A Friendly Rivalry

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – On this week’s episode of Convenience Matters, “Sheetz vs. Wawa Rivalry Heads to the Big Screen,” NACS hosts Jeff Lenard, vice president of strategic industry initiatives, and Donovan Woods, director of operations for the Fuels Institute, go to the movies with Mathew Fridg, a filmmaker and director.

Fans of Sheetz and Wawa are often very enthusiastic in their loyalty, and Fridg wants to capture that in a light-hearted documentary on the rivalry. “It will be a feature-length documentary that … reflects the rivalry between Sheetz and Wawa fans that exists in Pennsylvania and beyond,” he said. “Our goal is to make this as widely available as much as possible through digital downloads, like iTunes, Amazon and Google, and eventually through streaming platforms like Netflix and Hulu.”

As Lenard pointed out, other convenience store chains inspire similar customer loyalty throughout the industry. “I see the film as a celebration of the cult following Sheetz and Wawa has, and for the industry as a whole,” he said.

“It’s really about fans who have identified so closely with a gas station, a convenience store, which to some people might seem very odd but to people who know Sheetz or know Wawa, it’s not odd to them at all,” Fridg said. “You inevitably have a rivalry when there’s a similar store with a similar history started in the same state under similar circumstances. … It’s really about us as human beings and why we relate so closely and deeply with one particular brand or group.”

Currently, Fridg is running a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for the filming, which will take place May and June 2019. To learn more about the film check out www.sheetzvswawa.com/cm.

Each week a new Convenience Matters episode is released. The podcast can be downloaded on iTunes, Google Play and other podcast apps, and at www.conveniencematters.com. Episodes have been downloaded by listeners more than 60,000 times in 80 countries.