Say Goodbye to White Hen Pantry, Hello 7-Eleven in West Roxbury

The White Hen Pantry at West Roxbury's Holy Name Rotary has always been a busy spot, but on the afternoon of August 19 it was the scene of unusual hustle and bustle.

Why all the fuss?  

Well, after 36 years as a White Hen Pantry, the store is transitioning into being a 7-Eleven. As workmen scurried to install new shelving and fixtures into the freshly painted bright white walls, the staff did its best to maintain a business-as-usual stance to match the "We're still open!" signs in the windows. Even the Geek Squad was on-hand to help get the new computer system up and running.

"I think it's all going to work out for the best," said longtime franchise owner Ahed Rajeh.  "7-Eleven is a good company, although I'm going to miss making the deli sandwiches," he said, noting the White Hen deli accounted for 33 percent of the franchise's previous business. "Instead, we'll now have the freshly-made prepared sandwiches on rolls that most 7-Eleven's stock."

Rajeh expressed amazement over the transformation of his store. "The layout is completely new. They've done an amazing job and it all happened so fast," he marveled. One of the less obvious changes is the lower positioning of the shelves, making them more user-friendly and wheelchair accessible.

"Of course, we now have Slurpees," he said, motioning to the new machine installed at the back of the room. "We'll also have a grill for hot dogs and burritos, plus we're one of a few 7-Eleven stores to be equipped with an oven for pizza, chicken wings/fingers and potato wedges."

Rajeh admitted he is feeling sentimental about losing the White Hen name after so many years, but optimism seemed to eclipse any reservations he might be feeling. "We're more excited than anything else. In many respects it's the same franchise it's always been; the staff will remain the same, and we're still open 24 hours."