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LAX is first U.S. airport to get a 7-Eleven

Harriet Baskas
Special for USA TODAY
The 950-square-foot shop is in the pre-security area of the Tom Bradley International Terminal.

If you're craving a snack, a super-sized soda or a brightly-colored frozen flavored drink before or after a flight at Los Angeles International Airport, you're in luck.

On Friday, the first 7-Eleven in a U.S. airport opened in the pre-security/arrivals area of the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX.

"The store had 35 customers waiting for the doors to open and there was a huge rush on fresh foods and proprietary beverages – you know – Big Gulps and Slurpees," said 7-Eleven spokeswoman Margaret Chabris.

Open from 6 a.m. to midnight and designed to serve departing and arriving passengers as well as airport employees and all the people who come to the airport to meet and greet passengers, the 950-square-foot shop is stocked with magazines and newspapers, travel-size personal care products and a variety of over-the-counter medicines for motion sickness and other ailments.

In addition to a full range of beverages, the food menu includes fresh sandwiches, salads and snacks, pizza (whole and by the slice), tacos, chicken wings and hot dogs, including the 10-inch-long Dodger Dog, priced at $2.11.

The shop offers a full range of beverages.

This is the first in-terminal location for 7-Eleven in the U.S., but the company currently has three stores in airport plazas on U.S. airport properties near JFK, Newark Liberty and Southwest International Airport in Fort Myers, Fla.

A 7-Eleven is scheduled to open post-security in Terminal A at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport this fall and another in DFW Terminal E sometime in the future.

There are also 59 7-Eleven stores in airports in 12 other countries, including Canada, where the world's first airport 7-Eleven opened at Vancouver International Airport in 2001 and offers a full-service post office, a lottery outlet and a noodle stand.

Harriet Baskas is a Seattle-based airports and aviation writer and USA TODAY Travel's "At the Airport" columnist. She occasionally contributes to Ben Mutzabaugh's Today in the Sky blog. Follow her at twitter.com/hbaskas.

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