Yeah, reading the OP I was like "this sounds a helluva lot like Wawa". For some reason I thought they were more widespread but looking at the store map on Wikipedia it seems like I've just gotten lucky with the places I've lived recently to have them so close by. Royal Farms is/was okay but not on the same level.
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The konbini business model around the world
- Thread starter Lady Murasaki
- Start date
Yeah, reading the OP I was like "this sounds a helluva lot like Wawa". For some reason I thought they were more widespread but looking at the store map on Wikipedia it seems like I've just gotten lucky with the places I've lived recently to have them so close by. Royal Farms is/was okay but not on the same level.
It's the deadness in their eyes that makes the sandwiches so delicious.
lol..not sure if serious.
There's a 7-Eleven thats 7 minutes from me. I don't even drop by unless its free slurpee on 7/11. Yeah. No idea how long the sandwiches have been on the shelves or the hot dogs on those rollers. Not taking a chance.
Yup. Probably why I'll never move out of NY. Bodegas are amazing but I also really love Japans konbinis as well.
Also Famima in Los Angeles was better than what you could get in like 7-11, but it still wasn't very good. The chicken strips were always really dry and gross, and the sandwiches still had the stale tough bread that you would find in any prepared sandwich on a shelf in America.
I think that's the biggest thing there.
I usually liked conbini sandwiches in Japan. Sometimes the ingredients seemed a little different, but the bread at least was always soft and fresh and didn't immediately suck up all moisture in your mouth
They're very similar, just smaller.
Never been to Japan but they have these in Shanghai. NY has something similar.
US doesn't really have them because only a few places are densely packed enough to need them.
I never felt like I might get stabbed or become an innocent bystander in an armed robbery in a konbini, so they are pretty much head and shoulders over every American convenience store I've ever been in.
I think the closest thing you're going to find in the US to a konbini store is the boutique grocery stores: whole foods, market of choice and their ilk. Their regular food is so expensive you'd wonder why the hell people would ever go there, but it's usually pretty busy in there due to the pre-made / on-demand hot and cold food which are decent caliber and are immediately available. It's big enough that people can make an excuse out of stopping there (to get other crap they might need) while still having access to higher quality convenience food.
All the replies to my post are basically "Japan just does it better." Meh. Ever been to a Sheetz or Wawa?
Gonna stick with "weeb fetishising" as the reason.
Gonna stick with "weeb fetishising" as the reason.
These remind me of all the little Tesco Metro/Express, Sainsbury's Local, Asda Supermarkets and that in the UK. A smaller range than the larger shops, but they still carry basically everything you'd need (as well as cost mostly the same as the full sized supermarket and have the same offers and that), and do other little bits. Not open nowhere near as late, though, but you've got your smaller corner shops for that.
I've only seen and visited one Wawa in the US, in Orlando. Its basically a large gas station convenience store with the sandwich shop shoved inside. Its nice but everything is overpriced like typical US convenience stores. It doesn't sound as good as the konbinis you guys are discussing. (And that bums me out!)
You guys don't have these in America? We've had these for ever in Québec. They are called "dépanneurs", as in, "someone/thing that helps you get out of a bind". Really helpful.
So what you're saying is you're whittling everyone's disagreement with you down to one stereotype that almost assuredly doesn't apply to everybody
I've been to all three. Sheetz is great. Wawa is ok. Lawson's stuff is best.
Haven't been to a Wawa yet but it still seems a little different in that food is made to order. Trimana Grill is similar here, made to order sandwiches alongside the standard gas station candy bars and chips and bottled drinks.
In a conbini you can walk in, grab something off the shelf that has already been prepared, and it will be tasty and delicious instead of making you question your life choices if you were to do the same thing in America.
I will not allow someone that lives in Philadelphia to not acknowledge the greatness of Wawa convenience stores.
Yup. Oxxos are everywhere in Mexico. I've bought Nintendo Points in Oxxos even!
The article even mentions 7-11 which are all over the US.
If the only difference is the quality of food, I am not seeing the culture shock here. Everything in that article sounds just like small markets everywhere. Maybe not luggage sending.
Is Couche-Tard a dépanneur? I used to see a few of those in Toronto when they still operated some stores here as Mac's, never been inside one though.
Yes. There is a word for "bigger dépanneurs" that sell a wider selection of items, though the word isn,t used in Québec: supérette. Basically, "super" from "supermarché", and the suffixe "-ette", which is a diminutive. The French localization of Yokai Watch taught me that. Some Couche-Tard are the smaller "dépanneurs", while some are the bigger "supérettes". I've worked in both of these types of stores when I was younger. Supérettes are real fuckin' nice.
I feel like the reason Conbinis are so prevalent are the same reason why vending machines or Arcades are still able to survive for the most part in Japan. The city blocks are small and compact and way more people use public transit so you are way more likely to be walking past or close to these places. Even some restaurants are made in a way for you to quickly run in and out quickly to catch public transit by using vending machine type machines. I think larger grocery/super stores are also making it harder for convenience stores to exist in NA. A lot of the convenience stores around where I live have closed, shrunk or are in disrepair ever since they built a Walmart. People would rather drive 5 min to the big place then walk 5 minutes to the small place. Bigger cities tend to have bodegas at least to catch those people that do walk or use public transit though but larger city blocks make them further away.
Some of the otakus in here really need to branch out and try convenience stores outside of Japan. It's not some magical Japanese thing that can only be called by its Japanese name "konbini", lol.
What's next, a thread with a title "Hey guys what's your favorite hanbāgā "?
What's next, a thread with a title "Hey guys what's your favorite hanbāgā "?
The UK has a lot of them, the likes of the Co-Op and small chains are still competing with Tesco and Sainsbury whose express stores are popping up like a rash. The problem is they're generally all terrible, a little bit of everything but yet never anything you need, unless that happens to be 2 day old rock solid bread, a jar of baked beans or an overpriced chocolate bar.
Here you go. I don't think this is particularly bad for you, but note I also said tasty and delicious, not healthy. Still better for you than taquitos and big bite hot dogs and a microwaved burrito.
I think Couche-Tard is rebranding all their operations outside Quebec as Circle K.
Couche-Tard is also an International company.
They have 120K employees worldwide.
Is the "open 24/7" thing the defining character here ? otherwise I don't see how they're so different/better than all the small supermarkets littering Europe.
Convenience Stores within their country generally cater to their local demographics taste. For example, when I am in a 7/11 in China/Japan/Thailand etc. -- while the food is tasty, my American palette does still craves some gas station styled hot dog or crawfish po boys with a shit load of tobasco sauce. Okay, so you want some onigiri, we get it, but reserve your expectations that not everyone in America only eats Honorable Japanese Convenience Store meals.
They literally have hot dogs there
I think you might be assuming a bit too much of people yo
What amuses me here in Mexico is the quite array of payments and deposits you can make on these stores, basically like a lite bank, hell yesterday i actually had to wait like 10 minutes in line because some old man was buying a bus ticket.
But it's not just about different kinds of foods. The same type of foods are of a better quality in Japanese stores than American.
This is never a sandwich I would want to eat on purpose:
This is great:
I like eating these sometimes but only for about five seconds before I regret it, and it's probably been overcooked 6 hours ago by some teenager that was looking at their phone the entire time:
These aren't any healthier but taste better and were probably made very recently:
Japanese konbinis can replenish stock more often than American ones due to more foot traffic. If an average 7-11/roadside gas station in the US were to serve up really quality stuff, it might not be worth it if customers want a quick bite. Not sure about urban areas though.
Monoblocks in the USA and western /anglo-countries are the direct results of zoning laws local or otherwise, that basically assumes everyone has a car or makes it easier for a car-only lifestyle.
These zoning laws were a direct result of lobbying by the auto industry. Also, white flight: most are also rooted in racist and classists red-lining policies. It's much easier to exclude people when you can isolate undesirable businesses and other types of businesses and people if you require them to have a certain thing (usually money) to do business our settle in one place.
These zoning laws were a direct result of lobbying by the auto industry. Also, white flight: most are also rooted in racist and classists red-lining policies. It's much easier to exclude people when you can isolate undesirable businesses and other types of businesses and people if you require them to have a certain thing (usually money) to do business our settle in one place.
I had the Thai 7 Eleven door beep as my ring tone for the longest time.
Have a strange nostalgia for it.
Have a strange nostalgia for it.