Slurpees in Sussex Close to Reality, 7-Eleven Moves Forward

Convenience store chain 7-Eleven is into Sussex as village officials begin prepping the final steps to secure the iconic home of the Big Gulp and Slurpee.

The Sussex Plan Commission held a public hearing to receive any concerns from residents on Thursday night, but according to Village Administrator Jeremy Smith, nobody came to oppose the transition.

“There weren’t any residents or citizens that spoke on the topic at the meeting, so the plan commission directed staff to prepare the conditional use measurements for final consideration at their next plan commission meeting,” said Smith. “So it’s on its way toward approval.”

The trasition from Open Pantry to 7-Eleven began in June after 7-Eleven Inc. announced it will purchase almost all of the 26 Open Pantry Food Marts in Wisconsin and Illinois, and that includes the one located in the  in Sussex on the corner of Main Street and Hwy 164.

Hilary Becker, a representative from 7-Eleven, notified the Sussex Plan Commission in June of the store’s plans to operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week after its rebranding. The store currently runs from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m.

With more than 46,000 stores around the world, mostly in Japan, 7-Eleven is by far the largest convenience store chain on the planet. However, this many be a new business venture for the franchise. There are roughly 6,800 7-Eleven stores in the United States, but none in Wisconsin, reports JS Online.

However, some residents aren’t worried about getting their Slurpees, but more about getting their Pig Points. Sussex Patch reader Chris commented on a previous story asking about the benefits from the local grocery store.

“I would like having a 7-11 in town, but I'm also interested in hearing about the BP/Pig Points issues as we frequently use them,” wrote Chris. “Is there a reason they couldn't simply switch to the other BP station in town?”

Becker addressed the Pig Points issue when initially presenting the acquisition to Sussex officials, saying the company dealt with similar issues with Pig Points in Illinois. She said, while the details need to be worked out, the company might still use the rewards system.

The next Plan Commission meeting is on August 16 at 6:30 p.m.