I think it's a privately held company, but it is nation-wide and has locations "kiosks" where people pick up newspapers etc. The reason it's a big deal is, kind of like you mentioned, it would be like if 7/11 or a national pharmacy chain started accepting BTC. Pretty cool, IMO.

Our modern conception of newspapers started with financial speculation sheets in coffee houses of Europe, so it's only fitting that you can buy a paper with BTC