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I would love to add a section that highlights the almost cult-like following that WaWa has. To simply call it a "convenience store in the Philadelphia area" doesn't capture the phenomenon. For anyone who is not familair with the area, imagine how people feel about Trader Joe's, or In-and-Out, but it is unique to Philadelphians and the Delco area as a whole.
I've found multiple articles on this topic, the one that seems to hit the nail on the head is this one from Philly Magazine-- "Philly loves Wawa. Ever since the first Wawa opened at the corner of MacDade Blvd. and Swarthmore Ave. in Folsom, Pennsylvania over 50 years ago, we’ve had an obsession with this local chain. Wawa isn’t just a convenience store, it’s the convenience store of Philadelphia." [1]
Another topic of note with regards to WaWa and local culture, is whether WaWa or their rival, Sheetz, is the better store. I would liken it to the Eagles-Steelers rivalry, that has been around since 1933. How a convenience store gets the same fervor as a sports team will forever be a mystery to me, but it has happened none the less! Here's a quote from a humorous article that tries to settle the argument: "Sheetz is typically louder and flashier, with a more intense vibe than Wawa’s unassuming, plain and simple appearance. Sheetz has a wide variety of exotic frozen drink options on their Slushie menu, ranging from peanut butter and jelly to horchata to orange creamsicle and more. But while Sheetz may seem like it has more options, Wawa reminds us that no matter how you are dressed, you are welcome there. Still wearing your pajamas and heading out for a snack? No one will judge you." [2]
The last bit of evidence I'd like to site with regards to just how much of a cult-like nature WaWa has developed is how it has seeped it's way into national pop culture references as well.
Johnny Knoxville of Jackass fame has a WaWa tattoo on his upper left arm, which he confirmed in a reddit AmA [3], Kate Winslet has spoken about her love of WaWa, calling it a "mythical place" [4], and it shows up time and again in It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, notable in Season 2, episode 1 "Charlie gets crippled". Danny Devito's character Frank says, "Go down to the Wawa, pick me up a couple of sodas. I got a feeling I'll be pretty thirsty after this." [5] There's local humor here, and a sort of Philly pride, in the fact that Frank says WaWa specifically-- he didn't say 7 Eleven after all!
I am wary of making a section that just has a bunch of pop culture references... however I do think this cult-like nature around the store is fascinating and should be reflected on the WaWa page. I welcome any thoughts/criticism from the community, and look forward to hearing your thoughts (and if anyone else is a Philly native, please feel free to chime in!) InhumanScarab ( talk) 18:33, 4 December 2021 (UTC)
References
Does anyone have a source for the part of the article that states Wawa tried opening locations in Connecticut and other parts of New England in the late 90s but left due to competition? There's no footnote for this statement and I would like to know more about Wawa's history in New England.
thank you 2601:18D:57F:F690:F6A7:1434:D8F0:235C ( talk) 02:39, 24 July 2022 (UTC)
Source: https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/wawas-planned-for-lebanon-manchester-dickson/ stephenyeargin ( talk) 15:45, 23 June 2024 (UTC)
![]() | This article is rated B-class on Wikipedia's
content assessment scale. It is of interest to the following WikiProjects: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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This page has archives. Sections older than 365 days may be automatically archived by Lowercase sigmabot III when more than 3 sections are present. |
I would love to add a section that highlights the almost cult-like following that WaWa has. To simply call it a "convenience store in the Philadelphia area" doesn't capture the phenomenon. For anyone who is not familair with the area, imagine how people feel about Trader Joe's, or In-and-Out, but it is unique to Philadelphians and the Delco area as a whole.
I've found multiple articles on this topic, the one that seems to hit the nail on the head is this one from Philly Magazine-- "Philly loves Wawa. Ever since the first Wawa opened at the corner of MacDade Blvd. and Swarthmore Ave. in Folsom, Pennsylvania over 50 years ago, we’ve had an obsession with this local chain. Wawa isn’t just a convenience store, it’s the convenience store of Philadelphia." [1]
Another topic of note with regards to WaWa and local culture, is whether WaWa or their rival, Sheetz, is the better store. I would liken it to the Eagles-Steelers rivalry, that has been around since 1933. How a convenience store gets the same fervor as a sports team will forever be a mystery to me, but it has happened none the less! Here's a quote from a humorous article that tries to settle the argument: "Sheetz is typically louder and flashier, with a more intense vibe than Wawa’s unassuming, plain and simple appearance. Sheetz has a wide variety of exotic frozen drink options on their Slushie menu, ranging from peanut butter and jelly to horchata to orange creamsicle and more. But while Sheetz may seem like it has more options, Wawa reminds us that no matter how you are dressed, you are welcome there. Still wearing your pajamas and heading out for a snack? No one will judge you." [2]
The last bit of evidence I'd like to site with regards to just how much of a cult-like nature WaWa has developed is how it has seeped it's way into national pop culture references as well.
Johnny Knoxville of Jackass fame has a WaWa tattoo on his upper left arm, which he confirmed in a reddit AmA [3], Kate Winslet has spoken about her love of WaWa, calling it a "mythical place" [4], and it shows up time and again in It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, notable in Season 2, episode 1 "Charlie gets crippled". Danny Devito's character Frank says, "Go down to the Wawa, pick me up a couple of sodas. I got a feeling I'll be pretty thirsty after this." [5] There's local humor here, and a sort of Philly pride, in the fact that Frank says WaWa specifically-- he didn't say 7 Eleven after all!
I am wary of making a section that just has a bunch of pop culture references... however I do think this cult-like nature around the store is fascinating and should be reflected on the WaWa page. I welcome any thoughts/criticism from the community, and look forward to hearing your thoughts (and if anyone else is a Philly native, please feel free to chime in!) InhumanScarab ( talk) 18:33, 4 December 2021 (UTC)
References
Does anyone have a source for the part of the article that states Wawa tried opening locations in Connecticut and other parts of New England in the late 90s but left due to competition? There's no footnote for this statement and I would like to know more about Wawa's history in New England.
thank you 2601:18D:57F:F690:F6A7:1434:D8F0:235C ( talk) 02:39, 24 July 2022 (UTC)
Source: https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/wawas-planned-for-lebanon-manchester-dickson/ stephenyeargin ( talk) 15:45, 23 June 2024 (UTC)