7-Eleven — Närbutik in Hornstull, Stockholm

This is a branch of 7-Eleven, sitting on Hornsbruksgatan in Hornstull, and what sets it apart from any other branch is that it does not shut: the doors are open at every hour of every day. Arrive off a late flight or leave before the city wakes and it is the same shop you walk into.

The hot counter is the first thing to check. Taquitos come out of it, a hot snack you can carry out and eat on the move, and that is the item to get before anything else on the shelves. The rest is the familiar 7-Eleven selection, the reliable staples you already know, with coffee and snacks as the quick, easy purchases that bring you in.

How it works is plain: you take what you need from the shelves or the counter and pay at the till. There is no eat-in room to speak of and no ceremony to it, just a fast stop where the shopping takes a minute.

Prices are convenience-store prices, and the taquitos and coffee are the everyday spend rather than a big shop. Cash is what this branch takes, so have notes or coins on you before you walk in, whatever the hour.

If you want a proper meal or a full basket of groceries, this is not that shop. What it is, is a counter and a shelf that are there when nothing else is, and for a hot taquito at two in the morning that is enough.