Never heard of it. Never heard of Buckees either. :-)

On an East Coast college tour with one of my daughters one kid asked whether there was a Wawa close to campus. Most of the crowd smiled and nodded as if agreeing it would be a good thing if there were one nearby. I looked at him and asked what the heck a Wawa was....

We don't have them here, but I've been in them elsewhere and don't see what the big deal is. It's just another convenience store. There was the same excitement last year when Chick-fil-A opened here. Cars were line up, the highway off ramps were backed up and people camped out overnight. It's just FAST FOOD, people! Even if it's fantastic fast food, it's still just fast food. (I tried it - meh.)

Much more than a convenience store, a great food store. They custom-make terrific sandwiches at a really low price. Cheaper than Subway and 100 times better. Good coffee and other goodies. Warm giant chocolate chip cookies for 99 cents.

We moved to PA from CA 15 months ago, and quickly became Wawa fans. And yeah, cheapest gas around, too.

No Wawa's in Oklahoma.

I've been to Buckees. It's like a giant convenience store-- seriously it's the size of a large WalMart. With tons of gas pumps.

They have their own store brand as well.

And CLEAN! I've never seen such a clean facility -- especially the bathrooms!

Where do you live Rita? I've never heard of wawa either.

We used to visit Philadelphia regularly and there are Wawas (with no gas stations) at storefront locations throughout the downtown area. I'd describe them as way better than a 7-Eleven (which I'd never eat at) or fast food place but not quite a restaurant either. You order at a counter. They have sandwiches (including bagel ones at breakfast) and healthy salads made to order, soups, decent enough coffee and pastries, etc. There's no question that the convenience of their locations was a factor in their popularity and how busy they were. The food was usually quite good for what it was - it was an easy choice when you wanted something quick and healthy to eat.

The rural ones and those at gas stations may be a different animal, I've never been to one.

The food quality seems very consistent. Most store do not have gas. The ones that do are usually huge. You order by a touch screen pad and there are no end of options. And your sandwich is made to order perfectly. (Mayo, extra mayo, little mayo, and other nuances). The machine spits out a tag with a number on it. Take that to the cashier and pay, and your sandwich will be ready when you come back to the deli counter. Grab your sandwich when the deli clerk calls your number and leave the tag in a basket. There is an incredible honor system. Another Wawa tradition is holding the door open for the next person. And lots of "thank you"s, too. It's the Cult of Wawa.

Sounds a lot like our convenience/gas stores around me Sheetz.

I would never, ever, ever compare the quality of fresh, healthy food I've had at several urban Wawas to the stale, prepackaged or often greasy garbage served in most convenience/gas station stores I've been to.

Never heard of it, but I'm out west.

Began in SE PA, the family was in the dairy business, and the early stores were mostly sold dairy products. They have grown over the years to become a competitor to the better-known chains but definitely have a cult-like following, especially for those of us from eastern PA and NJ. The newer Wawas have gas stations where they can find stand-alone space. Sheetz is the central/west PA "rival". I just noticed that Royal Farms is trying to make inroads into PA, there is one near my mom's in Philly and less than 1/2 mile from a Wawa.

a wawa is the same as a 7-11 store, no big deal

a wawa is the same as a 7-11 store, no big deal

Not even close.

Sheetz sells only made to order sandwhiches, lots of salads, fresh fruits, fresh cut up and pre washed veggies..lots of healthier foods..and yes hot dogs lol...no way sheetz foods could ever be compared to what Elmer said.

Ordering is also done on a touch monitor.

There's a big autobody school in town Wyotech so Sheetz does cook hot dogs and fries but most of the foods are much more healthy than any other fast food. They have a chicken salad to die for and a veggie hogie I love.

DD and SIL used to speak very highly of Wawa for their subs and cheese steak sandwiches. That was when they lived in Philly. They are Wawa-less now in the OKC area and mention how they miss it.

Thanks for the Wawa education....never heard of it ....until now. :0)

Littlebug, I live in Brooksville, FL, very small rural community. I guess since there isn't much here it is a big deal but there are already gas stations all over the place.

I took at look at Sheetz's menu - it's like I described generically of less than healthy convenience/gas station food and bears little resemblance to what Wawa serves.

Look at this link, it's their food page. The three things they chose to represent what they have are two greasy fried items and a hot dog. The nutrition page shows a long list of very high and empty calorie food items and drinks.

Sheetz food

I agree with sushipup that Wawa is a step above 7-11. She described it so well. It is the consistency of the good food (custom sandwiches and salads), good coffee for a $1, the set up of the actual store and all at a great price. They have actually been renovating their stores and making them look more updated and beautiful. They just opened a large one around the financial district on Market Street in Philadelphia with wi-fi and seating. It is a great place if you want a reliably good sandwich on the go, with a cup of coffee.

The same thing happened here when they opened a Dollar General in a town of 1400 people. You would have thought it was a Disney World too. I don't even like DG. I would have much rather seen a Dollar Tree. At least everything is a dollar there.

Oh yes, I understand the excitement completely! My previous home was in a more rural area. If you wanted anything other than Food Lion, 7-11, McDonalds, or Pizza Hut, you had to drive 25 miles "to town." So yeah, tons of excitement when the CVS pharmacy opened! Again, when we got our own Walmart! Again, when the Sheetz opened -- their kitchen was overwhelmed for days. But for each place, after a couple weeks, the thrill wore off, and traffic settled down to normal.

It wasn't that any of these stores were *wonderful*, it was joy that we no longer had to drive the better part of an hour each way to get ordinary stuff.

I opened this just because of the title! LOL..during my tour I will ride through Wawa, the town. :)

Seeing the title, all I could think of was Gilda Radner and "Baba Wawa". Other than Gilda's Baba, I've never heard of Wawa.

The Wawa's around central FL are all gas stations with outside seating available. They are super clean. I like their seasonal turkey bowls , quesadillas, burrito bowls, smoothies, soft pretzels, apple strudel. The menu is large and customized to your specifications. Plus there are grab & go salads, and fruit combos, fresh fruit, hot soups.

I live in PA and have never seen a WaWa although I knew what it was. Around here there's nothing but Sheetz and Rutters, and I have never been in either. I prefer a sit-down restaurant, not a gas station or a fast food place.

Wish we had WaWas here in southern California.

OMG...I couldn't live without a Wawa near me. I grew up a mile or so from the original dairy farm (now corporate headquarters). It is a place where you can get really healthy food or junk food plus basic groceries, slurps, coffee, dairy etc. When my relatives come visit from North Jersey, they go to Wawa several times a day-it has become a family joke. And they are nothing like 7-11. All the 7-11s around here (we have a wawa every 3 miles at least) have closed down.

They are pretty much only in Pa, southern NJ, and Florida as far as I know but maybe moved south to Maryland as well by now. They are privately owned still too which is amazing and probably accounts for their greatness. Employees are treated very well too (close friends is a manager). I have a feeling that they are going to keep spreading south and north on the East coast and meet in the middle.

Plus now that they are gas stations, you can get cheap gas as well (although I still support my local gas station because he is a service station as well and don't want him to close).

They are all over Virginia!

I had to look... they're in Nashville. I'll have to visit.

Yeah it's Buckee's here too. There's none actually in the city I live but when people travel close by they love to stop there. Apparently the huge one that was recently built can be seen from space haha! 7-11's are making a come back here too. People missed the Slurpees!

I remember when they first opened a Krispy Kreme here. There were lines down the highway. Before they built one here anytime my mom and I would travel where there was one people would give her orders. lol The last place to cause a big commotion was In and Out Burger. I live in a big city and people still get excited about these places :D

I am another one that has never heard of them. I asked my friend, who is from N.J., about it. She said they love them & that is one thing she misses from there.

Don't get too excited, it's just a basic salad-soup-sandwich-coffee, order at the counter place. But when looking for something quick and good, it fills the bill.

Never heard of them until now. I guess I'll have to add Wawa to my bucket list.

We love our Wawa's!!! we are close to the original dairy farm. DH only drinks their coffee, everyday 7days a week. great convenience store with many other options as described above. only the new wawa's have gas. they are in the process of re-modeling the older ones. ours just got done about 3-4 months ago. they gave out 5 week coupon books for you to go their other stores during the re-model, free coffee, free pastry etc...they have free coffee day about 3-4 times a year! all u can carry as many times a day as u want. "hoagiefest" in the summer. all kinds of seasonal promotions etc...

a very well run company and their employees all have stock in the company. DS girlfriend interned there last year, got the scoop. if you are there about 30 years you will have over $1 million dollars in retirement. not too shabby!!

Now I know what Wawa is. Gardenweb is educational.

As a former Jersey girl, I will say that we bought our milk at Wawa because it was always fresh. I think the cooler temps in my regular supermarket was poor and although I complained, their milk never lasted regardless of their date stamp. Wawa milk never ever went bad in my fridge.

My friend next door went out every morning to get her WAWA coffee and then come back home to get ready for work. And yes, she had a coffee pot at home that her husband used, but she wanted her WAWA fix.

Wawa's are huge in PA and surrounding states. We also live very close to the dairy farm so I guess we are neighbors, Sprtphntc. Morning rush hour and lunch are probably their busiest time, outside of their gas service, but, it's rare to see an empty Wawa ever - even at 2:30 in the morning. Here's some interesting info about Wawa.

Yep, it's hoagiefest time; just heard the commercial on TV. Catchy tune.

wawa means "wild goose"... supposedly? i grew up where wawa got started... in Delaware county, pa. was an actual dairy and school field trip destination for many kids. you got to see the cows, up close, watch them being milked, see how milk gets from cow to fridge.

first store opened in 1964 and only recently closed after a new "super wawa"opened near by. they make decent hoagies... very popular around lunch time. usually jammed in morning with people getting their coffee. i don't think they've ever had a store that failed? if a store closed down or changed hands an became something else, most likely because they didn't have the ground to become "super" by adding a gas station. they often have better gas prices than other places.

Sounds similar to Cumberland Farms in our area.

We have them in MD -good gas prices, never had their food. Just remodeled the one closest to me -guess I'll have to check it out.

I get it. We had QuikTrip in Oklahoma and Bucees here. They are more of an 'experience' than a regular gas station. The employees have always been friendly,helpful and appear to well trained. The stores are clean. They have specialty drinks and fresh food. They have a couple of items that must be some sort of loss leader because the prices are inexpensive. These places have standards of performance and feel 'safe' compared to other competition.

I've been a Wawa fan all my life. It started as a dairy, and I remember going on a field trip there in elementary school. I just had a Wawa hoagie yesterday. Italian with extra meat. The Wawa 's closest to me do not have gas stations. They are famous for horrible parking lots. Really, they make Whole Food lots look like Walmart lots! Wawa parking lots

there are some I won't even go in. It's like bumper cars.

My sons friend had a tattoo of the Wawa logo, that's how crazy people are about them.

Rita, small world I grew up just south of Brooksville in Spring Hill. We just got a WaWa here in Wimauma about a month ago. They have really good sandwiches. My son stops in the morning on his way home from work and has them make him a breakfast sandwich. He loves them. They have good chicken nuggets made with real chicken and their cookies are really good too. So far I have been very happy with them.

Never heard of Wawa. Frankly, I don't "get" the obsession with Wegman's, which moved into my area recently.

For a great summer trip ... maybe you could follow Moni's route around that long north side of Lake Superior, then down the long east coast, to visit a town called "Wawa".

On the other hand - check Google maps and find it ... maybe even take a tour of the town ('twouldn't take long, as it's not a large place: more or less what we used to call a "one-horse" town).

Some years ago, its chief claim to fame was the distress that longhaul hitch-hikers felt when stranded there, unable to catch a ride, for a couple of days (or three) - it's a LONG, LONG haul around the east and north sides of Lake Superior).

I can almost guarantee that there's no "Wawa"s to which you all are referring, there.

ole joyful

I became familiar with Wegmans on visits to upstate NY and the NJ side of the urban area when visiting Philadelphia (it might have been Cherry Hill NJ).

I love their stores. To me, the selection and quality of their wines, seafood, produce, bakery and meats are the story. Even in one store in a relatively small town (not near any large urban area), they had a first class selection and variety that you wouldn't have expected to see in that region.

If you aren't into adventurous cooking and eating, it would be just another grocery store, a large one at that that would require more walking than a smaller competitor's location. But for others, the availability, quality and selection of a much broader number of products than the average blah-chain has is the draw.

Oh I love Wegmans! The first one we discovered was (still is) in Corning, NY, while on vacation, so of course we were predisposed to enjoy the experience. Delighted that they expanded into Virginia, close enough for us to get there pretty regularly. I always pick out a new cheese to try (small chunk though, because they can be expensive per pound.)

I left off cheese from my list. I agree - amazing selections.