Grand opening held at 7-Eleven store on Pine Island Road
Thursday afternoon, Pine Islanders were invited to the grand opening of the new 7-Eleven store on Pine Island Road.
“It’s called Sip, Snack and See what the new 7-Eleven has to offer,” 7-Eleven marketing manager Bill Sheedy said. “Today we have fresh food sampling, free coffee, Big Gulp drinks, and Big Bite hot dogs.”
Neighborhood 7-Eleven stores are typically franchised by local entrepreneurs, who are members of the community in which they operate their stores, officials said. The Pine island store open house gave owner Massood Ali an opportunity to meet and greet his new neighbors and customers.
As part of the celebration, Massood Ali presented a $711 Project A-Game donation to Pine Island Elementary School. Project A-Game is 7-Eleven stores’ youth outreach program promoting academics and athletics in local communities.
“This is amazing,” islander Leslie Parker said. “We’ve been waiting for this for a long time and I’m glad we finally have another gas station. It’s also nice the way they’re introducing it to the public.”
“One of the things we look at to build a store is areas that aren’t being served,” Sheedy said. “We wanted to offer recreational fuel for the boaters and a free boat wash in the back. We want to meet the customers needs food-wise with pizza, chicken wings, hot dogs and sandwiches.”
The expansive beverage bar includes cappuccino and regular coffee, a “Grind to Cup” service where you select the coffee grind that is ground and served immediately (either iced or hot), espresso machine, hot lattes, hot cappuccino, nitro infused coffee, iced tea in multiple flavors, Big Gulps and lots more.
“Many places close by 9 p.m. and this store will be open to serve customers 24/7, 365 days a year,” Sheedy said. “Another thing we like to do is everybody that works in the store lives on Pine Island.”
Radio station B103.9 was on-site from 10 a.m. noon and local musicians Rudy Cox and Brother Love performed in the afternoon.
The Pine Island 7-Eleven is at 5431 Pine Island Road, N.W., Bokeelia.