Wawa worship despite low-quality gas, mediocre sandwiches, and bad pretzels (Philadelphia: transfer, live)

[PHL10]

Originally Posted by eliza61nyc

Ok see I hate these ridiculous statements.

1) yes you can get better sandwiches else where. You can also get better burgers than Mcdonalds. So if you go to a fast food or a convenience store and expect 4 star dining, I don't want you to fix my car because I have doubts about your intelligence.

2) Pretzels. I think philly pretzels are ALL over hyped. they are a dry snack. they all get hard after a few hours.
3) I don't find the gas subparb at all, I've been filing up on premium for years and never had any gas related issues at all.
4) want to talk about overhyped and over priced, let's talk Starbucks.

1) You may not be aware but many people make the claim that Wawa makes the "best" hoagies.

2) You may not like pretzels in general but Wawa's are an especially poor representation of them.


3) and 4) - I agree

[BPP1999]

Originally Posted by Patmcpsu

At the same time, Sheetz and Royal Farms have surpassed Wawa.

I don't have enough experience with Sheetz, but all of the Royal Farms I've been in (in MD) were dirty and had very small bathrooms. In one of them I had to hold my young daughter over a urinal because the women's room was closed and the toilet in the men's room was not operational.

[BPP1999]

Originally Posted by PHL10

1) You may not be aware but many people make the claim that Wawa makes the "best" hoagies.

2) You may not like pretzels in general but Wawa's are an especially poor representation of them.

..

Exactly.

1 - Wawa keeps winning "best hoagie" awards. Seriously??

2 - "Wawa's (pretzels) are an especially poor representation of them." I couldn't have said it better myself.

[southbound_295]

Originally Posted by 2e1m5a

It is the consistency of the products and the fact it is open 24 Hours everyday of the year. It usually offers the cheapest gas, coffee and cigarettes (their biggest sellers probably).


7/11 is about the only competition in this region, although even 7/11 hardly ever has gas as well, and their products are a noticeable downgrade in quality. I've never heard anything bad about Wawa gas, but I'm sure it helps their image that they always seem to offer the lowest gas prices compared to local competition.


People like convenience and consistency---Wawa is both. Although I agree that the Hoagies are not as good as they used to be when they used Amoroso. I have to admit Sheetz seems like it offers Wawa serious competition, and maybe why they don't expand into each other's territory? I have only been to Sheetz once in Harrisburg but can't compare the food because I didn't really try much.

I can't speak for Sheetz, but my sister has stopped in them occasionally & she says that the coffee is terrible. Sheetz is in the vicinity of Raleigh. They aren't that far from Richmond and Petersburg. You might want to start a thread on that board & get their opinion. Keep in mind, Wegmans is going in that area with 4 stores. While you can probably find another area with proximity of Sheetz & WaWa, that's probably your best bet.

[cpomp]

Originally Posted by Pennsport

That's a really good question, but my knee-jerk response would be limited market coupled with substantially higher real estate and cost in general. Obviously NYC would be out, as there is a deli or better option food within literally 100 feet in any direction; and of course no need for fuel (which is a huge money maker for WaWa). Then you have Boston, which seems to tick along with public transportation, so limited fuel potential as well.

The secondary markets seem to be much more ritzy and the residents probably have limited desire to stop at a glorified convenience store. I can't imagine a lot of executives from White Plains, Westchester or Fairfield asking their personal drivers to make a stop at WaWa on the way back from their Manhattan offices.

Finally, getting past those larger secondary markets, the population is just thin in a lot of the New England states.

These are complete guesses, and could be completely incorrect, BTW. , but if anyone knows for sure, I'd be interested in finding out...

The rich people on the Main Line have no problem stopping in Wawa on their way to work or shopping trips (which is overall wealthier than all the towns mentioned above). Only until recently that neighborhoods starting complaining about new Wawas (residents in Wayne aren't happy about a proposed Wawa on Lancaster Ave... they claim it will ruin the town, lol).

I think the commercialized areas of Fairfield and White Plains would handle a Wawa well due to the high amount of retail and traffic in those general areas.

But yea, outside of Boston, most of New England is too rural to support a Wawa invasion.

[southbound_295]

Originally Posted by cpomp

The rich people on the Main Line have no problem stopping in Wawa on their way to work or shopping trips (which is overall wealthier than all the towns mentioned above). Only until recently that neighborhoods starting complaining about new Wawas (residents in Wayne aren't happy about a proposed Wawa on Lancaster Ave... they claim it will ruin the town, lol).

I think the commercialized areas of Fairfield and White Plains would handle a Wawa well due to the high amount of retail and traffic in those general areas.

But yea, outside of Boston, most of New England is too rural to support a Wawa invasion.

Do a search on the main NJ board. I think a handful of WaWas were opened in the southern part of North Jersey. Apparently, they feel that they're better off going south. It's just nonsensical that they skipped from VA to FL. I could see them skipping SC & GA.

[Wells5]

Originally Posted by southbound_295

I can't speak for Sheetz, but my sister has stopped in them occasionally & she says that the coffee is terrible.

Sheetz is the gold standard in convenience stores. WaWa can't compare. Too bad Philly doesn't have any. Nearest are in Reading or Ephrata


Question: Anyone noticing the conversion of Sunoco convenience stores to 7-11s?

[southbound_295]

Originally Posted by Wells5

Sheetz is the gold standard in convenience stores. WaWa can't compare. Too bad Philly doesn't have any. Nearest are in Reading or Ephrata


Question: Anyone noticing the conversion of Sunoco convenience stores to 7-11s?

We're all allowed our opinions, I stated my sister's.

[PHL10]

Originally Posted by Wells5

Sheetz is the gold standard in convenience stores. WaWa can't compare.

In what way? Without even suggesting which is better, they do compare. To someone who would be seeing either establishment for the first time, they would think that the model is virtually the same. You can say one is better than the other but in the realm of convenience stores that offer a large menu, they are virtually identical.

[Gerania]

Originally Posted by BPP1999

I don't have enough experience with Sheetz, but all of the Royal Farms I've been in (in MD) were dirty and had very small bathrooms. In one of them I had to hold my young daughter over a urinal because the women's room was closed and the toilet in the men's room was not operational.

Yuck. At least Wawa bathrooms are clean. I buy their coffee once in a while. Their hoagie rolls are now terrible, but I wasn't crazy about their offering before that. I don't eat hot pretzels. I pick up half and half there once in a while because it's convenient.