7-Eleven's New Menu Item Has Oktoberfest Written All Over It

Despite its very American roots, 7-Eleven is said to have over 60,000 stores internationally, per Britannica. Now, though it seems to be heeding the call of Oktoberfest.

Could this then be a newfound aspiration of the store that is named after its long business hours (from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.), to observe the traditions of its foreign host countries (like a German beer festival)? Unlikely, the truth about 7-Eleven is it does not even have a division in Germany, per Convenience Store News.

A better reason for the franchise adopting Oktoberfest is that American beer culture has German roots. According to Immigrant Entrepreneurship, the first American brewed lager was at the hands of Bavarian-born John Wagner in 1840. Another aspect we cannot ignore is that 17% of Americans have German lineage, per Cultural Diplomacy. So, it makes perfect sense that German tradition has a representation in 7-Eleven, even if only for a short time.

The magic of Oktoberfest goes beyond beer. As essential as it is to the celebration, beer is but a lubricant for all the other trappings. Some of the food items that the golden liquid helps to flush down are the stereotypical lebkuchen (gingerbread necklaces), pretzels, fish, and the illustrious würstl (sausages), per Frommers.

As such, 7-Eleven is honoring Oktoberfest with its American version of the bratwurst. We say "version of” because Germany — with its 1,200 sausages, per Michelin Guide – would likely balk at what Americans call bratwurst. However, 7-Eleven's Vareesha Shariff said, "We're excited to bring our customers another new, innovative menu item with the Smokey Cheddar Sausage," according to PR Newswire. The chain also added that the sausage would compliment another addition to their Oktoberfest collection: the 7-Select Mini Twist Pretzels. 

So it seems that 7-Eleven is committing wholeheartedly to its American-German roots. It even has what it deems "un-beer-lievable deals" on beer, per PR Newswire.