21-year-old opens 7-Eleven at former Speedway in Miller Place

Talk about a Big Gulp of ambition.

A 21-year-old Stony Brook University grad is now running a new 7-Eleven at the corner of Miller Place Road and Route 25A — on a site that had housed a Speedway gas station since 2015.

Moeez Ahmed of Hampton Bays opened the store at 370 Route 25A earlier this month after buying the location directly from 7-Eleven corporate, not from Speedway. The store sits on the southeast corner of the intersection, directly across from an existing 7-Eleven on the northwest corner.

“All the Speedways are getting converted to 7-Elevens,” Ahmed said, noting that the Miller Place conversion is part of a nationwide rebrand that has occasionally put two 7-Elevens across the street from one another.

Ahmed, a standout tennis player during his days at Hampton Bays High School, isn’t new to the convenience store business. He’s worked in 7-Elevens since he was 14 and previously ran a gas station in Medford. He earned a bachelor’s degree in business from Stony Brook University in December.

Getting the store approved took about six to seven months of working with the Town of Brookhaven on permits and financial vetting, Ahmed said. Though 7-Elevens corporate team handled that procedure, he added.

Unlike the 7-Eleven across the street, the new Miller Place location sells gas.

“We’re super excited to be in Miller Place,” Ahmed said. “The customers have been very welcoming.”

The young entrepreneur isn’t stopping in Miller Place. He said he’s opening a second 7-Eleven gas station in Kings Park on Pulaski Road on July 23 — another former Speedway site with an existing 7-Eleven across the street.

“All the Speedways are getting converted” to 7-Eleven, Ahmed said, part of a nationwide rebrand that has occasionally put two 7-Elevens across the street from one another.

Ahmed isn’t new to the convenience store business. He’s worked in 7-Elevens since he was 14 and previously ran a gas station in Medford. He graduated in December from Stony Brook University with a bachelor’s degree in business.

His parents are helping him get the Miller Place store off the ground. His mother, Shaista Khalid, and father, Mohammad Khalid, are both involved in day-to-day operations. The family is originally from Pakistan and has lived in Hampton Bays.

Getting the store approved took about six to seven months of working with the Town of Brookhaven on permits and financial vetting, Ahmed said.

Unlike the 7-Eleven across the street, the new Miller Place location sells gas — and a lot it. Ahmed said the location pumps out two million gallons a year.

Ahmed isn’t stopping in Miller Place. He said he’s opening another 7-Eleven gas station in Kings Park on Pulaski Road on July 23. It’s also a former Speedway site with an existing 7-Eleven across the street.

_{Top photo: Moeez Ahmed (Brian Harmon photo).}