The Pennsylvania Convenience Store Chain We Wish We Could Get Everywhere

Regional junk food can be a topic of hot discussion, with plenty of insufferable dialogue about which segment of the United States is gatekeeping the tastiest drive-throughs. You've heard Californians crow about In-N-Out, with their secret menu burger styles and Southerners brag about the down-home eats at Cook Out. But it turns out that Pennsylvania birthed a convenience store chain that would stoke envy in any red-blooded American unlucky enough not to have one nearby, and that is Wawa.

Wawa is a convenience store-slash-restaurant that offers some of the finest fast food-like items around, from the tasty, to the filling, to the unhealthy, and some that are a combo of all three. Its corporate offices are in Wawa, Pennsylvania, the name of which is an Ojibwe word translating to "wild goose" — hence the chain's flying logo. Wawa is a double threat: It's stocked with all the packaged food you'd expect from a big convenience store, while having fresh-made hot and cold food made in-house, from sandwiches, milkshakes, coffee drinks, burgers, and mac-and-cheese bowls. Since most Wawa locations keep convenience store hours, you can partake of their yummy food at almost any time of day or night... sometimes even 24/7 in certain stores.

You can find Wawa outside Pennsylvania, although the chain is still largely contained in the middle of the East Coast (plus Florida). Wawa holds onto its Pennsylvania roots in some of its menu options, however.

On the list of famous foods invented in Pennsylvania, you can find a striking amount of them at Wawa, including Utz potato chips, Philly cheesesteaks, Philadelphia soft pretzels, and Tastykakes snack cakes – a huge selection of them. Wawa serves up made-to-order hoagies that can go toe-to-toe with your favorite sandwich shop, and absolutely spoils consumers with a plethora of breakfast choices fresh from their hot case. Wawa is delicious, convenient (it offers both mobile ordering and touchscreens inside the store), and, best of all, cheap. What more could you ask for?

Well, if you live in the Western part of the country, you could be asking for a lot, because you don't have Wawa. Right now, the chain is planning expansion into Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, and several states in the South. Don't see your state on that list? Keep your fingers crossed and bide your time, because Wawa is worth hoping for.