Wawa

convenience store based in southeastern pennsylvania.

the chain does derive its name from the town of wawa, pa, where the dairy that supplies the stores resides. however, contrary to a number of “definitions” on this site, the term “wawa” is not an onomatopoeia for goose noise and such. the town of wawa (as with many, many places in the united states) got its name from the american indians that resided there. in this case, the tribe was known as the lenni (len-eye) lenape (len-uh-pee). according to the corporate site www.wawa.com (and anybody who grew up in the area and has paid attention): “‘wawa’ is a lenni lenape indian word for the canada goose that was found in the delaware valley (area where pa/nj/de come together), that’s why we use the goose on wawa’s corporate logo.”

this store is superior for a number of reasons:

– no-fee atm’s in every store (-ssuming your bank doesn’t charge for transactions).
– most are open 24/7.
– milk and cigarette prices are generally the lowest that they are allowed to charge by law (given price controls and taxes).
– capable employees. rarely rude and always english-speaking. many people have made a career out of working for wawa…they also have a well respected management track program.
– fresh and delicious sandwiches and prepared food (soups, meatb-lls, stuffed soft pretzels, breakfast sandwiches, etc…)
– “super” wawa stores…have gasoline and are generally 2 or 3 times bigger than normal ones. these are usually in high-traffic/travel areas (i.e. highway exits) and have clean bathrooms. going north on i-95, you’ll generally see these right off the highway exits starting around fredericksburg, virginia.
our road trip from virginia to philly would have gone a lot faster if the jack-sses we were with didn’t insist on stopping at every wawa along the way.