Wawa: Fueling the 20-Somethings

Morning is my favorite time of day. I rise with the sun and greet the day nearly every morning at 6 am, much to the bewilderment of my other 20-something roommates. There is nothing I enjoy more than waking up to a quiet house and sitting on my back porch with a good book and fresh cup of coffee. But not just any coffee.

 

In light of opening its newest store in Orlando, Florida this past week, I thought I’d take the time to tell you about Wawa, an establishment very near and dear to my heart. For those who have been terribly misinformed, Wawa is not "just a gas station,"( although some Super Wawa's do conveniently provide petrol pumps). To clarify, some brief background:

Wawa can be described as a convenience store chain, but for those who grew up with one of these all-purpose, 24-hour watering holes right around the corner, it is so much more. The company started with the decline of home delivery milk products in the early 1960s. Needing an outlet to sell his dairy products, Grahame Wood opened the first Wawa Food Market in 1964 in Folsom, Pennsylvania (my hometown). The market was a huge success and the business expanded to include meat products, fresh fruits and vegetables, and other convenience store items. The chain infiltrated the area, opening more and more stores in surrounding Philadelphia and New Jersey suburbs. Rapidly, Wawa became the corner “Mom and Pop” shop of the 21st century.

Courtesy of Wawa Inc.

Today, Wawa has over 600 locations in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, and now Florida. Their products include made-to-order sandwiches and wraps from the deli, and daily rotations of delicious soups and side dishes. These items, as well as freshly blended smoothies and frozen coffee drinks, are ordered on quick, easy-to-use touchscreen computers. For the busy as hell 20-somethings, there are also ready-to-go salads, fresh fruit cups, and snack packs.

Courtesy of Wawa Inc.

Then, of course, there is the coffee. According to their website, Wawa customers enjoy over 195 million cups of their award-winning coffee each year. Their blends range from the smooth and mellow regular and decaf blends, to the stronger 100% Colombian and Kona blends, to the rich and bold signature dark roast. Flavored varieties always include French Vanilla and Hazelnut, and World Brew varieties from Peru, Brazil, and Hawaii rotate every few months. Specialty flavors like "Pumpkin Spice" vary season to season. Whatever your preference, there is nothing that can quite parallel a fresh cup of Wawa coffee. "Stale," "bitter," and "burnt" are words that do not exist in the Wawa-coffee vocabulary. If your state is currently Wawa-deprived, you can order 12 oz. bags of any of their blends for only $7.99 from their online store.

Courtesy of Wawa Inc.

Every morning at 6 am, a sip of Wawa coffee takes me back to my quiet street, on my front porch in Folsom, Pennsylvania  –if only for a minute. While my infatuation clearly runs deeper, I do believe every major city, minor city, and quiet suburb needs to have a Wawa, if only to service the hectic lives of the 20-something population. I am personally hoping for expansion in the New England region, but for now, I'll have to settle for my parents sending me crates of my favorite coffee from home...