wawa vs. sheetz
the washington post finally writes something worthwhile. via disco infernholz.
With a history that goes back to 19th- and early 20th-century mercantiles and dairy farms of one Richard D. Wood and his descendants, the Wawa, Pa., corporation (“wawa,” a word derived from the Ojibwa tribe’s word for Canadian goose), upped its game in the 1980s, becoming less pit-stop and more what cultural analysts call the “third place” (neither home nor workplace — what America has instead of sidewalk cafes). They put the checkout counter in the center of a newer, bigger store layout, creating a theater-in-the-round, and went for the commuter/traveler market.
Wawa built those spacious fuel islands with the silky smooth concrete and macadam parking lots and the canopies angled at the sky. It focused on the outer-rim communities, the edge cities, the ruburbs. Lately they’ve been closing some locations that date back to the dairy-store origins and milkman delivery routes, because, in a bittersweet way, those are too small to contain all Wawa has to offer.
And the toilets! Monitored constantly by dedicated assistant managers who are alert to any hint of filth. Why, the Virgin Mary herself would be proud to …
agreed. the best part of living in philadelphia was ordering sandwiches by touch screen whenever the fuck i wanted to. although, to be fair, the trucker electronics section at midwestern sheetz do kick ass.
