Wawa vs. Sheetz war goes national!
Just in time for the 150th anniversay, there's a new battle for Gettysburg....and the stomaches and minds of the rest of the heart of Pennsylvania.
Wawa vs. Sheetz war goes national!
Just in time for the 150th anniversay, there's a new battle for Gettysburg....and the stomachs and minds of the rest of the heart of Pennsylvania. Except this fight -- pitting neighbor against neighbor, even cousin against cousin -- doesn't come in shades of blue and grey. No, the new war for Pennsylvania pits a proverbial giant goose against the mark of Zorro (and home of the "Nachoz").
Oh, it's on...and it's going national, baby! We're talking about Philly's very own Wawa against those upstarts from Pennsyltucky, Sheetz:
Convenience stores are supposed to be interchangeable, selling low-priced gas and self-serve coffee based on the proposition that when you need a pit stop, you turn in to the first you see, right there.
But in Pennsylvania, two convenience chains stir tribal loyalties, a commitment as deep as bonds with the Philadelphia Phillies or Pittsburgh Pirates. The second also has a name that strafes outsiders’ ears: Wawa. State lore has it that it is the honk of the goose on its logo.
“When I moved here 13 years ago, I didn’t want to go based on the name alone,” said Caiti Fischer, stopping at a Wawa in Glen Mills, west of Philadelphia. It was not far from the town of Wawa, which is Mile Zero in the chain’s history and the real source of its name.
Ms. Fischer eventually changed her mind. “I’m here at least 10 times a week,” she said. “At least.” She cradled a 24-ounce vat of coffee at 4 in the afternoon. “I can’t stay away.”
This story hit this morning in the New York Times, and all day my Twitter feed has been going nuts (especially since I have a high number of Philadelphians in there, proud self-proclaimed members of what they're calling #TeamWawa ). Honestly, I don't recall this much trash talking when the Steelers and Eagles played each other -- but that's how seriously we take our processed meats.
I thought the Times article well captured the essence of Wawa -- clean, airy and thus maybe a tad more Main Line (or at least Blue Bell, anyway) than South Philly in its middle-brow pretensions, versus the cluttered hillbilly chic of Sheetz (which sells "Shmuffinz"...need I say more?). Of course, I still walk around with hillbilly blood, so I'm sympathetic to those taken in by Sheetz' shtick (when my son insisted on stopping there during a college-hunting trip last summer, we ate at an outside table...you might want to jump on that, Wawa.) But at the end of the day, Wawa is home.
And there's no place like home.
Bunch, I must say Sheetz would really put the hurts to WAWA. Sheetz is light years ahead....internet access years ago, indoor and outdoor dining tables, a more sophisticated ordering system, etc., etc., etc. Now, about that rude comment of calling the rural areas Pennsyltucky. It just proves that you are from the corrupt, content, and provincial town of Philadelphia. And Wawa being Mainline? lol.— FletcherT- I would agree. Not sure why Philly.com needs to denigrate people from outside the Philly metro area" (especially when Philly has so many issues itself).
That being said, Wawa is great...but Sheetz is much further ahead in many ways, thus disproving the "Pennsyltucky" insult from typical left wing racists.— Professor1982 - I'm not sure why you have to respond to the first post in EVERY SINGLE comment section. Makes no difference if your response has anything to do with what the initial comment is about. Attention starved, maybe?
— wokmaster - Only a true wingnut could spin Sheetz vs Wawa into a bipartisan argument. Pennsyltucky was clearly a playful joke by the author. Now we have to be politically correct around liberals AND right wingers? — Bobski5000
- Dear God get laid already. — jonline
- FletcherT, Sheetz might be more modernized compared to Wawa... but that doesn't change the fact that their food is garbage compared to Wawa's.
The only thing Sheetz has going for it are their donuts.— daxtremesolja - Been in both, i like Wawa alot, but, if given a choice, I'd take Sheetz in a heart beat.— superstar_jr
- Agreed. I grew up in Pittsburgh but moved here for school and have remained ever since. While I like Wawa's sandwiches, I prefer Sheetz only because there is so much more variety. Don't try to order a burger and fries at Wawa, because you will get blank stares. Sheetz, on the other hand, offers Angus burgers and fries, as well as salads, chicken fingers, pizzas, wings, and fajitas (all made when you order them). And yes, Sheetz has had a coffee bar (i.e. made-to-order lattes, cappuccinos, smoothies) for quite awhile. — MASTERNC
- Bunch, you're a buffoon.— willshakespeare
Pennsyltucky is liberalspeak for 'wanting to keep the money you've earned instead of giving it to others.'— kjuggs77- As a Philadelphia taxpayer, I'm quite tired of my state taxes paying for services in Pennsyltucky. Do you really think the 4th largest market in the country isn't generating the majority of the tax revenue in this State?
— Pelti - @Pelti - Can you prove that statement? Last time I checked, Philly is a vacuum consuming the majority of state revenues and NOT the other way around. — Professor1982
- The last time I checked, you were an IDIOT, perfesser.
NOTHING has changed.— BEMiller - I can prove it for him. As everyone knows the census will not release estimated GDP by county, it only calculates GDP by state and metro. So this does make the question a little less clear. The two major metro areas, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, generate 346,392 m and 115,752 m respectively. The challenge is that the Philadelphia census metro area does include parts of Delaware and New Jersey. So let's round down Philly to 300,000. The total GDP of the entire state is 558,918. There are 12.7 million people living in PA and 7.2 million people live in the Pittsburgh or Philadelphia metro areas (only the PA part.) So 83% of the GDP in the state is created in areas with 56% of the people. I wonder if Philly and Pittsburgh are are receiving 83% of the services from the state...probably not.
So where are those numbers showing that Philly spends all the state's money?
Here are GDP stat links from the census:
State GDP: http://www.bea.gov/iTable/iTableHtml.cfm?reqid=70&step=10&isuri=1&7007=2010&7093=Levels&7003=200&7035=-1&7036=-1&7001=1200&7002=1&7090=70&7004=NAICS&7005=-1&7006=42000
Philadelphia GDP: http://www.bea.gov/iTable/iTableHtml.cfm?reqid=70&step=10&isuri=1&7007=2010&7036=-1&7003=200&7035=-1&7006=37980&7001=2200&7002=2&7090=70&7004=NAICS&7005=-1&7093=Levels
Pittsburgh GDP: http://www.bea.gov/iTable/iTableHtml.cfm?reqid=70&step=10&isuri=1&7007=2010&7036=-1&7090=70&7002=2&7035=-1&7001=2200&7006=38300&7003=200&7004=NAICS&7005=-1&7093=Levels— rugbychix - Philadelphia is the #8 market. It hasn't been #4 in quite some time. — Anti-Stepford Fan
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