Oh thank heaven... for alternatives

If you remember the opening of the first real convenience store in the area … well, let’s just say you are no spring chicken.

It was during the mid1960s when the 7-Eleven franchises burst onto the scene. Most younger people have no idea the name came from the fact that the stores opened at 7 a.m. and closed at 11 p.m. They are accustomed to 24hour access. In the ’60s it was assumed that most people were asleep in the middle of the night.

There was actual excitement when the first 7-Eleven in the area opened – at Johnson Highway and New Hope Street in Norristown. People marveled at the fact that it was possible to purchase items such as cigarettes and snacks as late as 11 p.m. each night. And on Sunday. Those were the days when Pennsylvania was emerging from the era of the “Blue Laws,” which prohibited just about any kind of business on a Sunday.

Soon, the 7-Eleven name – a franchise operation -- began popping up in other locations. It probably hit its heyday in the 70s and 80s … but has been in decline ever since the ’90s. There are still more than 200 7-Eleven stores in Pennsylvania but most of them are located in the less-upscale sections of the older towns – one in Conshohocken, one in East Norriton, two in West Norriton, three in Lansdale, one in Hatfield, one in Ambler, one in Phoenixville, one in North Wales.

And two remain in Norristown. They are hardly the flagship stores of the company. Let’s just say they have seen better days. Those who enter must really need that pack of cigarettes or lottery ticket.

The 7-Eleven stores were supplanted as the convenience store of choice for most people when Wawa came onto the scene. The family-owned business actually began in 1964, founded by Grahame Wood. But Wawa really flourished under the leadership of Dick Wood, who spearheaded expansion in the 1990s. There are now more than 800 Wawa stores, none of them franchised, and it has grown into a $10 billion empire.

Allegiance to the Wawa brand, now seen in six states, is a stunning phenomenon.

In other sections of the country, similar convenience stores have made their mark.

Most notable is the Sheetz brand – based in Altoona, Pennsylvania and also family owned. It has a similar loyalty among its customers and has grown to include more than 600 stores – also in six states.

A strange treaty has been in