Of all the Springfield haunts visited over the years by Bart, Homer and the slew of other characters who populate the famous cartoon town, none stand out more than the Kwik-E-Mart.
And now that The Simpsons Movie is bringing Springfield to the big screen, Kwik-E-Mart has opened its doors to the series’ adoring human fans.
Originally inspired by a 7-Eleven location in Los Angeles, the Kwik-E-Mart soon became a staple in The Simpsons, a show that has helped shape the American television landscape with 400 episodes over the course of almost two decades and 18 seasons. Now, in anticipation for the release this month of the first motion picture to be born out of the cartoon series, the 7-Eleven location on Tilden Road in nearby Bladensburg joined 11 other chain locations around the country on July 1 in becoming a Kwik-E-Mart.
Only minutes away from the university, the Bladensburg store has covered its plain brick front with a bright yellow one, added plastic cut-outs of Simpsons characters and stocked its shelves with merchandise and memorabilia inspired by the show.
Comic Book Guy stands out front with nachos and a magazine, Bart and Milhouse look down from the roof, and various othercharacters drawn by show creator Matt Groening fill areas on, in and around the store’s freezers, magazine racks and aisles.
“It’s an opportunity for us to have fun with Simpsons fans and with our customers,” said Margaret Chabris, a 7-Eleven spokesperson who added that the public’s response to the changes are worth the costs the chain took on to transform the 12 stores.
“We’ve gotten millions of dollars worth of publicity, and lots of customer calls that are really supportive,” Chabris said.
Although more than 6,000 7-Eleven locations carry some Simpsons merchandise, Chabris said those that have been completely transformed have become extremely popular, drawing new customers and experiencing two to three times the amount of business they normally receive.
Among the Simpsons inspired merchandise are Buzz Cola, KrustyO’s, Squishees and pink Sprinkalicious donuts, all of which Chabris said have been wildly popular. The donuts have been especially so, with more than 1,000 being sold daily at some locations, Chabris said.
“It’s been a remarkable program, it’s been a lot of fun,” she said.
At the Bladensburg location, area manager Joy Pico said it took employees about five hours of redressing and decorating to transform the store into a Kwik-E-Mart, and that like other locations, the store underestimated the popularity of the merchandise and the redressed store. Now the more discrete corners of the store are stacked to the ceiling with reserve boxes of Simpsons products.
“We learned our lesson the first week,” Pico said.
The store has already sold out of its limited supply of Radioactive Man comic books, and joke signs that had been outside the store reading things like “5 Minute Parking, Violators will be executed,” have been stolen, Pico said.
Despite the increase in business, employees at the store said the experience of working at a Kwik-E-Mart has been a good one.
“It’s fun, and it’s a lot more business,” said Wilfreda Atakorah, an employee at the Bladensburg Kwik-E-Mart wearing a name tag reading “Ivana Tinkle.”
Chabris said her experiences with customers at Kwik-E-Mart locations have been positive.
“It’s fun just to go to the stores and see the looks on people’s faces,” she said.
Diana Mitchell, a mother from Hillmeade, said she had come to Bladensburg with her daughters Holly and Maria to get gifts for friends in Europe and for her husband’s birthday.
“My husband wants to get a picture of them eating the donuts,” Mitchell said.
Even those who have lost some interest in The Simpsons have made the trip to see the shops.
“The whole makeover wasn’t spectacular, but it was kind of cool to see something that you grew up watching on TV actually being real for a brief moment,” said Diana Keto, a 2006 university graduate and the administrator of the Facebook group “I remember when The Simpsons was actually funny.”
Keto said nostalgia took her 40 minutes from her home in Gaithersburg to see the Kwik-E-Mart.
“I’m a fan of the older Simpsons episodes only,” she said, “so I appreciate the fact that they had the classic Freezer Geezer and several quotes from the show back when I felt it was funny.”
Chabris said 7-Eleven’s marketing department looked for areas with a large population and a large number of 7-Elevens when choosing the 12 Kwik-E-Mart locations, and that they purposely chose locations that could accommodate more traffic and provide easy access for the media. Stores also needed permits for the new fronts and altered signs.
Chabris said the Kwik-E-Marts will only be around through July, but the merchandise will be sold into August if any remains.
Thank you. Come Again.
Contact reporter Kelly Wilson at newsdesk@dbk.umd.edu.
