White Hen
 |
|
| Industry | Retail |
|---|---|
| Fate | Acquired by 7-Eleven |
| Founded | 1965 |
| Defunct | 2013 |
| Headquarters |
Lombard, Illinois United States |
| Products | Convenience stores |
White Hen Pantry (known as White Hen in the midwest) was a Lombard, Illinois-based chain of approximately 261 predominantly franchisee-owned convenience stores located in and around Chicago, Boston / New England, southern Wisconsin, northwest Indiana and central Illinois areas of the United States. Most of the stores were open 24 hours and offered an array of standard convenience store fare such as coffees, cappuccinos, frozen and dry goods and toiletries. Many also had full delis serving boxed sandwiches and salads, name-brand meats and cheeses and fresh fruits and vegetables. White Hen's array of services included catering options and sales of external holiday gift cards. Most stores also had ATMs and provide lottery ticket sales; White Hen was the largest lottery ticket vendor in the state of Illinois.
Most of the White Hen Pantry locations were to be rebranded as 7-Eleven stores by the end of 2010.
White Hen Pantry was founded by Jewel Tea Company as Kwik Shoppe and began franchising in July, 1965, borrowing the idea from Texas-based 7-11 stores which were the first convenience stores. The first location opened in 1965 with the name Kwik Shoppe and was located at 20 E. Golf Road in Mount Prospect, IL. A few months later, it adopted the White Hen Pantry name, taken from Jewel's egg supplier, White Hen Egg Farms. The next stores to open, also in 1965, were located at 6 S. Park Boulevard, Glen Ellyn, IL and 1045 S. York Road, Bensenville, IL.
After American Stores purchased Jewel in 1984, White Hen Pantry was sold to its management team and became an independent company.
In 2001 it was sold to Clark Retail Enterprises, Inc., who immediately sold all 55 White Hen Pantry stores in Massachusetts and New Hampshire to New England Pantry, Inc. This deal formed New England Pantry's current status as a sub-franchisor of the White Hen Pantry brand, and its exclusive franchisor in the New England area.
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