Why is a 24-hour convenience store named 7-Eleven?

In 1927 in Dallas, Texas, there was a store run by the Southland Ice Company. Food was kept cold with ice instead of refrigerators, so the ice dock stayed open late every day of the week. The employees suggested selling milk, eggs, and bread during those hours too. Even in the evenings and on Sundays, when grocery stores were closed, people could buy milk and bread at the ice dock.

By 1939, there were 60 of these ice docks that also sold groceries around Dallas. In 1946, the stores were given a new name: 7-Eleven. It meant they were open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., seven days a week. The name alone told you when the doors would be open.

After the war, Americans moved to the suburbs by car. In the 1950s, 7-Eleven spread beyond Texas to 490 stores. It was a store where you could fill up on gas and do your shopping, open until late. Then came stores where customers kept coming even after 11 p.m.

In 1963 in Austin, Texas, a store near the university could not close because of the students who crowded in after a game. That all-night business soon spread to other stores and became the start of the 24-hour convenience store.

The number of 7-Eleven stores open 24 hours grew from 817 in 1972 to 3,703 by the end of 1975. Today there are 86,000 7-Eleven stores in 19 countries and regions. Every July 11 is 7-Eleven Day. The doors stay open all night, but the sign still says 7-Eleven.

Worth adding: the story that the first 24-hour store was in Austin is the company's official account. Another record says it was first tested in Las Vegas.

The ice dock that opened in the evenings and on Sundays put its opening hours on its sign.
When customers came even at night, the sign stayed the same as it became a 24-hour convenience store.