If you can’t join ‘em, beat ‘em seems to be the philosophy of a former 7-Eleven owner in Boston.
Abu Masa is so angry with the convenience store chain that he has made it his mission to compete with them directly.
“My goal is to get them to close,” Musa told the Boston Globe.
Masa recently opened his own convenience store ― “6-Twelve” ― that offers many of the same items as 7-Eleven, but not hot food.
That’s because the chain’s policy towards hot food is the issue getting Masa hot under the collar.
Masa said 7-Eleven corporate offices demanded he offer hot dogs, taquitos and pizza at his franchise even though he says they didn’t sell. He told the Globe there were days when he threw out hundreds of dollars worth of food that didn’t sell, but he had no choice to follow orders.
“Whatever, whenever they want they can bring into the store and we have no option, no choice but to accept it,” Musa told CBS Boston. “Because they said you signed the paperwork.”
He said the contention over hot foods led to other conflicts and a legal battle over Masa’s franchise rights. Ultimately, he settled out of court, according to the station.
But instead of going gently into the good night, Masa decided to open his new convenience store “6-Twelve” across the street from his old location, which is still open under new management.
A lot of his customers from the 7-11 days are supporting his fight against the chain.
“When I learned the story behind it, that he got cut from the 7-Eleven roster and started his own team, I thought it was the greatest thing I’ve ever heard — a gang fight over Ho Hos and lukewarm coffee,” Brian Donovan told the Boston Globe.
Masa said his strategy for destroying 7-11 is simple.
“I know the price of everything in that store, so I sell the same things cheaper,” he told the paper.
Well, not everything.
“No hot food,” he said. “Never.”
7-Eleven corporate offices did not immediately respond to a request for comment from HuffPost.
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