Life after 7-Eleven New businesses start to creep up in former Winnipeg Slurpee shops By: Tiago Resko Posted: 6:41 PM CDT Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026

The remnants of 7-Eleven can still be seen as new businesses move into spaces where Slurpee machines and taquitos once ruled.

As fresh paint dries on several new ventures — such as a pizza place and a convenience store with a name that might make a customer do a double-take — holes across Winnipeg once occupied by the international convenience chain are slowly being filled.

Business at a Domino’s Pizza in Elmwood, formerly a 7-Eleven, has been booming since it opened June 1, the store manager said.

“The issues that 7-Eleven would have had might be different than what we would have. They were dealing with a lot of theft where people can just walk in and out, but Domino’s isn’t set up that way,” said Paul Hemmerling.

At least eight 7-Eleven locations shut down across Winnipeg since August 2024, when the company warned city council that crime and theft were hurting their business.

“The issues that 7-Eleven would have had might be different than what we would have.”

The Watt Street pizzeria is takeout only and people come and go quickly, Hemmerling said, noting he’s not concerned about crime. The restaurant’s doors lock at midnight and customers have to buzz in after that, adding extra security for employees working overnight, he said. The location is open until 3 a.m.

Coun. Emma Durand-Wood said one of the top concerns she hears about from area residents is vacant buildings and closed-up storefronts.

“When you see boarded-up shops and you see boarded-up houses, it’s not a good feeling for the community,” said Durand-Wood (Elmwood-East Kildonan). “People are just happy to see a space being used and not having that long-term unknown about what’s going to happen about it.”

Durand-Wood also praised the redevelopment of a former 7-Eleven on Nairn Avenue as construction has started on a six-storey apartment building with 99 housing units, set to open in early 2027.

“Corner stores are a very critical piece of the urban fabric in a neighbourhood like the West End.”

Further west, Joe Kornelsen said he’s happy to see a convenience store will remain inside a former 7-Eleven on Ellice Avenue. But it will be called 7Even.

“Corner stores are a very critical piece of the urban fabric in a neighbourhood like the West End. It’s very walkable, very transit-friendly,” said the executive director of the West End BIZ. “Certainly, seeing convenience stores continuing to service the community is a positive.”

He said the closure of 7-Elevens was concerning but the properties being reused shows the business community remains vibrant.

A stronger provincial safety strategy addressing drug use and violence would help fill more vacant storefronts in the area, Kornelsen said.

Colin Moorhouse, who lives a couple of blocks from the old 7-Eleven on Ellice, said another convenience store in the West End isn’t needed.

“On this street alone there’s six stores down the street, and they’re all convenience stores. I don’t know how they keep going,” said the 37-year-old.

He said he tries to avoid the sugary snacks lining the walls of corner stores and wishes other businesses would take over the old locations.

The parent company of 7-Eleven said in April its North American operators planned to close 645 stores during the 2026 fiscal year and open 205 locations. They cited impacts of high costs “particularly among low-income households, as inflation continued to weigh on spending.”

Veronica, who declined to give her last name, said she’s seen less drug use outside the former 7-Eleven on William Avenue since it opened as a Day & Night Convenience store.

The 57-year-old said while the employees at the 24-hour shop are kind, she desperately misses the 7-Eleven she first visited when she was five.

“I’ve been here 50 years. It’s this one little location and I really miss it,” she said.

Officials from 7-Eleven said in July a franchise model was expected to be rolled out in which the chain would licence its brand and operations to entrepreneurs.

“We have leases that expire, we have stores that aren’t necessarily as profitable as they once were, as the demographics around them have changed, and so sometimes that means we have store closures, and whether it’s been in Winnipeg or other parts of the country, we’ve taken the liberty to close a handful of our stores,” Marc Goodman, president of 7-Eleven Canada told the Free Press at the time.

“That doesn’t mean we’re not planning on developing and growing throughout Winnipeg or the entire province of Manitoba.”

The 7-Eleven website lists 19 open stores in Winnipeg.

tiago.resko@freepress.mb.ca