In my life...
* Wawa is one of my favorite stores. In Philly, the annual Wawa Welcome America July 4th celebration\n is a big deal, from parades to fireworks to a concert on the parkway. But the best part of Welcome America is the free hoagies Wawa gives out .
When I was growing up, 7-11 was the top convenience store around "Oh thank heaven for 7-11" was the catchy jingle. You could get anything there.
But just like the Slurpee, 7-11 died away in popularity. 7-11 is still around it's just that Wawa has taken over as king of the convenience store around here.
Wawa has anything and everything, from coffee to your morning paper to breakfast sandwiches to soft pretzels. Making a daily trip to the neighborhood Wawa is like a routine ritual of life. Everyone does it. It's small town America. Every town has a Wawa, sometimes two.
Wawa employees are friendly. People hold the door open for each other, in a "pay-it-forward" kind of way. Wawa refuses to install automatic doors because they are proud of the "hold the door for the next customer" thing. It's a trademark of going to Wawa, and if you don't hold the door for someone else you're not part of the Wawa family.
People refer to the store as "my Wawa." It's a personal thing. You can stop into other Wawas around the state, but the neighborhood Wawa is your Wawa.
The hoagies are my favorite part of Wawa, and they make really good ones. The rolls make the hoagie ( not zep or grinder or sub).. With so much competition around from local mom nd pop hoagie places, Wawa still holds it's own in the business because they are fresh and good. Wawa is an East Coast secret, but they do plan to expand in the years to come, as they are taking a foothold in Florida. Retirees from the northeast who grew up on Wawa miss it down south, so , smartly, Wawa is branching out to stay in touch with it's old customers.
It's reassuring to know, like the corner mini-mart, Wawa is always there, day or night, rain or shine, just waiting to hold the door for you with a welcome smile.
Wawa is the greatest.
* Dunkin' Donuts is also a favorite. D&D was the place to go for coffee before Starbucks. Dunkin' may not have the internet or Wifi capabilities or reading lounge like a Starbucks, but you couldn't beat it's coffee.
As a kid, Dunkin' was strictly known for it's donuts. Plain, powdered, filled ( white creme, Boston cream, jelly) Other than local bakers, D&D made it's mark as a place to pick up a dozen donuts to go. My favorite Sundays were the mornings after church when mom would bring home a box of a dozen glazed donuts or a carton of Munchkins to snack on.
Dunkin' has expanded as well in it's menu selections, as now they do breakfast sandwiches, keeping up with rival fast food joints like McDonalds. But Dunkin' will always have the advantage because of the donuts ("time to make the donuts..")
."Grandma Donuts" as I affectionately call her, is an older sounding lady with a sing-song, gentle , pleasant tone who mans the drive-thru order at my local Dunkin'. She's the friendly, reliable, always there voice to take your order every morning. That's what makes Dunkin' so cool- it feels like home, a place you feel comfortable at, an easy part of life you hope will last forever.
There is a Dunkin' now at King of Prussia mall. And there's talk of Dunkin' delivering right to your door in the future. All good stuff, but hopefully Dunkin' doesn't change too much. Hopefully it will always have that warm, hometown feel, just like Grandma Donuts herself.
* Costco is my most recent find. The first time into the wonderful world of Costco, I was amazed. Everything is in bulk and cheaper, yet you always seem to leave Costco with a big bill.
Still, it doesn't matter so much because you feel like you are getting your money's worth.
Costco is a wholesale warehouse kind of a deal. It's not a fancy place, with boxes and items stacked on top of each other. It is what it is, no frills.
My favorite part of Costco is the free samples of food they give out. You can literally have lunch there for nothing, a small bite of this and a small bite of that. It's stuff you normally wouldn't buy, so Costco gives free samples to try and hook you to buy more of the same thing.
One time they did give out Godiva chocolate for free, which was hard to believe. You just have to be at the right pot stop at the right time, as you keep making to circle around the giant warehouse.
You have to buy a membership to join Costco every year. It's like a cult in a way. Only Costco members can shop at the exclusive club called Costco- unless you have a friend who is a Costco person. They check your card when you enter and leave, so you can't just walk in and shop.
You can buy gas at Costco for cheap too, like Wawa. So that's another perk of being a member.
The thing is, I can get 100 rolls of paper towels or toilet paper, knowing eventually I'm going to use it and it won't go to waste. The problem is storing the 100 rolls of toilet paper. But Costco does give you the security to know that you are well-stocked with toilet paper for the year. You can sleep well at night.
I can get a case of ,oh let's say Irish Spring soap for really cheap, but after a while you get tired of Irish Spring and want something different, but you still have 89 bars of soap left to go.
All in all, Costco is a great place to shop, long-term, especially if you have a big family, or you're planning a party and need 1,000 napkins.
I often thought how someone form another country would perceive Costco- American indulgence at it's best? I
No comments:
Post a Comment