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.
Sheetz is AWFUL!!!!! Their coffee sucks the stores are unorganized and filthy. Give ma Wawa ANY DAY!!!!!!!!!!!— philly fan in cheyenne- Just put a WAWA in Destin area of florida, then I can retire a happy man.
And please, dont make Wawa national... keep it east coast!— flyersjoe - FINALLY A STORY WORTHY OF WILL'S TALENTS.....A CONVENINCE STORE BATTLE...YES, IT IS SOMETHING OUT OF NOTHING BUT FINALLY A STORY OF NO CONSEQUENCE BY A WRITER (??) OF NO CONSEQUENC....YEAH, NOW IF WE CAN ONLY GET HIM PERMANENTLY MOVED TO THE FOOD SECTION WHERE HIS LIMITED TALENT AND STUPID STORIES WILL MAKE PERFECT FISHWRAP NEWSPAPERS......— nuggett
- who really cares???— joegrink
- I have never seen a Sheetz store so I do not know what the real dispute is about. All I would like to know is: Was Sheetz founded by Fuller Sheetz?— gotedge
- Convenience stores do nothing for me. I remember Wawa in the early 80s...now I feel it's too big and lost it's appeal. I've been to Sheetz...not bad. But still, I don't get excited about either. I drive a lot and seldom stop at a convenience store. Wawa or heetz? ZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzz— road515
- I'm Philly born and bred. It's Wawa for me.— Fly Guy
- My in-laws live in VA and have a couple of sheetz and wawas on the road from 95 to their town. The newer sheetz still have the compact feel of the old wawas from before. The menu is slightly different because they have a fryer, but it doesn't make their chicken sandwiches any better. Also their specials are weird; when they run the footlong specials they are $4, which sounds great until you order it too look like the ham and cheese sandwich on the display, they charge you $1 for the cheese.— flavious27
- I was surprised this story even made the NYT. Perhaps a reflection of the amazing response from a "bread" story about a month ago. One wonders though...where is 7/11?
With that being said in this internet age it is perhaps telling/interesting to see from where we seek a real community with real people..."Food"?— Cuddles - Sheetz, 436 locations, 14,500 employees & Wawa, 600 locations, 18,000 employees, recently made the leap from Virginia to Florida, with no stores in between.
I always refered to Wawa as 7-11 done right. The people collecting your money never had to stop being cashiers so they could cut some idiot's lunch meat. This matters when you're in a hurry.— Ed Crocheron - Wawa rocks— 1000hugs
- QuikChek!— Amorris1pa
- Bunch...this shows you are even dumber than once thought....if that is even possible. You should just join the circus. Freak.— kelprod2-freemarket
- this is good for the rest of the country. I'd give the edge to sheetz but wawa is pretty good as well. I miss the wawa's with grills though— dreinterests
- Wawa has gone down hill BIG TIME, I can't wait to check out a Sheetz!— LumpDog
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