Kwik-E-Mart

In The Simpsons, the Kwik-E-Mart is a convenience store that sells the usual fare at extraordinarily high prices, including the always popular Squishee. The backstory is that the Kwik-E-Mart chain was started somewhere in the North Pole. The Kwik-E-Mart rarely closes; at one point Apu shuts the store for five minutes to attend a party and inadvertently locks Hans Moleman inside. The Kwik-E-Mart is quite often the target of robbers, leading to Apu having been shot on several occasions and as a result having almost missed work. On one occasion, Marge Simpson mentioned that because of the frequency of shootings, it is only a $100 fine. In the fifth season episode "Homer and Apu", Apu loses his job at the Kwik-E-Mart and the two characters visit the corporate CEO (voiced by Harry Shearer) in the Indian Himalayan mountains. ==Real-world versions==

7-Eleven promotion "Kwik-E-Mart" in Seattle in 2007, one of 12 stores temporarily converted so to promote The Simpsons Movie. In July 2007, convenience store chain 7-Eleven converted 11 of its stores in the United States and one in Canada (Coquitlam) into Kwik-E-Marts to promote The Simpsons Movie. The concept was first visualized in 2006 by Fox's advertising agency, and the approximately 10 million dollar (US) cost of the promotion was borne by 7-Eleven. Another part of the promotion was a contest where customers who purchased a slurpee or sandwich also received a coded game piece that could be entered into a website. The grand prize of the contest was to be animated into an episode of The Simpsons. However, a Duff Energy Drink was released in place of the Duff Beer. The promotion resulted in a 30% increase in profits for the changed 7-Eleven stores. Many of the stores sold out of their special Simpsons products within a few days of the start of the promotion. The conversions lasted through early August, when the stores were converted back to 7-Elevens. There was a mild controversy when the promotion offended members of the Indian-American community who felt that Apu is a caricature that plays on too many negative stereotypes. Despite this, 7-Eleven reported that many of its Indian employees have reacted positively to the idea, and supplement The Simpsons Ride, which opened in Spring 2008. The stores sell Simpsons-related merchandise like Flaming Moe's Energy Drinks and Squishees. Broadway at the Beach On August 17, 2018, a gift shop modeled after a Kwik-E-Mart opened at Broadway at the Beach in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The gift shop was placed at the exit of a 4D ride based on The Simpsons and was housed in a replica of The Aztec theatre from the series, which opened in 2019. The store sold Buzz Cola, Lard Lad Donuts, and Squishees along with merchandise from the show. While no official statement has been made to date, as of late April/early May, 2024, the store, as well as the attached 4-D theater have been permanently closed. The attractions no longer appear on the Broadway at the Beach website, and an online petition has been created to reopen the attractions. Google also lists the attraction as permanently closed, and there a couple Reddit posts indicating the closure as well. ==References==