He's top 'goose' at chart-topping Wawa

THE PHILLIES are in the basement. The Eagles are a major question mark. But at least we'll always have Hoagiefest.

As president and CEO of Wawa, Chris Gheysens oversees the groovy annual discount-sandwich love-in, along with the chain's 695 stores (the new beachhead for expansion is Florida) and 23,000 employees.

Gheysens, 44, is married with four children and visited Rome last month as part of the city's papal delegation, tasked with nailing down details for the pope's visit this September.

Daily News staff writer Becky Batcha spoke with him this week to ask about the extreme devotion that people around Philly have for his chain's convenience stores - ranked America's favorites this week in a consumer poll - and to see what's next in the pipeline for Wawa devotees, beyond the company's request to sell beer at its Chadds Ford store. (To be decided soon by Concord Township supervisors.)

Spoiler alert: Wawa milkshakes! Custom-made for you, not by you.

Q You got your accounting degree from Villanova and your MBA from Saint Joe's. So let's start with the most pressing question: Which side do you sit on for Holy War basketball games?

Well, to be honest, both. With any undergraduate experience you have such an emotional attachment, and Wawa has such a long history with St. Joe's. It is hard for me to choose either.

Q That's a very politic answer. How do you feel deep in your heart?

In basketball right now my heart is with Jay Wright and the Villanova Wildcats.

Q Your title is president and CEO, but your business card says "lead goose." Why do you prefer that?

That's just part of the Wawa way. I find it to be a better fit for our culture than "president and CEO." Any senior leader of Wawa doesn't take themselves too seriously. Our success is all about our associates.

Q Wawa is all over the news right now. You've asked to sell beer in Chadds Ford. You've signed on as a partner to feed first responders during the pope's visit and provide water to the multitudes. We're in the midst of Hoagiefest. What else is new?

From a business perspective, launching our mobile app is something new to us. Our Florida expansion and North Jersey are new. Opening Broad and Walnut as a Center City non-gas store [slated for fall] is certainly new and exciting to us as well.

Remodels are also an area where we've launched an aggressive strategy. It's important that our existing stores - especially in the Delaware Valley - look and feel like a new store. We're undertaking a three-year-program to remodel every store that was born before 2010. It's roughly 450 stores.

Q What are some specific changes that customers might look for?

The color scheme will be different - warmer in tone. We're going from a natural maple wood to a more ash-colored, almost oaky feel. Also green tile, behind our food-service area, to denote freshness, and a more warm, chocolate-colored tile behind our coffee area. There will be multiple digital screens to talk about our full offer of products.

We'll have full-serve milkshakes that are built to order on our touch screen. Those are fantastic. Milkshakes are in all the remodels.

Q You're personally involved with the pope's visit, and Wawa is famous for getting people in and out quickly. Is there any specific logistical knowledge you've been able to share about that with SEPTA and PATCO?

Not specifically. The city is more expert on that than we would be.

Q Around Philly, we love our Wawas. I sometimes notice customers doing a little dance to your super catchy playlist. Do your store associates ever notice that?

Oh, yeah. Certainly in some stores, yes, absolutely. In the nature of our Wawa associates, sometimes they dance with them.

Q Are you aware that there's a Twitter handle (@WawaBangers) where people share which song they've just heard?

I was not aware of that. I thought I was pretty up-to-date on social media. I'm aware of the sites where people have seen each other at Wawa and are looking to connect with each other in a deeper way. I think we're up to three weddings this year.

Another phenomenon at Wawa that I like to talk about is that people seem to hold the door for each other longer than anywhere else. Our associates have a lot to do with that, making the environment special and comfortable for everyone.

There's something pretty unique about it and about that two-door vestibule set. We looked, in Florida, whether to go with automatic doors. But we like that people hold the door for each other.

Q The late-night crowd at my suburban Wawa sometimes includes cops and stoners, side-by-side. I wonder: Have you considered brokering a deal for peace in the Middle East?

That would probably be a tall order for us. But it is a unique place where people come together.