If you're heading to 7-Eleven today for a free Slurpee, raise your glass to the city of Austin and her Texas Longhorns: After all, it was here in Austin the convenience store giant first went 24/7.
In its corporate history, the Dallas-based chain writes that in 1963 “one 7-Eleven store in Austin, Texas, located close to the University of Texas, stayed so busy after a football game, it couldn’t close. The store just remained open.” That night’s success kept the store open 24 hours from there on out - inspiring other locations to do the same.
That store, according to 7-Eleven media relations, was at 607 W. 19 th St. (now Martin Luther King Boulevard). It's long since closed. While it’s now a vacant building in the shadow of a dry cleaners, another 7-Eleven just a few blocks east (pictured above) serves as its spiritual successor.
As for the night in question: 1963 was a big year for UT football, the season the Horns earned their first national championship. All 7-Eleven can say is that it knows it was on a Saturday – which could be one of four home games that year.
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