🪿 Will Sheetz Freakz embrace Wawa?

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Yesterday, student organizers of the pro-Palestinian encampment protest at the University of Pennsylvania said they won’t negotiate further with university leadership until administrators agree to a new set of demands, including the withdrawal of disciplinary hearing notices sent to student organizers earlier in the week.

• "We have clearly communicated to the protesters in the encampment that they are in violation of the university’s policies,” Penn said in a statement regarding the disciplinary notices. [Inquirer 🔒]

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A merger between the 6th and the 9th police districts went into effect yesterday. Philadelphia Police Department leadership says it’s a strategic move to improve response times. [6ABC]

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• We included that spot on our list of prime Philly brunch spots … but there are 13 more places we also think are worth your while. [City Cast Philly 🎧]

📚 Year-Round School Pilot Planned

In a budget hearing this week, School District of Philadelphia Superintendent Tony Watlington told City Council that the district plans to test out an extended calendar at 20 schools (which have not yet been chosen) during the 2025-26 school year. [KYW]

Wawa recently broke ground on a location in Harrisburg, with many more central Pennsylvania locations on the way. In other words: the popular Delco-based convenience store/gas station chain is staking out space in the land of its unofficial cross-state rival, Altoona, Pa.-based Sheetz.

Why is that a big deal? Although there’s no formal agreement between the two companies to stay out of each other’s “territory” — and there are counties where you can find both (Berks and Lancaster come to mind) — Sheetz and Wawa have generally avoided a ton of geographic overlap.

Also, intense Wawa fans and passionate Sheetz stans have a long-running rivalry — it’s something that even Philly Congressman Brendan Boyle and U.S. Sen. John Fetterman (a yinzer) have sat down to debate. When President Joe Biden made a recent campaign swing through Pennsylvania, he seems to have made a point to visit both.

So: Will Wawa be able to compete once it opens more and more stores in what is currently solid Sheetz territory? A few weeks ago, I asked you to share your thoughts on the matter.

✅ “The answer is yes,” Hey Philly reader Joe L. wrote. “The unknown is what level of loyalty do customers have. We have traveled across the state many times to visit relatives in Ohio — when I think of WAWA I think of hoagies — when I think of Sheetz I think of heartier fare like Mac and cheese and soup.”

❓ “I don’t know,” Marcia M. commented. “Sheetz might give Wawa a run for its money. They offer better food in my opinion and more options … AND their gas is cheaper too!”

⚖️ Ryan L. wrote: “Had to weigh in as I often travel for work in a factory town where the Sheetz is the only place to get food after night shifts, and live in Philly. In my expert opinion, Sheetz has better hot food, Wawa has far superior cold food. The Gobbler is the only exception to this rule … WAWA has better coffee too, for what that's worth.”

✏️ As for yours truly … I’m a central Pennsylvanian-turned-Philadelphian who grew up loving Sheetz, and my hometown is actually one of the places Wawa is targeting with its expansion. I’ve written before about how Wawa and Sheetz can coexist in harmony if loyalists are willing to approach them with an open mind. Guess we’ll just have to wait and see!

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