7-Eleven

A lot of drunks buying booze on the weekend, but the workers always work fast especially in a busy area. Big store too.

I’ve never seen a more relaxed manager than here at midnight on a Friday dealing with the slightly intoxicated rolling off the metro. He was completely easy going and all smiles. That alone is enough to patronize this shop. Otherwise standard American convenience store offerings (slim-​jims and sodas).

Pretty typical 7 – 11. It could use a little faster service and a little more cleanliness.

First to review my 7 – 11! I guess 7−11s don’t get many reviews because «they are all the same» but I can think of some things to say about mine.
1. Friendly cashiers. These guys are always really nice and ask me how I’m doing and smile. During football season, I come in regularly at about 11:30 on Sundays to pick up a 24-​pack and find the guys who have that shift to be the nicest.
2. Large coffee station. The coffee station here is huge and there are lots of options for fillers, etc. They have a fancy machine dispensing things like steamed milk. I usually put milk and cinnamon in my coffee and it is delicious! The coffee here is significantly less expensive than Starbucks down the street.
3. No more Jose Olé Taquitos in their frozen section. BOOOO!!! But they still have the usual chicken nuggets, which are great.
4. Limited magazine selection. Don’t go in here expecting the latest US Weekly or any other weekly tabloids. Sometimes they have the up-​to-​date one, more often they do not.
5. This 7 – 11 has more loiterers than the average 7 – 11, probably because of its proximity to the Ballston metro station. These people can sometimes block your path and sometimes make you feel uncomfortable. And then lines at this place get very long late night or during rush times.
I am definitely a fan of this 7 – 11 — it has always given me what I needed (bar a couple of times when I wanted a magazine) has cheap prices, and friendly staff. Save your money and get coffee here if you must buy coffee in the morning!

7 – 11 is a grocery store/​late night hot spot. Lots to do and see here, especially late night. Great place to meet chicks after a night of striking out at the bars. It also gives me a chance to interact with the local riff-​raff and stock up on alcohol. They have a great wine selection that will knock your socks off too. Sometimes there is even a doorman outside who will ask for a tip. I never give him one though. This establishment also boasts a 40 inch tv for your viewing pleasure. Definitely a great bang-​for-​your-​buck kind of place. Don’t be fooled by the name, they are open ²⁴⁄₇ and gladly accept legal tender and/​or credit.

I just so happen to LOVE 7 Eleven, but this one let me down.
While they do have an amazing selection of everything, as 7 Eleven typically does, it took FOREVER for me to find a bag of pretzels. I wandered around the chip section, the other snack section… Nary a pretzel in sight. Given that I’m a tad hungover and not all that happy about it at the moment, I did not want to have to search for pretzels.
Where were they hiding, you might be wondering? Why, underneath the coffee creamer, of course. As it should be!
Bless the Lord, please put the pretzels with the chips.
And tell your «sales associate,» to at least grunt when I say, «Hello,» and «Thank you.»

I’ve never been here at night, so I can’t vouch for the reviews on here about the homeless (I lived next to the one on U Street and I’m sure there was more homeless there anyway) and I usually don’t review chains but…
this is the largest 7 – 11 I have ever seen! Even the grill with the rolling hot dogs is twice the size I normally see! It’s crazy!
Whoever says size doesn’t matter needs to check this one out!

If this place got any more sketchy, you’d find it in an MC Escher book. Even in suburbia, it gives off «the vibe.»
You know what «the vibe» is, don’t you? That tingly, back of the neck, somethin’ ain’t right, not sure what it is, start bustin’ out your peripheral vision feeling.
Numerous homeless people inside and out accosting you for change, and plenty of drunkards at night.
I should probably actually talk about the store itself, but hey mang, it’s a 7 – 11. You’re only in here for the things you need ASAP: beer, wine, cigs, rubbers (the things you hope you’ll need!). There’s really no «best in show» among 7−11s. At least with WaWa, for every strip mall store, you’ve got a superbuffultrastudlyshazamm one elsewhere in town.
The verdict: think of your excursions to this 7 – 11 as you would if you were in a zombie movie. Dark out? Stay away.