Thanks, COVID-19: A US Tradition Bites the Dust

It involves 7-Eleven and Slurpees, and it's too bad

By Newser Editors and Wire Services

Posted Jul 11, 2020 1:00 PM CDT

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Thanks, COVID-19: A US Tradition Bites the Dust — From left, Petty Officer 1st Class William Van Dyke, Petty Officer 1st Class Roman Martinez and Petty Officer 2nd Class Wesley Blyleven, drink a Slurpee on Wednesday, November 9, 2011, at NAS Oceana Naval Base in Virginia Beach, Va. (Stephanie Oberlander/AP Images for 7-Eleven)

The coronavirus pandemic has taken away another summertime tradition in the US: There will be no free Slurpees at 7-Elevens on Saturday— July 11—to hail a date that doubles as an abbreviation of the convenience store chain's name, the AP reports. 7-Eleven has been giving away its slushy beverage to all customers for nearly 20 years on July 11, but it scrapped the promotion this summer to reduce the risk of people flocking to its stores and risking contracting the coronavirus.

"Gathering nine million of our closest friends in stores on one day just didn’t feel right," said Marissa Jarratt, 7-Eleven's chief marketing officer. The Dallas-based chain instead decided to donate 1 million meals to Feeding America, a hunger relief group. The roughly 33 million people who had 7-Eleven's membership app installed on their smartphones as of July 1 are also eligible for a free medium Slurpee at any time this month.

(More 7-Eleven stories.)

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