Sheetz vs. Wawa: It ends here.
It may seem like a silly debate to some, it may be the most serious affiliation a person can declare to others, and to a casual observer there may be no distinguishable difference between either of them at all…
It is a battle over which East Coast mega convenience store is best: Sheetz or Wawa? (Don’t even bother mentioning Royal Farms or Rutter’s in this argument, they are the Canada of the G7 in this debate)
Most Wawa people wouldn’t turn their back on Sheetz if all that was available at the exit was infact only a Sheetz, a Blimpie/Exxon, and an outdated Texaco. Likewise Sheetz fans would happily break mold and jump in to a Wawa for a coffee and pack of smokes if its a closer walk to their beach rental.
The question is which one do you pick when both are side by side on a green “facilities” highway sign? Do you drive a few extra exits on an empty tank - passing two Sheetz locations - to get to the Wawa? Do you have all of the Sheetz exits memorized on Route 81? Or do you (know the difference enough to) go to the “good Wawa” when there are two in one town on your way to go skiing in West Virginia? If that’s how seriously you take your Sheetz-obsession or Wawa-devotion. then this debate is for you.
Over this next week I will examine these two gas-convenience behemoths in an effort to finally determine who is the number one king of the 99 cent coffee and loaded hot dog mountain. Each morning this week I will post a new round in the battle leading up to a final conclusion and announcement of the winner at the end of the week.
Feel free to contribute your thoughts in the comments section - I haven’t written the final post to determine the winner and I can say that its basically a dead heat at this point so make your voice heard. Now let’s get ready to rumble - the bout begins now…
ROUND 1: Let us consider first how Sheetz and Wawa are similar:
- Both feature large, well-lit 24-hour retail space
- Each offers a wide variety of prepared to order foods purchased via a touch screen interface at reasonable prices
- Most (see future rounds) offer gasoline at or around the cheapest prices in town
- Each carries countless brands of soft drinks, bottled beverages, candies, chips, jerkies, and otherwise general convenience store crap
- Each has around a dozen flavors of coffee and specialty lattes available
- Sheetz and Wawa are constantly reinventing themselves and you can see new “versions” of their stores every few years, making you proclaim that THIS is now the “money Sheetz” or the “nice Wawa“
- Both are found in abundance along major highways in the north east and can also be found randomly in small towns
- Both have bathrooms that don’t require keys, are generally clean, and have multiple stalls
ADVANTAGE: Well these are the ways the two are similar so of course round one is a TIE
Please take into consideration WaWa goes into high COL areas like Hockessin, DE. The WaWa is the center of town there both socially and economically. I’ve never seen a sheetz located more than half a mile from a major interstate.
I think the best Wawa is better than the average Sheetz. However, Wawas tend to vary in quality, both in food and facilities, while the total Sheetz experience is consistently excellent. All other things being equal, if I had to choose between an unknown Wawa and and unknown Sheetz, it’d be Sheetz every time.
There is a Sheetz in Powhatan, VA. This too is the social and economical center of town. It’s significance to the community has been cemented as a man named “Scooter” voluntarily stands watch at the door with rifle in hand to guard against invading union troops.