Wawa is
on a roll

By Tom Waring
Times Staff Writer

Wawa Inc. started its retail business modestly, with the first store opening in 1964 as an outlet for dairy products.
Today, there are more than 570 Wawa stores in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia.
The big seller? Built-to-order hoagies. The stores sell about 70 million of the sandwiches every year. They come in four sizes: the 4-inch junior, the 6-inch Shorti, the 10-inch classic and the 2-footer.
The built-to-order sandwich debuted in 1977, and the ordering process was speeded up in 2000 with the introduction of touch screens.
"They’ve become as big a brand as the Big Mac and Whopper," said Wawa president and CEO Howard Stoeckel, comparing his company’s sandwich to the popular menu items at fast food restaurants McDonald’s and Burger King, respectively.
Wawa has been celebrating Hoagiefest since June 9. A different Shorti hoagie has been featured every two weeks at a sale price of $2.99. The eight-week promotion ends on Aug. 3.
Last week, the convenience store giant hosted a grand celebration of its summer promotion at its location at 12301 Academy Road in Parkwood.
All guests were given a tie-dyed T-shirt to fit in with the 1960s theme.
Stoeckel, introduced as a "cool cat" and a "groovy dude," played the role of a beatnik, dressed in a sleeveless jeans jacket with the peace symbol sewn on. He read Ode to the Hoagie as guests snapped their fingers.
City Councilman Jack Kelly and Al Taubenberger, president of the Greater Northeast Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, read a Council proclamation designating July 16 as Hoagie Heritage Day in the city. They also took the ceremonial first bites of the 10 millionth Shorti made in 2008
It was only the latest honor for the hoagie. In 1992, soon after taking office, then-Mayor Ed Rendell declared the hoagie as the "Official Sandwich of Philadelphia." The company celebrated by building a 500-foot hoagie around the perimeter of City Hall.
Wawa, though, sells a lot more than hoagies. More than 200 of its stores offer gasoline, a feature introduced a decade ago. A store being built on the 10900 block of Bustleton Ave. will include gas pumps.
Other popular features include coffee, dairy and bakery products, hot breakfast sandwiches, wraps, cigarettes, candy, produce, sliced lunch meat and cheese and surcharge-free ATMs.
Taubenberger, the chamber of commerce chief, said Wawa — his group’s largest member — thrives for a number of reasons.
"It’s the way the stores are organized, the cleanliness of them, the efficiency of the staff and their number of stores," he said.
Taubenberger said Wawa also wins goodwill from the public because of its commitment to charity. "They do so much for the community," he said.
The public was invited last week to eat from a 93.3-foot-long hoagie, created to equal the frequency of event sponsor WMMR-FM, which sent disc jockey Matt Cord to host the event.
Other goodies included Tastykake Krimpets, various snacks and drinks. Prizes were given for correct answers in a Wawa-themed trivia contest.
The 7th and 8th police districts squared off in a rematch of their 2006 hoagie-building contest, won by the 7th at the grand opening of the Wawa at Grant Avenue and Blue Grass Road.
The cops, after training from Wawa employees, formed an assembly line. They hurriedly placed meats, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, oregano and oil on rolls.
A food fight broke out during the three-minute showdown, with Wawa’s Canada goose mascot Wally joining in, but the 8th district managed to make a late hoagie to pull out a 29-28 victory. Wawa donated $750 to each district’s children’s Christmas fund.
In a hoagie-making contest among the public, John Kronbar won a three-way tiebreaker by building and wrapping a sandwich in the fastest time. Pennsylvania House Speaker Dennis O’Brien was on hand to present him with the grand prize — a month of free Wawa hoagies.
Kronbar will go hungry compared to Bob Sharkus and Michelle Owsley, who were crowned Mr. and Mrs. Hoagie for best costumes. They earned hoagies for a year.
Drew Zimmerman defeated fellow WMMR Ground Crew member Rich Lee in a hoagie-eating contest, with Wawa making a $20 donation to a Down syndrome organization for every hunk of sandwich devoured.
Doing all of the cleanup was the Wawa staff. Stoeckel credited the employees with keeping the company strong 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.
"It’s our people who work in the stores who make us very special," he said.
Randi Freeman is general manager of the Academy Road store, which opened in November 2006. She’s been with the company for 18 years, starting as a part-timer at the store at Bustleton Avenue and Lawler Street as she worked her way through college.
Freeman thinks Wawa remains a regional power because its stores are standard and because the company’s employees develop loyalty.
"We’re flexible with hours and willing to work with you," she said. "Wawa really takes care of its associates." ••
Reporter Tom Waring can be reached at 215-354-3034 or twaring@phillynews.com