In addition to selling blocks of ice to refrigerate food, an enterprising ice dock employees began offering milk, bread and eggs on Sundays and evenings when grocery stores were closed.
This notably cut back on the demand to journey prolonged spaces to the foodstuff stores for fundamental articles.
In the 1930s, Southland vertically integrated by acquiring its first milk-processing plant, Oak Farm Dairies in Dallas.
Later, to meet the unique shopping pattern of early morning and night shift workers, the store further extended the business hours to 24 hours a day and seven days a week and so the convenience store concept was born.
In 1946 the company changed the name of the stores to 7-Eleven, which reflected its hours of operation.
However the great depression in 1931 plunged Southland into bankruptcy. Despite the financial confusion, profits from the Southland Stores continued to climb, and with the repeal of Prohibition in 1933, ice and beer sales surged.
Beginning in 1964, 7-Eleven began selling coffee to go. Two years later 7-Eleven began selling Slurpees.
The company also began to increase its geographic reach, first in Texas, then in the United States, and finally throughout the world.
Early days of 7-Eleven
