The so-called “CrackMacs” convenience store is legendary in downtown Calgary, for better or worse. On Tuesday, the infamous name was changed as the Mac’s convenience store was re-branded to “Circle K.”
The convenience store at 8 Street and 7 Avenue has seen its fair share of controversy over the years; from drug deals to stabbings and even murders.
READ MORE: Man seriously injured in stabbing at downtown Calgary convenience store
It eventually became the name of the famous Twitter handle @Crackmacs run by an anonymous Calgary couple living nearby.
“We’ve done some bingo guessing games on when the doors are going to be broken again,” one of the people behind the Twitter account told Global News Wednesday.
They’ve been chronicling the crazy nights and peculiar characters who show up near the downtown convenience store since 2009. @Crackmacs has nearly 30,000 Twitter followers, even using their influence to help police catch criminals and solve crimes.
But now, the end of an era with it getting the new name of Circle K.
“We saw it yesterday and it was a little sad,” @Crackmacs said. “It’s kind of been an institution in Calgary for a really long time. I grew up over in that area, lived down there for the last 25 years so it’s quite a change.”
“It’s been called that for decades by police, even by the store owners.”
@Crackmacs said they knew the rebrand was imminent and even registered the Twitter handle @crackcirclek back in 2015, just in case.
“We have no intention of switching ours…it’s just a lot of jokes trying to come up with a new name. ‘Special K’ seems to be the running choice for everybody right now,” @Crackmacs said.
Vice President for Mac’s and Circle K in Western Canada, Bonnie Birrolo said their company has a great relationship with @Crackmacs, adding they’ve had a positive effect on their brand.
“We have lots of foot traffic down there and we appreciate all of our costumers that visit us,” Birollo said. “The community decided that they would affectionately name it with that nickname of CrackMacs and it seems to have had a life of its own.”
You can take the name out of Mac’s, but can you take the habits out of the location? @Crackmacs doesn’t think so.
“The police presence gets more and more all the time,” @Crackmacs said.
“It’s a lot better now than it used to be but people are certainly going to keep doing drugs there, certainly going to keep breaking windows and causing problems at McDonald’s. It’s not like a rebrand is going to change anything like that.”
Calgarians that live and work near the store have mixed feelings about the name change and the store’s history.
“When you walk over here, whether it’s for an ice cream or a coffee, you know you’re in for something,” Rob Berard said.
“They’ll still call it ‘CrackMacs,'” Daryl Jones said.
Some new name suggestions have also been circling on social media, but only time will tell if the new name will change its reputation.
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