters the franchise world, expanding rapidly.
- 1969: 7-Eleven goes international, opening its first store in Canada.
- 1971: The brand hits the shores of Japan.
- 2005: Seven & I Holdings becomes the parent company.
Common Misconceptions About the Start
A lot of people think 7-Eleven was a gas station first. It wasn't. In fact, most of the early locations didn't sell gasoline at all. They were purely about the ice and the "fill-in" grocery items. It wasn't until the 1950s and 60s, as the American highway system exploded, that fuel became a core part of the business model.
Another myth is that the "7-Eleven" name was chosen because of some lucky numerology. Nope. It was purely about the clock. It’s hard to imagine now, but being open until 11:00 PM was a radical, disruptive act in the retail world of the mid-1940s.
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What This Means for Retail Today
The story of where did 7-Eleven start is a lesson in "pivoting." If Joe Thompson and Johnny Green had stayed strictly in the ice business, the company would have died the second electric refrigerators became affordable for the middle class. By paying attention to what customers were grumbling about—the inconvenience of making multiple stops—they created a new category of retail.
They didn't invent the grocery store. They didn't invent ice. They invented convenience.
Actionable Takeaways from the 7-Eleven Story
If you're looking at the history of this brand to understand business or just for trivia, here are the real-world lessons you can pull from it:
- Solve the "Secondary" Problem: People came for ice (the primary need) but stayed for the milk (the secondary need). Look for what your customers are doing immediately after they use your service.
- Adapt or Die: The shift from ice docks to Tote'm to 7-Eleven shows a brand that wasn't afraid to ditch its original identity to stay relevant.
- Standardization is King: 7-Eleven succeeded because a traveler could walk into a store in Texas or Florida and know exactly what to expect.
- Listen to the "Outliers": The 24-hour store happened because one manager noticed a specific local demand in a college town. Not every store needs to be the same, but every store should serve its specific neighborhood.
Whether you're stopping in for a quick coffee or a late-night snack, you’re participating in a tradition that started nearly a century ago on a Dallas ice dock. It’s a bit of Americana that has conquered the world, one Slurpee at a time. To really see this history in action, you can still visit the Dallas area where many of the original concepts were trialed, though the original 1927 ice dock is long gone. The spirit of that first "Uncle Johnny" experiment lives on in over 70,000 locations globally.
To learn more about the specific evolution of convenience retail, you can look into the archives of the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS), which frequently cites 7-Eleven as the industry's founding father. Checking out local historical societies in North Texas also provides a wealth of old photos showing the original Tote'm configurations.