The new 7-Eleven in West Dallas takes the phrase convenience store to new levels of luxury. Here, you can buy a $200 bottle of wine, a latte, a sassy candle for your bathroom and a taco.
Or you can just fill your tank with gas and get on with it.
The new store is located at Sylvan Avenue and Interstate 30, across the street from Houndstooth Coffee and Tacodeli and down the street from the Belmont Hotel. 7-Eleven execs are calling this new store the "lab store" because they're testing out new products, to see how Dallas audiences react to being able to find high-end wine and specialty makeup among expected convenience-store offerings like fountain Diet Coke and hot dogs warming on a roller grill.
Dallas-based 7-Eleven isn't taking this new store into Buc-ee's territory though. It isn't a travel center; there aren't public showers or a place to park three-dozen 18-wheelers.
It's a bougie 7-Eleven. Ooh la la!
Here are 7 interesting things about the new 7-Eleven.
Coffee drinkers, you've been seen. When was the last time you went into a gas station and decided to sit down and stay awhile? This new shop has a coffee counter next to the Laredo Tacos counter. Baristas pour salted caramel lattes, vanilla cold brew, iced cappuccinos and the like — a shift from most 7-Elevens, which let customers shove a coffee cup under a serve-yourself cappuccino kiosk.
7-Eleven curmudgeons, you've been seen, too: The self-serve coffee machines are over in the other part of the store.
Some stuff is really expensive. During a visit in mid March, the store displayed a luxury wine rack, with a Heitz Cellar cabernet sauvignon priced at $239.99. Hello! At a space-age-looking vending machine that looks like it belongs in an airport, customers can buy an Echo Dot ($49.99), a Galaxy Watch ($299.99) or a Google Chromecast ($29.99).
Beer snobs will find something to drink. The lab store has a growler and a crowler station, and beer fans can fill up a jug with local brews from 3 Nations, Community Beer, and Manhattan Project.
Go ahead: Crack open a beer. Customers can take their beer purchases home, or they can drink alcohol inside the shop.
Some of the Slurpees are organic. What's an organic Slurpee? It's made with natural ingredients and is not carbonated, says a publicist. Flavors include blood orange, cucumber and cherry cream.
Kids (and adults) who don't care about the organic stuff can head straight for that non-organic blue cotton-candy Slurpee, situated nearby.
You can dine al fresco. So you've got a Slurpee and a tray of tacos. The patio on the side of the store seems like a nice place for a bite, especially if the weather cooperates. Ignore the whizz of cars on I-30. Or don't: You're in the middle of a city, in a convenience store, having lunch. Whaddaya expect?
7-Eleven cares about self care. More surprising than the bulk loose-leaf tea and the selection of healthful packaged food is an aisle dedicated to keeping customers happy and calm. There are candles, essential oils and even a Himalayan crystal salt lamp. I mean, really: Grab some bath salt, an organic Slurpee, some chocolate-covered almonds and a can of rosé and you're set up for the best Friday-night bath ever.
