PRVCA Explore Magazine PRVCA Explore PA 2019 | Page 21

Pennsylvania is a mecca for high quality convenience. These upscale stores are not your typical convenience store. They offer large, bright store locations with quality food options, clean restrooms and some have comfortable dining areas with WiFi access. They employ professionally-trained chefs to create their menus, which include comfort foods to gourmet healthy food options. The newest locations are offering larger parking areas and wide fuel dispenser lanes to accommodate RVs and larger vehicles. Wawa Wawa, based in southeastern Pa., operates 800 convenience stores in Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Virginia, Washington, D.C. and Florida. Wawa is named the native American word for the Canadian goose that nested in the Delaware Valley. Most Wawa stores are open 24-hours a day, 365 days a year. Wawa has fans throughout the country, who enjoy its built to order hoagies and fresh coffee. The company builds more than 60 million hoagies annually and brews 195 million cups of coffee each year. www.prvca.org In 2018, Wawa ranked #1 in a Market Force study for the sandwich category, becoming the first convenience store to earn the honor. Walk into a Wawa and you can order a hoagie built to your specification; select from many flavors of freshly brewed coffee; order specialty beverages, break- fast, salads, soups and hot bowls, such as burrito bowls, meatballs, mac and cheese, and chicken or beef with mashed potatoes. They also carry a large variety of snacks, including soft pretzels, fresh fruit, meats and cheeses. Wawa began as a dairy and today it carries its own milk and ice cream products. You can also fill your gas tank at 600 Wawa locations, get cash at an ATM and some Pennsylvania locations offer adult beverages for purchase. Learn more about Wawa at wawa.com. Sheetz Central Pennsylvania is home to Sheetz convenience stores. Bob Sheetz founded the company in Altoona, Pennsylvania when he purchased his father’s five dairy stores. Today, Sheetz is still a family-owned and operated company with more than 560 stores in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, Ohio and North Carolina. The company’s well-trained workforce, excel- lent benefits and culture have earned it a place on Fortune magazine’s “Best Place to Work” list for many years. Sheetz’ MTO (Made To Order) brand is well-known throughout the Common- wealth and is recognized for its quality. Customers order their food items from an in-store, touch-screen kiosk or online. MTO features coffee and specialty drinks, sandwiches and wraps, bratwurst and hot dogs, burgers, fish, MexAmerican items such as burritos, nachos, quesadillas and tacos; pizza, salads, appetizers, breakfast foods and Shweetz brand baked goods. Recently, Sheetz rolled out its LiveWell menu, which features healthy food items. The company took the lead in changing the adult beverage sales laws to allow beer sales in its Pennsylvania stores. More than 100 Sheetz stores have licenses to sell beer. Learn more about Sheetz at Sheetz.com. EXPLORE Pennsylvania 2019 | 21