7-Eleven freezes annual free Slurpee day. It’s suspended because of coronavirus

The pandemic has put another tradition on ice.

This summer, 7-Eleven has canceled its annual Free Slurpee Day on July 11 to make sure its customers put some physical distance between them and others crowding the stores to indulge in an annual flavored brain freeze fest.

“Gathering nine million of our closest friends in stores on one day just didn’t feel right,” Marissa Jarratt, the chain’s senior vice president and chief marketing officer, said in a news release Tuesday.

The free small Slurpee on July 11 usually generates “the busiest day of the year for 7‑Eleven stores,” Jarratt said.

This is the first time that 7-Eleven has not offered Free Slurpee Day since the tradition’s inception in 2002, which marked 75 years since 7-Eleven’s founding. The Sacramento area has more than 40 7-Eleven stores.

The July 11 date – 7-11 – of course, refers to the store’s name.

Instead of drawing a single day’s crunch of customers, the company will allow anyone who is a member of its rewards program to redeem a coupon for a medium Slurpee in stores over the course of July. The company will also give $100,000 to Feeding America, a hunger relief organization.

The Slurpee was created in 1966 for 7-Eleven and the name describes the sound the drink made as it traveled through a straw, according to the company’s news release. More than 7.5 billion Slurpees have been sold since.

This story was originally published June 16, 2020 at 6:30 PM.