Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy
Late last week, we received reader reports that the 7-Eleven was closing this coming week on the SE corner of Avenue A and 11th Street — the information coming from a manager.
The closing wouldn't come as a complete shock, as Seven & I Holdings, the chain's Japan-based parent company, revealed in an earnings report last month that it would close more than 400 "underperforming" stores, CNN reported. The company did not provide a list of store locations.
While we don't know if this outpost underperforms, two other 7-Elevens in the East Village — St. Mark's Place and 14th Street — have closed since 2013.
We stopped by on Saturday, and as the readers told us, the store is pretty empty — looking ready to shutter.
However, the employees on duty said they were NOT closing.
The employees, who preferred not to give their names, consented to photos. They said a pipe burst in the ceiling and they had a flood, which is why everything is in trashbags and boxes.
One of the employees said that the rent, which was $16,000 (the store opened in October 2013), was now $40,000.
He also said that people come in and steal all day, every day.
He said, "Mothers steal, kids steal. They steal Red Bulls, they steal hot food. They steal cups, candy, and anything they can get their hands on. The police do nothing. Nothing. They don't care. And if they do come and arrest someone, he's out later that day and back here stealing again. Some guys they steal in here, four, five times a day."
While I was here, two people asked if the store was closing.
There was a lot of pushback from local residents before this outpost opened in 2013, including rallies and chalking campaigns via the No 7-Eleven group (which had at least one celebrity endorser).
