Who needs the Kwik-E-Mart?

(I doooooooooo!!!)

On Saturday afternoon, Will and I indulged our Simpsons nostalgia and ventured up to Bladensburg to visit the 7-Eleven turned Kwik-E-Mart. Suffice it to say, this was something I had to see with my own eyes, and it proved to be quite a fascinating experience.




Usually when I visit a 7-Eleven, I can count the number of customers (myself included) on one hand, but the crowd at the store on Saturday was surprisingly large! I'd like to think that the local fan following of The Simpsons is pretty strong, but in reality, I'm sure the draw came from the novelty of having a local convenience store converted into one from a TV show. In that respect, the redesigning of the store was primarily cosmetic—i.e., surface changes to make the store's exterior and street signs resemble that of the Kwik-E-Mart. But that's not to say 7-Eleven skimpped out on decorating the interior like the show! Many life-size cutouts of the show's regular characters were prominently featured, and signs above many of the displays shouted hilarious slogans like, "If you're not 100% satisfied, your money will be grudgingly refunded" or "Thank you for loitering."

Milhouse and Bart

Marge

Comic Book Guy—worst picture ever!

Frostilicus Jasper

Chief Wiggum

Naturally, much of the merchandise was tailored to the show, featuring such Simpsons brand material as Krusty O's cereal, Buzz Cola, Squishees, and Homer's infamous pink donuts. Duff Beer was noticeably absent from the fray, but that's partially because you can't buy alcohol in grocery stores within Maryland (whereas you can in Virgina).








The Buzz Cola was likely the generic 7-Eleven brand, and the Krusty O's cereal bore a good resemblane to Froot Loops (never a bad thing!). The Squishee machine was quite a popular draw, too. I bought the pina colada flavor, and Will bought the blue. Mine was pretty good, though it was quite sweet! (This might also be the appropriate time to make a confession: in my lifetime, I've actually never had a 7-Eleven Slurpee.)

My total purchase at the Kwik-E-Mart was $12.27, covering all the above-mentioned items. As Will also noted, these appeared to be the regular 7-Eleven prices—and not at all marked up for The Simpsons Movie. Good call on the part of 7-Eleven! The cashier even bade me farewell using Apu's famous line: "Thank you. Come again!"

I have to say, it was quite an impressive makeover at the Bladensburg Kwik-E-Mart! And this trip was definitely worth it.


Here, too, is Will's companion piece.