Wawa Markets are coming to Florida

[Scott5114]

Welp, as long as I live in west Texas, I'll never worry about Wawa or Sheetz or any of that mess! I got Stripes here, that'll do it for me. 90% of the locations are clean.. They also have nice variety. But I do wanna go to both of those stores! For now I got Love's though.
BigMatt

What sort of food does Stripes serve? I have never been in one, but have seen them around Lawton and Altus.

[Michael in Philly]

We used to get their milk at Steak and Ale Restaurant in Clark, NJ.    I do not know how it came to be as the nearest Sheetz is hundreds of miles away.  Nearest I can tell, Steak and Ale was a national chain and somewhere along the lines a distributor of a common denominator served us both someplace in Western, PA or other state where Sheetz is.

The nearest Sheetz to Clark (I grew up in a town that borders Clark, actually...northwest of it.  But not Westfield) is actually in Bethlehem, Pa.  :-)

Distribution may be based near Altoona though - where Sheetz started.  I was on the Turnpike between Harrisburg and Bedford yesterday and saw an awful lot of Sheetz trucks heading east.

[roadman65]

The first five stores are all open in and around Orlando.  The one by Sea World is hopping plenty!  The smoothies there at all of these are to die for. 

I love the way you place your deli sandwich order on touch screen and the fact that the beer is kept in a walk in cooler.  I think this is the start of a new trend in Central Florida.

[jp the roadgeek]

You forgot Speedway! I stopped in their places when visiting Columbus and Indianapolis. I had a Wawa across the street from my Philadelphia hotel in Center City recently, too.

I'm fairly certain that there were a couple of Wawa stores here in Connecticut until the early 1990s or so. We had one close to Central Connecticut State University in New Britain and one in Newington on Kelsey Street, very close to the New Britain city line. I think some other former locations became Krauser's, one of which is on Main Street in East Hartford.

Don't know about Connecticut, but there was a Wawa ages ago two blocks from my grandmother on Staten Island, so they may have had more of a presence in the New York area than they do now.  Now they seem to be concentrating on points south of Philadelphia - even upstate Pennsylvania they seem to be mostly leaving to Sheetz.  And in turn, there's not a Sheetz within 50 miles of Philadelphia.  (Unless Morgantown is within that limit, just.)

All the Krauszer's in CT used to be Wawa.  Also a couple more I can think of:  in Cromwell right off of I-91 exit 21, and in Rocky Hill near the junction of Routes 3 and 160.  Think there were even a couple down in the New Haven area (one on Route 80).  The one by CCSU was a hole in the wall compared to the modern Wawas I've been to in the Mid-Atlantic.  God, I can go for a cup of their iced coffee right about now.   New England doesn't have many great convenience stores (7-11, Cumberland Farms, Fast Freddie's, and X-tra Mart pale compared to Wawa and Sheetz)

[roadman65]

I heard that Sheetz is much like Wawa from a girl who was raised in Winchester, VA.  I only had dealings with them years ago back in 1984 and 85 when I visited Horseshoe Curve near Altoona, PA.  Back then they were like 7 Eleven, but they must of changed over the years if they are better than Wawa as some here say.

Kelly, the bartender at a local pub, says that you get fresh to order deli sandwiches just like Wawa in there and she raves about them.  I have to visit Western PA or NW VA to see which is better.  For now Wawa is satisfying and the only game in town.

[Road Hog]

Welp, as long as I live in west Texas, I'll never worry about Wawa or Sheetz or any of that mess! I got Stripes here, that'll do it for me. 90% of the locations are clean.. They also have nice variety. But I do wanna go to both of those stores! For now I got Love's though.
BigMatt

West Texas also has Allsup's, which has a reputation for tasty chimichangas. But I've found their cleanliness isn't the greatest.

[cpzilliacus]

I heard that Sheetz is much like Wawa from a girl who was raised in Winchester, VA.  I only had dealings with them years ago back in 1984 and 85 when I visited Horseshoe Curve near Altoona, PA.  Back then they were like 7 Eleven, but they must of changed over the years if they are better than Wawa as some here say.

Kelly, the bartender at a local pub, says that you get fresh to order deli sandwiches just like Wawa in there and she raves about them.  I have to visit Western PA or NW VA to see which is better.  For now Wawa is satisfying and the only game in town.

Sheetz exists in the exurban counties of Maryland and Virginia all around Washington, D.C. (though not close to D.C. itself or even the Capital Beltway, or, for that matter, Baltimore City or the Baltimore Beltway), and mostly on the west side of the region - according to the Sheetz Web site, there are only a few on the east side in Maryland, in California and Great Mills (St. Mary's County) and Joppa (Harford County). Similarly, in Virginia, they are common to the west and southwest of D.C., with a few to the south and (far) southeast of D.C. in places like Fredericksburg, King George (King George County) and Tappahannock (Essex County).

The two busiest ones I have ever seen (based on personal informal observations) are both in Virginia - one on the corner of U.S. 15 and Va. 55 (a block south of I-66) in Haymarket, Prince William County.  There's not much in the way of fuel or other services along I-66  to the west of Haymarket until one reaches Linden (Va. 79), and not much to the north of this location along U.S. 15 either.  The other super-busy Sheetz I have observed is in Opal, Fauquier County, Va., south of Warrenton, where U.S. 17 diverges from U.S. 29/U.S. 15.

Sheetz seems to avoid any jurisdiction that might possibly have a perception of "big city" problems (probably crime and panhandling, since their all-self-serve pumps would almost certainly be a tempting target for panhandlers wanting to pump fuel (for a "fee")).

Regarding food at Sheetz, I think they are similar to Wawa in many ways. I don't think I have ever seen a Sheetz gas pumps in front (they may exist, but I have never seen one). 

[wriddle082]

Sheetz exists in the exurban counties of Maryland and Virginia all around Washington, D.C. (though not close to D.C. itself or even the Capital Beltway, or, for that matter, Baltimore City or the Baltimore Beltway), and mostly on the west side of the region - according to the Sheetz Web site, there are only a few on the east side in Maryland, in California and Great Mills (St. Mary's County) and Joppa (Harford County). Similarly, in Virginia, they are common to the west and southwest of D.C., with a few to the south and (far) southeast of D.C. in places like Fredericksburg, King George (King George County) and Tappahannock (Essex County).

The two busiest ones I have ever seen (based on personal informal observations) are both in Virginia - one on the corner of U.S. 15 and Va. 55 (a block south of I-66) in Haymarket, Prince William County.  There's not much in the way of fuel or other services along I-66  to the west of Haymarket until one reaches Linden (Va. 79), and not much to the north of this location along U.S. 15 either.  The other super-busy Sheetz I have observed is in Opal, Fauquier County, Va., south of Warrenton, where U.S. 17 diverges from U.S. 29/U.S. 15.

Sheetz seems to avoid any jurisdiction that might possibly have a perception of "big city" problems (probably crime and panhandling, since their all-self-serve pumps would almost certainly be a tempting target for panhandlers wanting to pump fuel (for a "fee")).

Regarding food at Sheetz, I think they are similar to Wawa in many ways. I don't think I have ever seen a Sheetz gas pumps in front (they may exist, but I have never seen one). 

Sheetz also now has a significant presence throughout North Carolina.  I have seen them as far west as Statesville, but I'm sure they're in Hickory by now.  I've also seen quite a few in the Triad and Triangle metro areas, but I'm not sure about Charlotte since I'm not quite as familiar with that area, despite living less than two hours away (hey, I haven't lived in SC two years yet!).

Anyway, I heard that Sheetz has chosen Burlington, NC (between the Triad and Triangle) as the future location of their next big distribution center.  So I expect they will begin growing more in NC, and hopefully one day expand to SC, though I'm not holding my breath.

The QuikTrip (QT) chain of gas stations has finally expanded up I-85 from Atlanta up to the Greenville/Spartanburg area.  They primarily exist in the Atlanta and St. Louis metro areas and probably other parts of MO as well.  They don't serve fast food, but they are very clean, have a lot of different coffee varieties, have a good selection of roller grill items, and their gas is Top Tier rated.

Then there's Thornton's, which is very much like QT except their gas isn't Top Tier rated.  They've primarily existed in Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio, but a few years ago they finally expanded into my old stompong grounds of Nashville.