A Few Words On Wawa

It's shocking, in a way, that I have maintained this blog for so long without commenting on Wawa. Wawa, for all my hypothetical readers out there, is a family-owned chain of convenience stores based near Philadelphia, with locations in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia and Florida. I once, long ago, wrote about the "Hardee's-Roy Rogers Factor" in determining whether you were in the Northeast or the South; Wawa holds a similar regional connotation. For millions who grew up, or live, in Eastern Pennsylvania or South Jersey, when you see a Wawa, you're home.

"Wawa," by the way, is a Native American word for the Canada Goose. On Wawa Hoagie Day in Philadelphia, the goose can be seen ambling around Independence Mall, giving out free hoagies to thousands of happy people. Yeah, Wawa is like that.

Respect the goose: Wawa on Independence Mall

I am generally reluctant to get overly excited or partisan about brands, but with Wawa, my loyalty developed early. There's the no-fee ATMs. The good coffee. That it started out as a dairy, so you could trust the milk. Today, my kids crave the sandwiches and mac n' cheese, love the touch-screen ordering, and sing the Wawa Hoagiefest song in the car. All hail the next generation.

I was annoyed by a recent article in the New York Times comparing Pennsylvania's two dominant convenience stores, Sheetz and Wawa. Sheetz was set up as the rural, Pa. heartland market, and Wawa as the tony suburban sandwich shop. I don't know much about Sheetz, but Wawa is a very democratic scene, loved by people from all walks of life. Rather than illustrating the increasing cultural/economic divide, Wawa, I think, represents the kind of no-nonsense quality it's getting harder to find. (NPR commentator Marion Winik once complained of pizza in Texas: you have to choose between "the bad" and "the froufrou." Wawa is neither—this is what I'm talking about.)

So if you find yourself in the Mid-Atlantic, be sure to check out The Wa. You can thank me later for sharing the love.