The little building at 220 Battery Street is owned by the Japanese company Kokubu Kensetsu Kogyo. And in the words of a plugged-in tipster, the building has been more or less “used as a public toilet since FedEx moved out.”
Currently under renovation, it’s not a new tech company that’s moving in. In fact, they’re converting the space from office to retail. And if our tipster is correct, it’s a 7-Eleven that will fill the space and pump out copious amounts of snacks, sugar and caffeine.
There are over 1,700 7-Elevens in Tokyo and more stores in Japan (roughly 13,000) than in any other country. We counted fourteen in San Francisco.
Another Amazon Delivery locker.
Must 7-Eleven’s always be so ugly?
Imagine that Cinderella’s fairy godmother waved her magic wand inside one of one of our 7-Eleven stores, all the crappy stale sandwiches would turn into super-fresh sushi, nigiri rice balls, and packaged dinners that actually taste amazing. Bread thats actually fresh. Snacks you want to eat. Cool stationary products and gadgets.
Thats what 7-Eleven stores are like in Japan and that’s why there are so many of them. We can only hope that we’re getting the Japanese kind….
Mmmmmm… rice balls for 100 Yen (~$1.25). The perfect budget gut plug. I wish USA tastes allowed our convenience stores to stock stuff like this. If I’m starving and don’t want to commit to a real mean there are not many quick cheap options.
One Japanese 7-11 item that I do not wish to see here though: spaghetti sandwiches.
When I saw the photo on this story I was hoping that the news was that this building was going to be replaced by something 5X taller.
This is one case where I don’t really mind the fact that it’s not getting taller. It’s not a big lot, so the amount of space gained would not be enormous, while the walls and windows blocked are fairly attractive (as rear walls go).
Variety is always nice.
Hmmm, public toilet or 7-11. Debatable.
Around 1905:
A close runner up to the 7-11 saturation of Japan is Norway. There seems to be one down every sight line in Oslo, just like Tokyo.
But instead of fresh sushi and rice balls, I recall fresh Swedish Meatballs, Curry and Herring.
My question is when and where did you take this picture? This building is usually covered in graffiti. I am glad something, anything is moving in. This little building has been an eyesore in the hear of the FiDi for years. It is hard to convince clients that times are good when you have a derelict, vacant building adjacent to your office.
UPDATE: Plans For A Modern Urban Townhome Addition Downtown.