Slurpee capital loses two more 7-Elevens

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This article was published 27/01/2025 (222 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The recent closure of a 7-Eleven in the Maples felt like a personal loss to Josh Muyal, who had bought Slurpees and snacks at the store since he was a kid 20 years ago.

Muyal was driving past the location at Jefferson Avenue and Sheppard Street on Jan. 24 when he noticed a sign had been removed and contractors were covering the windows with sheets of wood.

“I asked the guys if they were renovating, and they said no, it’s closed,” Muyal said Monday. “It was out of left field. Driving by and seeing it all boarded up, it’s really weird. It’s unfortunate.”

The 7-Eleven is one of at least six in Winnipeg to shutter since last summer, when some city council members said company officials told them 10 locations here were at risk of closing amid concerns about escalating crime and employee safety.

The 7-Eleven at Salter Street and Flora Avenue in the North End also closed recently. It was one of the 10 deemed at risk of closure last year.

The reason, or reasons, for the latest two closures was not explained. The company did not respond to a request for comment.

Both stores were no longer listed on the chain’s online map of stores Monday. The Jefferson and Sheppard outlet was less than a kilometre from a newer 7-Eleven at Sheppard and Inkster Boulevard.

In October, Tokyo-based parent company Seven & I Holdings announced it was closing 444 “underperforming” stores in the U.S. and Canada. Last month, it confirmed plans to open 500 new locations in the U.S. and Canada through 2027.

Earlier this month, Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham met with 7-Eleven officials to discuss their concerns about retail crime and the company’s plans for restructuring and expansion in the city.

“7-Eleven representatives did indicate there are some stores they were looking to close, but then they’re also looking at expanding,” Gillingham said. “Winnipeg is a market they are committed to. They were very clear on that, and I was glad to hear that.”

Last month, the 7-Eleven at Ness Avenue and Sturgeon Road became the first in Winnipeg to sell alcohol, after it obtained a liquor licence and added a dine-in restaurant that serves chicken, pizza, hot dogs and other items.

Gillingham yielded to 7-Eleven officials to explain operational decisions, including to what degree any one element, such as crime, factored into store closures.

“They indicated (crime) was something they take very seriously. Their stores were impacted by it,” the mayor said.

Four stores that closed last summer or fall were at Ellice Avenue and Arlington Street, McPhillips Street and Selkirk Avenue, McPhillips and Mountain Avenue, and Pembina Highway near Point Road.

Those closures took place after city councillors Ross Eadie (Mynarski) and Vivian Santos (Point Douglas) said in August they had learned 7-Eleven was considering shutting up to 10 of its locations in Winnipeg.

The councillors said they met with company officials around that time to discuss how to combat a surge in theft in a bid to avoid the closures.

Eadie has said he and Santos were told one store had $300,000 in goods stolen in a short period, with thieves taking “whole shelves of goods” at one time.

In some core neighbourhoods, 7-Eleven is the only place to buy milk, bread or other goods late at night, he noted at the time.

“Winnipeg is a market they are committed to. They were very clear on that, and I was glad to hear that.”–Mayor Scott Gillingham

A 7-Eleven at Watt Street and Neil Avenue also closed last summer. The closure was due to an issue related to a lease agreement, and not the list of 10 possible store closures, an employee told a Free Press reporter at the time.

Retail crime has become such a problem that the Manitoba government recently made permanent an anti-theft program that is focused on the Exchange District, Osborne Village and West End in Winnipeg.

A summit was held in October to discuss how to tackle shoplifting and underlying causes, including drug addiction and poverty.

Winnipeg has repeatedly been dubbed the “Slurpee capital of the world” due to strong sales of the frozen drinks.

Muyal, who helped the city win that title, said his thoughts turned to staff when he found out the Jefferson and Sheppard was closed. One of the employees had worked at the location since Muyal was a child.

They got to know each other well enough that she asked how his family was doing whenever he stopped by to get a drink or snacks.

“It was a staple in the community,” Muyal said about the store.

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The store is in Coun. Devi Sharma’s ward of Old Kildonan. She was unaware of the reason for the closure, but noted there is a newer 7-Eleven nearby.

Sharma recalled regular visits with friends when they were students at nearby Maples Collegiate.

“It’s definitely a store that community has enjoyed over the years,” she said.

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca

— with files from Nicole Buffie

Chris Kitching
Reporter

Chris Kitching is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He began his newspaper career in 2001, with stops in Winnipeg, Toronto and London, England, along the way. After returning to Winnipeg, he joined the Free Press in 2021, and now covers a little bit of everything for the newspaper. Read more about Chris.

Every piece of reporting Chris produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.