7’Eleven staff, representatives of local officials, businesses and the community came out to celebrate the grand opening of 7’Eleven on Slauson Blvd.

Photo by Brian W. Carter

The new Slauson location is ready to serve the community with the same quality services.

On Friday, January 24, the South L.A. area welcomed its newest 7’ Eleven to the neighborhood. Located on 3708 W. Slauson, off Crenshaw, the popular mini-mart and gas chain is ready to serve the community with the same quality it has over the years.  

“This is our ninth store,” said 7’Eleven franchisee owner, Shoukat Ali. “We are growing pretty fast.”

“We have stores in the San Fernando Valley, that’s where we started and then we expanded to [downtown Los Angeles]. We have four stores in the downtown area.

“Now we’re moving to the South L.A. area.”

The event was attended by representatives from  Mayor Eric Garcetti’s office, Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas’ office and Bernard Parks’ office to name a few. The community and local businesses also came out to show their support for the new 7’Eleven. 

“I’m real excited about it.” said Ali. “I think it’s great

“So far, we have got an immense amount of support from the community and we have been able to hire people from the community. That has been our biggest focus.

“About eighty percent  of our employees live within a half mile radius of the store. With unemployment being so high in this area, I think it’s a win-win for employees as well as us.”

Ali shared what he felt has been the longevity behind the 7’Eleven brand and what sets them apart from other mini-mart and gas stations.

“Fifteen, twenty years ago, 7’Eleven used to be a beer and cigarette spot,” said Ali. “Now it’s changed…even though we do sell cigarettes and beer…but now, we’re focusing more on fresh food, fast food, hot food, fruits and salads.

“Lately, we’ve been focusing on whole pizza and we are the #2 pizza sellers in the country right now.

“We sell a lot of pizzas.”

 Ali continued, “There are some business owners that are relunctant to make investments here…but I think it’s very welcoming and has a lot of prospect.

“I want to thank the community for supporting us and welcoming us to the area.

“My commitment to them is to give the best service possible.”

“We’re super excited,” said Joe Anderson, 7’Eleven Market Manager. “We’re glad to be here.

“We have a great franchisee and the 7’Eleven team has his back. We hope everyone has a good time at the grand opening.”

Essence Scott is one of the new employees at the 7’Eleven on Slauson. She expressed her feelings about working there and most importantly—the traveling distance.

“It’s awesome,” said Scott. “I love it—and I live down the street.

“It’s the best thing in the world.”

Aaron Stacy is another employee hired at the new 7”eleven. He’s excited about working here as his first job.

“This is my first job and so far so good,” said Stacy. “So I’m loving my first job. I’m loving it.” 

 

 brian@lasentinel.net