With one of the largest enrollments in the country, Ohio State offers a plethora of advantages to its students around the campus area. One such advantage around campus, are the numerous convenient stores that are within walking distance forÃmost Buckeye students and local Columbus residents.
Almost every campus street corner has a convenient store located near it. With such a large enrollment at OSU, this is for good reason.
Mike Taylor, a senior in english had much to say about OSU’s shopping convenience. “I love the fact that there are so many stores like UDF and Exxon to choose from around campus, when all you need are the basics like milk, coffee, bread and beer”, Taylor said. “I hate having to drive to Kroger or Big Bear, so these corner stores make it easy for me when I am in a rush.”
The OSU area offers a variety of unique locally owned stores to large corporate chains that offer gas, ice cream orÃfast food within its walls.
The Lantern tried to pick apart the local United Diary Farmers, Exxon, Shell, State Discount and 7-Eleven to see what amenities some have and what some lack. The following list was used to help aid in our critique of each OSU area convenient store.
- Location/market area
- Store design/set-up
- Added features (gas, ice cream)
- Qualities (positive/ negative)
- Price comparison of staple products (milk, bread, beer, cigarettes, etc…)
State Discount (Grade A-)State Discount is the most unique corner store around OSU. It offers many products that can’t be found at your basic convenient store. State Discount prides itself on its customer service and its campus reach. One store is located at 1876 N. High St. adjacent to CD Warehouse, another on the food court level of the Ohio Union and the third can be found at the Drake Union near the Lincoln Tower.
Tom Cushing, owner of the State Discount, believes that his store is the best on campus hands down. “Our stores offer a wide variety, including photo finishing, quick convenience, located all over campus and no long lines to wait in,” Cushing said. “This job is fun, because I see a variety of people and there is always stuff to do.”
Cushing sees a bright future for State Discount at OSU. “We have a lot of regulars who shop here, because we have workers that are more friendly and have better personalitiesÃthen at other stores,” Cushing said. “We are doing well as a company, however in due time the Drake Union store may have toÃgo, because that facility does not have as many visitors as it once had. Time will tell what we do with it.”
State Discount carries many OSU souvenirs at the Union locations, such as t-shirts, postcards and more. Also healthcare products and greeting cards are much more prevalent at State Discount then any other area store. Alcoholic beverages and cold drinks are wonderfully priced however stable foods are priced high at the High Street location. One steal that we saw at State Discount is the price of Parliament cigarettes, which are $3.03 with tax.
Leslie Boyd, manager of the Ohio Union State Discount, says that her store is quite different from the High StreetÃlocation.
“We sell more snacks and souvenirs, where as High Street sells more beer and cigarettes, something that we can not offer in our OSU facility,” Boyd said. “More OSU faculty and staff frequent the Ohio Union, but our business is much better in theÃfall when students come back to the south dorms.”à State Discount has a few drawbacks, such as small aisles and they do not sell gas or bread in any of their three locations.
7-Eleven (Grade B+)The 7-Eleven on Lane Avenue is a convenient hotbed for north campus residents. The location is also great for business school students as well as OSU fans who attend football and basketball games nearby. This location offers plenty of parking and has a great amount of space between aisles. The store is open 24 hours a day, which is a huge bonus for the college crowd.
Mark Ibanez, a senior in business, said that 7-Eleven is a favorite of his because it is so close to his classes. “This store has added amenities such as Slurpees, Big Gulps, hot dogs and nachos,” Ibanez said. “This is a plus, when you have class all day, but can’t make it home in time for something to eat or drink.” 7-Eleven’s prices are quite reasonable among its peers. One gallon of milk is $2.99, a loaf of bread is $1.99 and Parliament cigarettes are $3.23 with tax.
Since we are OSU students, having low prices on beer is a must. Old Milwaukee, Labatt’s Blue, or Miller runs $8.99 for a 12 can package. Coors, Natural Light and Busch beer run $3.99 for a six pack of cans. A six pack bottle of Budweiser or Molson is a mere $5.29. Other beers, such as Heineken, Rolling Rock, Sam Adams and Beck’s vary in price.
In the world of chain convenient stores, 7-Eleven deserves high marks. One major drawback for 7-Eleven is the fact that they do not sell gasoline. This is odd, especially since they own such a large parking lot.
United Diary Farmers (Grade B)UDF has two locations near the campus area. The customer service at UDF on Frambes Street and Twelth Avenue is outstanding. Both locations cater to the north and south side dorms as well as off-campus students in the surrounding areas.
The workers are friendly and their product line is much enhanced with their availability of ice cream. You simply can’t beat a UDF milkshake.
John Scott, a junior in aviation, is a huge fan of UDF ice cream. “One of the greatest things about UDF is there soft serve yogurt,” Scott said. “For that reason, it is a store that I shop at most around campus.” UDF unfortunately lacks sufficient aisle space compared to 7-Eleven, and their parking situation is an embarrassment. There are few parking spaces and customers are faced with no other parking options. UDF also sells no gas, like some locations and they do not carry six packs of beer.
UDF has many great prices, which are hard to beat in the convenient store market. Milk for $2.79 a gallon, bread for $1.99, and Parliament cigarettes for $3.06 a pack with tax. UDF sells Rolling Rock, Heineken, Beck’s, Molson, Sam Adams, Corona, Ice House, Busch, Budweiser, Natural Light and has 18 pack cans of Miller Lite for $9.99 for an 18 pack of cans.
These stores both sell gas and each has a Subway located within the store. This is a huge bonus for each location. Many customers come for a Subway sandwich, but often times purchase beer or cigarettes as well.
The Lane Avenue location also features a TCBY. This helps to combat the power that UDF has in the market, concerning added ice cream sales.
Eva Anderson, a senior in fashion merchandising, loves Exxon, because it offers so much and is close to her apartment. “If I need to make a quick stop to pick something up or grab a sub, I always go to Exxon because it is close and very convenient,” said Anderson.
The flip side of Exxon is that it does not have much aisle space and their customer service is quite lackadaisical at best. All of Exxon’s alcoholic beverages and cigarettes are sold at or near state minimum prices, which benefits many students and their budgets. A loaf of bread is $1.89 and milk is $2.99 a gallon.
tle higher.
The largest downfall for Shell is that it lacks an added amenity, such as a fast food chain inside or ice cream like UDF or Exxon. Shell is just a basic run of the mill gas station with a convenient store inside.
Sarah MacDonald, a junior in political science, chooses Shell because it offers gas and has such a good location. “I have a gas card with Shell so I go there more often, but I do run inside sometimes to buy stuff and I like the service there.”
While the grades we have given to these stores are not necessarily a reflection of their employees or quality of products, we believe it is an overall assesment of the entire package they present to the OSU community. Some students may disagree based on what they are looking for or expect from a convenience store but we have provided a guide for those looking for a solid convenience store experience.
