Taking a deeper dive into the food service business, 7-Eleven Inc. said in an
announcement Tuesday that it has opened a Laredo Taco Company restaurant with a
drive-through alongside the newest of its experimental 7-Eleven Evolution
Stores.

The site is the first drive-through restaurant 7-Eleven has operated, and it
has indoor seating in addition to drive-through service. The store is the third
laboratory store in Dallas and the sixth in the nation, 7-Eleven said in its
announcement. Drive-through customers can order a variety of food options and
more than 30 beverages, including the 7-Eleven Slurpee. The convenience store
giant acquired the Laredo Taco restaurants along with Stripes convenience
stores in Texas as part of its 1,000-store purchase from Sunoco in 2018.

Inside the drive-through restaurant, beer, wine and several flavors of
wine-based frozen margaritas are available for on-premise consumption along
with Laredo Taco's traditional fare of made-to-order tacos served on tortillas
that are made from scratch.

The new Evolution store also is one of a growing number of 7-Elevens to offer
mobile checkout and delivery, the company said.

The 7-Eleven Evolution Stores are considered laboratory stores, in which
7-Eleven tests store concepts, products and services. The company said it plans
to open additional concept stores in north Texas and Manassas, Virginia, with
more Evolution stores planned for this year. 7-Eleven opened four Evolution
Stores last year in New York City, San Diego, Dallas and Washington, D.C. All
stores include a restaurant concept, and the store design and product mix
evolve based on customer feedback and shopping habits, the company said.

--Reporting by Donna Harris, dharris@opisnet.com; Editing by Barbara Chuck,
bchuck@opisnet.com



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