Inquirer.com – Zurich DR

Tag: Wawa

  • Affordability is on voters’ minds in Pa. swing districts as the cost of gas and groceries skyrockets

    Affordability is on voters’ minds in Pa. swing districts as the cost of gas and groceries skyrockets

    SCRANTON — Four of Mike Parry’s tenants can no longer afford to pay their rent. Suddenly, their financial pain is his.

    “It’s the affordability of everything that’s the problem,” said Parry, 60, of Clarks Summit, Lackawanna County. “We’re all feeling it now.”

    With the war in Iran rocketing gas to almost $5 a gallon, inflation surging to 3.4% from 2.6% in 2025, and food prices up nearly 3% over last year, the high cost of living is weighing on the minds of many voters — and candidates — as the midterm elections draw near.

    Nowhere is that more critical than in four tightly contested Pennsylvania congressional districts that could decide the control of the U.S. House — in Bucks County, the Lehigh Valley, the Harrisburg area, and Northeast Pennsylvania.

    Mike Parry of Clark Summit, Lackawanna County.Courtesy of Mike Parry

    Parry, a Republican and supporter of President Donald Trump, said he is aware that many Americans hold the president and his party accountable for the affordability crisis, including in the 8th Congressional District, where Parry plans to back GOP U.S. Rep. Rob Bresnahan over Scranton Mayor Paige Cognetti, the Democratic nominee.

    But other voters might not be so kind to Trump-aligned incumbents this fall.

    Among likely voters in Pennsylvania, 75% disapprove of how Trump is handling the cost of living, compared with just 25% who approve, according to a recent poll from The Inquirer, the New York Times, and Siena University. And 73% disapprove of how he has handled gas prices, vs. 24% who approve. About 65% disapprove of his handling of the economy, vs. 34% who approve.

    “It doesn’t matter what party you’re in,” Parry said. “We’re all getting hammered the same.”

    ‘Spend less’

    At his local Wawa gas station in Allentown, P.J. Santos, 32, removed his finger from the pump trigger before his tank filled.

    “Now I tell myself to spend less,” said Santos, a Democrat who is supporting former firefighter Bob Brooks over Republican U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie in the Lehigh Valley’s 7th Congressional District.

    P.J. Santos of Allentown.Courtesy of P.J. Santos

    “So I buy less than I need,” he added, tightening his gas cap. “Same goes for date nights with my wife: Spend less.”

    That is harder when you’re buying food, said Tammy McCoy, 52, of Easton, in the same district. “Walk into any grocery store,” said McCoy, a Democrat and professional cook. “It’s like you have to hand them $50 at the door.”

    (function(){function e(){window.addEventListener(`message`,function(e){if(e.data[`datawrapper-height`]!==void 0){var t=document.querySelectorAll(`iframe`);for(var n in e.data[`datawrapper-height`])for(var r=0,i;i=t[r];r++)if(i.contentWindow===e.source){var a=e.data[`datawrapper-height`][n]+`px`;i.style.height=a}}})}e()})();

    Trump, she remembered, promised to lower prices on Day 1 of his presidency. Not only did that not happen, she added, he raised tariffs, making imported staples like coffee, nuts, and olive oil more expensive. “Because of that,” McCoy added, “I’m against him and Republicans.”

    Tapping into the frustration over food prices, Democrat Janelle Stelson’s campaign is pointing to the cost of hamburgers as she seeks to oust Republican U.S. Rep. Scott Perry in the 10th Congressional District.

    Janelle Stelson (left) and Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa.(right) from a Stelson campaign photo in 2024, the last time the two squared off against each other in a bid to represent the 10th Congressional District. Stelson Campaign, AP

    Stelson eats a burger in a TV ad that says Americans now pay $7.29 for a pound of ground beef — a result of tariffs Trump imposed and Perry supported.

    But criticism of Trump’s tariffs will not sway Tammy Green, 60, a Republican voter in the 8th Congressional District who supports Bresnahan over Democrat Cognetti.

    “Because he’s a businessman, President Trump understands the economy. … He’s negotiating fair prices with tariffs,” said Green, a former travel agent who lives in West Wyoming, Luzerne County.

    More households need help

    On a hot September day in Levittown, people gathered to celebrate the grand opening of the new headquarters of the United Way of Bucks County. Focused on helping anyone experiencing financial hardship, the building features an expanded HELP Center, where diapers, fresh produce, and clothing are available at no charge.

    As need skyrockets, the nonprofit expects a 40% to 50% increase in demand this year, Marissa Christie, president and CEO, said in an interview.

    “Folks are telling us that in the grocery store, their budget is not going as far as it used to,” Christie said. “When they go to fill up their gas tank, their money is not going as far as they expected.”

    Attending the event alongside other local lawmakers was U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R., Bucks), who secured $4.15 million in federal funds for the building and said the agency will “always be in that top-10 list” of key nonprofits helping those in need.

    U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R., Bucks) speaks outside the U.S. Capitol about legislation to put national restrictions on gerrymandering on Sep. 16, 2026.Sam Janesch / Staff

    The cost of living has become a focal point in the 1st Congressional District race as Fitzpatrick fends off a challenge from Democratic County Commissioner Bob Harvie in the Bucks County-based swing district.

    Pennsylvania Democrats, including Harvie, have centered their campaign messaging on affordability in hopes of appealing to voters across the political spectrum.

    “Costs are what affect people every single day … whether it’s at the pump, whether it’s in the grocery store,” Harvie said in an interview with The Inquirer’s Editorial Board. “Housing costs obviously are huge. It’s a major issue here in this district, especially in the county.”

    (The Editorial Board, which runs The Inquirer’s opinion pages and decides endorsements, operates independently from the newsroom. Newsroom editors and reporters have no role in endorsements, and opinion staffers have no role in news coverage.)

    Fitzpatrick, too, acknowledged in an interview at the U.S. Capitol last month that affordability is the top issue not just in this election, but in every election.

    “The No. 1 priority, the No. 1 focus, has to be on affordability — has to be,” he said. “That’s the issue that got Trump elected in ’24. It’s what got [New York Mayor Zohran] Mamdani elected in ’25. It’s what people care about.”

    ‘Affordability front and center’

    Demonstrating their awareness of voter focus on the high cost of living, Trump administration officials and local Republicans repeatedly emphasized “affordability” as they touted their work to combat rising electricity prices at a PPL Electric Utilities facility in Allentown last week.

    “This is a quick way to lower electricity prices and increase reliability,” U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said as he announced up to $71.5 million in federal funding for PPL, which was among $2 billion in new spending aimed at improving the electric grid.

    Upgrades to existing transmission lines will include new technology like sensors to detect weather conditions, improving efficiency and ultimately lowering electricity costs, according to the Energy Department.

    Asked how quickly consumers might see those improvements, Wright did not specify a timeline but noted that new, large-scale energy users — like data centers — are negotiating with utilities about how much of the increased demand they will cover.

    Mackenzie, a freshman lawmaker whose district includes the Lehigh Valley and Poconos, also emphasized a bill he supports that would set federal standards for data centers to pay for their electricity use, and another to promote transparency around retail electric costs.

    President Donald Trump invites 7th District U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (right) to the stage to visit Mack Trucks in Macungie, outside Allentown in the Lehigh Valley, in June.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer

    Mackenzie said energy policy needs to keep “affordability front and center.”

    The war’s economic consequences

    Some Trump voters say they are willing to pay more for gas and other essentials as the president pursues his policy goals at home and in Iran.

    “We incur a cost that stinks now to avoid another Sept. 11 later,” said T.J. Fitzgerald, 60, a Republican bail bondsman from Nanticoke, Luzerne County, in the 8th Congressional District. “Fighting Iran, a terrorist organization, is worth inflation at the pump.”

    Ryan Kavulich, a 37-year-old project manager from Dunmore in nearby Lackawanna County, disagreed with that logic.

    “The war’s a nightmare with what it’s costing for diesel,” said Kavulich, a Democrat who plans to back Cognetti in November.

    (function(){function e(){window.addEventListener(`message`,function(e){if(e.data[`datawrapper-height`]!==void 0){var t=document.querySelectorAll(`iframe`);for(var n in e.data[`datawrapper-height`])for(var r=0,i;i=t[r];r++)if(i.contentWindow===e.source){var a=e.data[`datawrapper-height`][n]+`px`;i.style.height=a}}})}e()})();

    People in the 8th District know that Bresnahan voted against ending the war with Iran in September, Kavulich said.

    “And that makes voting for Paige [Cognetti] in November the easiest choice ever,” he said. “So many people around Scranton have a blue-collar, kitchen-table, commonsense vibe. They know going into Iran isn’t what you do. They know it’s time to be over Bresnahan and Trump.”

    As the cost of fuel continues to climb, even some longtime Republicans in the district are expressing their doubts about the economic consequences of Trump’s war.

    “I voted for Trump three times,” said Greg Kerrick, 58, a Republican voter from Scranton.

    “But I don’t like him pushing up gas prices,” added Kerrick, who is unemployed. “And I feel for anyone paying over $4 a gallon.”

  • Super Wawa on Route 73 at the Voorhees-Berlin border is likely headed for final approval in October

    Super Wawa on Route 73 at the Voorhees-Berlin border is likely headed for final approval in October

    A proposed Super Wawa on the Voorhees-Berlin border protested by residents and rejected by the Voorhees planning board will likely be approved in two weeks.

    Developer NIKI-J&J Voorhees Cooper Partners LLC sued after the planning board last September did not approve its plan for a Wawa between Route 73 northbound and Cooper Road located in both Voorhees and Berlin Township.

    In August, the board and the developer agreed to a settlement in state Superior Court in Camden that calls for the planning board to reconsider based on a proposal from NIKI-J&J to make improvements to Cooper Road to address traffic concerns.

    Reconsideration of the developer’s preliminary and final major site plan is scheduled for the Oct. 14 board meeting. The Berlin Township planning/zoning board approved the Wawa on Aug. 18.

    Under the plan, a 5,915-square-foot Wawa store with 12 gasoline-fueling stations would be built on 4.95 acres. Driveways would be on Route 73 and Cooper Road. The property is about a quarter mile south of the intersection of Cooper Road and Route 73.

    Residents testifying at a Voorhees board hearing last September expressed concerns over traffic from the planned Cooper Road driveway.

    “It’s a disaster … the traffic backs up all the way to the entrance of Forrest Hills Drive,” resident Harry Garabedian, who lives on Forrest Hills Drive, told the board of existing traffic conditions on Cooper Road. “There’s nothing that Wawa is going to do that’s going to alleviate that; it’s only going to add to the burden.”

    Board member Jason Ravitz, also a member of the Voorhees Township Committee and deputy mayor, said at the hearing: “This road already backs up during rush hour. … This is going to be a real issue in the operation.”

    70and73.com is a hyperlocal news site focused on South Jersey, including the communities of Cherry Hill, Evesham, Mount Laurel, Voorhees, Medford, Medford Lakes, and Moorestown.

  • House of the week: A four-bedroom century-old stone house in Bryn Mawr for $699,000

    House of the week: A four-bedroom century-old stone house in Bryn Mawr for $699,000

    Elizabeth Monroe was living in New Jersey with her son in 2006 when she saw a listing in Bryn Mawr, and thought it might be time to go back to the town where she’d grown up.

    “I hadn’t even gone inside it,” she said. “but I loved the Tudor look and the stone.

    “It’s a soulful kind of house. A friend once called it my ‘sanctuary,’” she recalled.

    One of the bedrooms in the Bryn Mawr home features large windows to let in the light. Brendan Farrell

    The four-bedroom, two-bathroom house spans 1,762 square feet.

    Monroe, an ordained Presbyterian minister who mostly worked as a hospice chaplain, said she had considerable renovations done, mostly on the first and second floors.

    The house, has a gated front porch, original hardwood floors, and deep-set windows.

    The kitchen has updated appliances. Brendan Farrell

    The kitchen has white cabinetry, black granite countertops, and updated appliances.

    The living room has a working gas fireplace.

    Each of the two second-floor bedrooms has its own sitting room, which could be used as a home office, reading room, art studio, or playroom.

    A working gas fireplace is a highlight of the living room.Brendan Farrell

    The third floor has two additional bedrooms and a hall bathroom.

    There is high velocity central air and 200-amp electrical service.

    There is a private brick patio, a fenced outdoor space, and a detached one-car garage. It is walkable to the Bryn Mawr Regional Rail station.

    The dining room can fit a table for six.Brendan Farrell

    And “it’s walkable to the Wawa,” Monroe joked. And since the parking lot there is often congested, “I thought that this might be a selling point.”

    The house is in the Radnor School District.

    It is listed by Colleen Whitlock and Brianna Golden of Keller Williams Main Line for $699,000.

  • This Philly chef goes crabbing in Sea Isle City every year

    This Philly chef goes crabbing in Sea Isle City every year

    Sitting on a skiff on the bay in Sea Isle City, chef Liz Grothe slowly pulled up a submerged string from the lapping waters while holding onto a half-eaten Wawa hoagie.

    On the string, a blue crab emerged, clinging to the severed fish head at the end of the bait holder, called a handline. The crustacean was too small for New Jersey’s recreational size minimum (3 inches long), Grothe and her companions determined. With a sigh, she dropped the crab back into the water.

    It was an hour into Grothe’s Sunday crabbing expedition, and her crew had already caught a handful of crabs.

    Chef Liz Grothe washing the day’s catch of grabs in the laundry-room sink of her partner’s family home in West Cape May, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026. Grothe spent the afternoon crabbing out of Sea Isle City and was making dinner for the family
    Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer

    With bright skies and calm waters that day, she rented two skiffs from Bay Breeze Marina with her partner, Jacob Lance, and Lance’s family to embark on her favorite Shore hobby: crabbing on the bay — and later, cooking up her catch in Cape May.

    “We get all our ‘beach’ time down the Shore at the bay,” Grothe, who owns the Italian-ish Queen Village restaurant Scampi, said. “[The bay] is more like Oklahoma-style waters, where it’s just a shallow lake rather than like the rough seas of the ocean. So this is more my speed.”

    Grothe grew up catching catfish in the creeks of Oklahoma. But it wasn’t until six or seven years ago that an ex-boyfriend introduced her to Sea Isle City’s bay and its crustaceous inhabitants. “He took me on his boys’ excursion, which was crabbing,” she said. “We broke up later — being the kind of girl I am, I stole it. I go to the same place they rented their boats; we do it in the same way I learned.”

    Grothe named her restaurant after a seafood dish, so it’s no surprise she has strong feelings about crabs, the scavengers of the sea. Don’t expect these to show up on her menu, though — they are for personal eating only. The once-a-summer hobby lets her “touch grass, so to speak, and have something to do that’s not the harrowing day-to-day that we deal with in the kitchen,” she said.

    Being close to water was always a priority for her family — Grothe’s mom is originally from the Philippines. Her interest in seafood, however, comes from the love of catching and cooking it. “Eating is just the secondary part of the fun,” she said.

    “I’m in it for the love of the game, not the catch,” she said, while tossing the handline back into the water.

    Bay Breeze Marina rents a boat for $109 for four hours, including gas, cushions, anchor, paddle, cutting board, and a net. The rental also offers a map of the best areas to catch the crabs. It was a no-brainer for Grothe and crew.

    Around 10:30 a.m., she and Lance took one boat, and Lance’s brother and sister-in-law hopped into their own. (Grothe and Lance’s boat didn’t have a bucket, so they improvised, throwing their crabs into a cooler.)

    For four hours, the crew tossed their baited handlines in various areas of the bay — deep waters, shallow areas, just off the coast — to catch as many crabs as they could. They found that chunky pieces of bait — like the trout head — were the best lures.

    Chef Liz Grothe (left) as her partner Jacob Lance preps the corn at his mother’s home in West Cape May, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026. They spent the afternoon crabbing out of Sea Isle City and were making dinner for the family
    Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer

    “What kind of music do crabs like?” Lance asked the group. “They don’t seem to be digging country.”

    “Crabs are chaos; try house music,” Grothe said. “I could see them vibing to it.”

    But Daft Punk and Prince were the “certified crab bangers,” as Grothe put it.

    By the end of the excursion, the crew caught more than a dozen crabs of varying sizes. After docking their skiffs, Grothe assessed which crabs were too small to keep and dropped those back in the water.

    Left with 14 crabs, the crew decided to supplement their haul with other catch for a big boil. They stopped by the fish market at the Lobster House in Cape May to pick up mussels, shrimp, and clams before heading to Lance’s mom’s house in West Cape May, where the live crabs were washed and tossed into the boiling water.

    The key to cooking a crab boil, according to Grothe: a lot of Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning. “Maryland and up, people use Old Bay. But if you go south, those who know reach for Tony Chachere’s,” said Grothe, shaking a big container of it into a pot inside the Lances’ kitchen. “Tony is a saltier, spicier, better Old Bay,” Lance added.

    Family members fill their plates at dinner by Liz Grothe, of Scampi, at her partner’s family home in West Cape May, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026, after an afternoon crabbing out of Sea Isle City.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer

    By 5:30 p.m., the table was set with plates of steamed mussels, poached and steamed shrimp with a sungold tomato broth, calamarata pasta, boiled crabs and clams, gluten-free and regular cornbread, and tomato salad. The menu was prepared with leftover ingredients, including sungold tomatoes, basil, and butter from Scampi — “things that were going to go bad and that we had excess of, just a little something to share with the crew.”

    After an almost seven-hour expedition, Grothe and the Lances settled down on the backyard patio, cracking crabs and enjoying the fruits of their labor.

    “If you’re gonna go crabbing, that’s gonna be your activity for the day — you catch them, and then you gotta deal with them,” Grothe said.

    “Doing something that is very labor-intensive, sharing a part of me with other people that’s fun and interesting — even if it’s not the most industrious or profitable thing — is what I love about cooking,” Grothe added. “Just bringing the family together and showing them that I care via doing this stuff makes me feel good.”

    Chef Liz Grothe of Scampi (rear, center) and her partner Jacob Lance eat dinner at his mother’s house in West Cape May, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2026. At left are Lance’s brother and sister-in-law Shmem Rose and Zachary Rachelle, and on the right is his mother, Christina Johnson.Tom Gralish / Staff Photographer
  • Welcome America Inc.’s new interim CEO is local PR executive Nicole Cashman

    Welcome America Inc.’s new interim CEO is local PR executive Nicole Cashman

    Welcome America Inc., the nonprofit behind Philly’s Wawa Welcome America festival, has named Philly public relations executive Nicole Cashman as its interim CEO.

    The founder and CEO of communications firm Cashman & Associates, Cashman will follow Michael DelBene, who served as CEO since 2019 and grew the July Fourth festival and other large-scale events to new heights and a wider audience. DelBene left the organization earlier this year.

    Cashman & Associates has worked with Welcome America Inc. for 25 years as its marketing and communications arm. This long-standing relationship and intimate knowledge of the organization led to the decision to name Cashman as the new CEO, officials said.

    “Nicole has spent her career helping tell Philadelphia’s story and bringing people together around the experiences that make our city extraordinary,” said Mayor Cherelle L. Parker, who chairs the Welcome America board of directors. “Nicole understands the important role Welcome America plays in our city, creating moments that bring together our communities, welcome visitors, and showcase Philadelphia on a national and international stage.”

    Fireworks over the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the statue of George Washington at Eakins Oval during the Wawa Welcome America Festival on July 4, 2023 following a free concert featuring Demi Lovato and Ludacris on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.Charles Fox / Staff Photographer

    Cashman founded her agency in 2001 and has accumulated a portfolio of some of the city’s high-profile agencies and events, including Comcast, Adventure Aquarium, and Philabundance. She has also served in leadership roles at Atlantic City Alliance and Visit Philadelphia.

    The PR exec will join Welcome America as it transitions between CEOs and prepares for the coming year’s slate of celebrated civic events and cultural experiences. Welcome America is a public-private partnership that receives city and state funding as well as corporate sponsorships. Parker and City Councilmember Mark Squilla are board members.

    “I have had the privilege of working alongside Welcome America for 25 years and have seen firsthand the extraordinary impact this organization has on Philadelphia and the region,” Cashman said. “… Welcome America means a great deal to me, and I’m excited to help guide it through this next chapter as we reimagine the organization for 2027 and beyond.”

    Welcome America will look for a permanent CEO, Cashman said, as she will not fill the position long term, just during the period between DelBene and the nonprofit’s next executive leader.

    “Michael set the bar high. He was great to work with and I have enormous respect for what he accomplished — I want to build on that success,” Cashman said.

    She will enter the role on the heels of the city’s decision this year to take over Philly’s Fourth of July concert and fireworks from Welcome America for the first time since 1993. The Parker administration ended up paying around $12 million more for its July Fourth concert than Welcome America’s $3 million budget of years past. Parker’s “One Philly: Unity Concert for America,” a reference to her “One Philly: A United City” slogan, was slated to go much later into the night than previous years — a move some residents criticized as “not a family-friendly decision.”

    Despite storm delays pushing the celebration into the early hours of July 5, ending around 2:50 a.m., the crowds that stayed experienced Will Smith, the Roots, Meek Mill, and an extravagant fireworks display.

    Cashman could not say who would run 2027’s Fourth of July concert but did say Welcome America would surely be a part of the 16-day festival thrown each year.

    Besides the Fourth of July festival, Welcome America also oversees the city’s official holiday tree in Dilworth Plaza. The 55-foot concolor firs, planted decades ago and brought into Philly each December, serve as a meeting place for holiday shopping and traditions, amid the Christmas Village and other attractions scattered around City Hall.

    This holiday celebration is what Cashman and Welcome America are moving full steam ahead on, with planning already underway, she said.

    “We know how important this level of programming around the holidays is to the city, our partners, the public, and visitors,” Cashman said. “So I’m really focusing on finalizing those plans, and that is our primary focus for the remainder of 2026.”

  • Wawa’s new Phanatic smoothie tastes like a ‘World Series win with a sprinkling of Mets tears’

    Wawa’s new Phanatic smoothie tastes like a ‘World Series win with a sprinkling of Mets tears’

    As Philly guys go, the Phanatic is one suave dude. His gyrating belly, chameleonlike tongue, and ability to burn our opponents without uttering a single word have charmed generations of Philadelphians.

    Now, this smoothie operator has a smoothie all his own and it tastes like the tears of our rivals — sweet, salty, and delicious.

    Kim Rodriguez, Wawa manager, along with the Wawa mascot Wally Goose and the Phillie Phanatic in Philadelphia on Aug. 17, 2026.Jessica Griffin / Staff Photographer

    Wawa debuted its new, limited-edition Phanatic Caramel Curveball Cream Smoothie during an event at the chain’s Penrose Avenue store Monday that was part news conference, part pep rally, and perfectly preposterous.

    Fans packed the store — for what, they weren’t exactly sure — they just knew it would be a chance to “hang with the Phillie Phanatic and Wally Goose,” according to Wawa’s Facebook page for the event.

    The two-birds-one-store offer was enough to bring out a flock of more than 75 people dressed in Phillies, Phanatic, and Wawa gear, including sisters Elizabeth and Jennifer Bertolet of Doylestown. They arrived 90 minutes before the event and decided that whatever was about to happen, it was “going to be awesome.”

    “Wally is going to be here and the Phanatic is going to be here. Why wouldn’t we be here?” Elizabeth Bertolet said.

    Maggie McNulty, who is dressed as Wally Goose, and her father, Glenn McNulty, attend an event at Wawa’s Penrose Avenue store celebrating the partnership between the Phillies and Wawa. Jessica Griffin / Staff Photographer

    Justin Tichy, chief operations officer for Wawa, announced during his remarks that the smoothie is part of a new partnership between Philly’s hometown baseball team and its hometown convenience store.

    Fans at Friday’s Phillies’ game against the St. Louis Cardinals will receive a Wawa Kyle Schwarber bobblehead, samples of the Phanatic smoothie, and a chance to see Wally Goose throw out the first ceremonial pitch.

    When asked how he’s feeling about taking the mound, Wally shuddered with nervous energy then practiced his pitching wing.

    She Willians, of Job Corps culinary, and the Wawa mascot Wally Goose at Wawa’s Penrose Avenue store Monday. Jessica Griffin / Staff Photographer

    Perhaps he’ll throw a curveball like Wawa did by not making its Phanatic smoothie green. A source said it’s because the Phanatic is unlikely to put anything green in his smoothie, which 100% tracks. You don’t get that bouncy belly by drinking kale.

    When asked what he thought about the new drink bearing his name, the Phanatic raised his arms overhead then circled his belly around in approval.

    The smoothie is made with vanilla ice cream, caramel sauce, whipped cream, salted caramel syrup, and sea salt pretzel pieces. It comes in a limited-edition cup featuring the Phanatic’s eyes and the tip of his snout and it only comes in one size — phanatically large — clocking in at 970 calories.

    The new Phanatic smoothie

    [image or embed]

    — Stephanie Farr (@farfarraway.bsky.social) August 17, 2026 at 1:39 PM

    Zack Sminkey of Woodstown, N.J., who wore a matching red shirt-and-shorts combo featuring repeating patterns of the Phanatic, brought his 7-year-old daughter Zoe to the event. Both approved of the new smoothie in the big green guy’s honor.

    “It’s really good. It’s very ballpark-tasting,” Sminkey said. “I almost feel like it tastes like Cracker Jacks. It’s delicious.”

    Jennifer Bertolet described it another way as she and her sister toasted their free samples of smoothie.

    “It tastes like World Series win with a sprinkling of Mets tears,” she said.

    Phillies ambassador Scott Palmer with a tray of new Wawa limited-edition Phanatic Caramel Curveball Cream Smoothies.Jessica Griffin / Staff Photographer

    When Wawa released a limited-edition Gritty Smoothie in the spring in honor of Philly’s prince of chaos, it was only a matter of time before the OG mascot king got one of his own, too.

    The partnership between Wawa and the Phillies solidified Wawa as the team’s official hoagie in June. Wawa hoagies now come wrapped in Phillies-themed paper, and the chain is selling red-and-white striped Phillies doughnuts and Phillies-themed kids meals, which come with stickers of the Phanatic and Wally Goose. A portion of the proceeds from the kids meals go to Philabundance.

    In turn, Wawa has an increased presence at Citizens Bank Park with new advertising and ballpark activations.

    Wally Goose and the Phillie Phanatic represent Wawa and the Phillies at a news conference on Monday about their recently-announced partnership. Jessica Griffin / Staff Photographer

    But the Phillies and Wawa were in a situationship long before they made things official this summer. Whenever the Phillies make the playoffs, Wawa brings back its Kyle Schwarber-themed Schwarberfest, a Hoagiefest spinoff featuring discounted hoagies. And in 2024, Bryce Harper was fined by MLB for showing his love for the chain by wearing custom-made Wawa cleats and a headband during a game.

    The Phillies and Wawa collaborations, including the Phanatic smoothie, will be available at stores in the region through Sept. 28.

    No word on if the offers will be extended in the event of a Red October.

    Today while interviewing a woman inside of a Wawa whose baby was dressed like Wally Goose, I was surprise-attacked from behind by the Phanatic, who put me inside of his shirt.

    That is a sentence only a Philly journalist could write – and believe and live through.

    [image or embed]

    — Stephanie Farr (@farfarraway.bsky.social) August 17, 2026 at 1:26 PM

  • New Trump-promoted Freedom Fuel station pops up in Philly. Another could be shut down.

    New Trump-promoted Freedom Fuel station pops up in Philly. Another could be shut down.

    Philadelphia drivers looking to save a few bucks at the pump streamed into the city’s newest Freedom Fuel station Friday afternoon, even while the station’s deep discounts remain a mystery.

    The station, located in Bustleton on Roosevelt Boulevard, is one of four new Freedom Fuel locations added this week. The other three are in New Jersey, including one all the way up in Morris County.

    The gas network, which was promoted by both the White House and President Donald Trump last month, is now up to 29 stations across the Philadelphia region, stretching east to the Jersey Shore.

    (function(){function e(){window.addEventListener(`message`,function(e){if(e.data[`datawrapper-height`]!==void 0){var t=document.querySelectorAll(`iframe`);for(var n in e.data[`datawrapper-height`])for(var r=0,i;i=t[r];r++)if(i.contentWindow===e.source){var a=e.data[`datawrapper-height`][n]+`px`;i.style.height=a}}})}e()})();

    Nearly all the pumps were full at Philly’s newest Freedom Fuel spot Friday afternoon, with the station selling a gallon of regular gas for $3.79 a gallon. That’s nearly 35 cents a gallon less than a Wawa just up Roosevelt Boulevard, where a gallon of regular gas went for $4.13 on Friday.

    A nearby Lukoil was a bit closer to Freedom Fuel’s prices, offering a gallon of regular gas for $3.99.

    An enduring mystery remains how Freedom Fuel has been able to consistently offer lower prices than nearby competitors.

    Experts told The Inquirer Freedom Fuel was likely suffering losses for selling fuel at such a low price, especially since many of the company’s stations don’t have robust convenience stores or car washes to create revenue.

    “It becomes unsustainable,” Eliezer Fich, a finance professor at Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business, told The Inquirer last month. “Unless prices go down. But if they do, they go down for everybody.”

    According to public records, the newest Freedom Fuel station is owned by Celik Plaza II l.l.c., which had previously run it under a “Red Lion Fuel” banner. Engin Celik, who is listed as a principal with the company, according to documents reviewed by The Inquirer, did not respond to a request for comment.

    Philly Freedom Fuel station faces closure after failing inspection

    The Freedom Fuel station on Bustleton Ave. in Philadelphia. Dana Munro / staff

    While Freedom Fuel is adding locations, it could soon lose one in Philadelphia.

    The station on Bustleton Avenue, one of at least six locations linked to Cherry Hill developer Shamikh Kazmi and his brother Syed Kazmi, has an expired fuel dispensing license and failed an inspection last week, according to city records.

    If unresolved, the station could be forced to close by Sept. 4, according to a city spokesperson.

    The Kazmi brothers, who have been embroiled in at least two lawsuits related to previous gas station ventures, could not be reached for comment.

    Freedom Fuel owners remain quiet

    Ravens special teams coach Randy Brown signed Freedom Fuel’s formation papers. Terrance Williams

    While Freedom Fuel’s launch was proudly promoted last month by Trump, the company’s owners have remained quiet about the enterprise and how they’re able to maintain low fuel prices.

    A White House spokesperson previously told The Inquirer Freedom Fuel is a private company receiving no government subsidies and not accessing fuel at a lower cost.

    “Freedom Fuel Network is a privately owned and proudly patriotic company — along with its convenience store operators, haulers, sign companies, and operational partners — that answered President Trump’s call to action to lower prices at the pump,” the company said in a statement on its website.

    Baltimore Ravens assistant coach Randy Brown, the former mayor of Evesham Township, N.J., and a self-proclaimed “proud Trump supporter,” signed Freedom Fuel’s certificate of formation in Delaware on June 23. Brown has declined to comment on the enterprise.

    Former commodities trader Yoni Gontownik also signed the certificate of formation, and has not responded to requests to comment. Gontownik and his wife, Bellen, have hosted Republican fundraisers through NORPAC, a New Jersey-based political action committee supporting pro-Israel lawmakers in both parties.

    Staff writer Ryan W. Briggs contributed to this article.

  • Meet the South Jersey business making food carts for Jersey Shore vendors and Disney World

    Meet the South Jersey business making food carts for Jersey Shore vendors and Disney World

    In a country-industrial stretch of Hammonton halfway between Philadelphia and Atlantic City sits a concrete-block maze of machine shops, where workers have built thousands of stainless-steel hot-sandwich and coffee carts and catering trucks.

    This is the one-story home of Custom Mobile Food Equipment, which for 74 years has built these customized portable kitchen-storefronts of varying sizes, and kept them on the road with extra helpings of customer support. They roll onto Jersey Shore boardwalks and Center City street corners, at weeklong public festivals and private events across America, and in fancy resorts and on military bases abroad.

    It’s a South Jersey fixture, with Camden roots and deep Philly ties.

    “We started small,” with hot dog carts cut to fit, not block, city sidewalks, said Custom vice president David Kyle. He said his family helped Philadelphia officials write the city’s street vendor ordinances, and made sure the carts fit.

    Custom has outlasted food fashions and changes in the ways workers lunch. Kyle said he’s confident the enterprise will outlast recent inflation, global competition, and import tariffs: “A lot of our business is repeat business, and the big names we go after,” he said during a tour of the plant. “People rely on us to turn out a product that will last.”

    From pony-cart produce to theme-park fixture

    Lehigh Valley-based Wild Bill’s Craft Beverage Co. serves its old-fashioned sodas from kegs mounted in Custom vehicles of several sizes. They sell drinks at crowded motorcycle rallies in Gettysburg and Sturgis, S.D., the Ohio State Fair, the Great State of Maine Air Show in Brunswick, San Diego Comic-Con, and Schuylkill regattas.

    “These are high-end, unique stands. We have 60 of them. We add a couple a year,” said Wild Bill’s chief executive, Mike Quilty. “One of our franchisees in Utah just drove one of Custom’s self-propelled Ford barrel wagons to Vancouver.”

    To make trips like that, the equipment has to be built well, Quilty said, noting Custom’s “unlimited support” for when technical issues arise, which doesn’t require buying a service contract.

    Custom’s late founder, William Sikora, developed the catering truck in the early 1950s as a kitchen on wheels installed on a Detroit-made chassis. Sikora as a grade-school kid in Camden had sold vegetables from a pony-drawn cart, then opened a grocery. He bought apartment buildings and diners, and became a top officer of First Peoples Bank.

    Walking room to room past heavy presses and cutters on the Hammonton shop floor, Sikora’s grandson Kyle said 40 workers build more than 100 pieces of equipment a year — food trucks, trailers, catering wagons, specialty equipment with kitchen-sized stoves, refrigerators, freezers.

    “We’ve sold to Disney World and SeaWorld, Sesame Place, and U.S. bases in Japan,” Kyle said on a muggy midsummer morning as room fans, metal-forming machinery, and new-cart test motors whirred. “We have 18 projects going right now.”

    Custom built 32 commercial kitchens on caster wheels for Carnival Cruise Line’s Calypso Lagoon in the Bahamas, which opened last year, with rounded bull-nose counters instead of sharp industrial edges to accommodate peak work flow.

    Paul McIlvaine, an electrician, works on the interior of a Chickie & Pete’s food cart at Custom Mobile Food Equipment, in Hammonton, Tuesday, July 21, 2026.Vernon Ogrodnek / For The Inquirer

    How much does it cost to launch a kitchen cart?

    Today, Custom’s basic Model 525 carts retail for around $6,500. For that sum, plus storage, food, fuel, and licensing costs, “you’re in business serving food,” said Kyle.

    “It’s rewarding, you get to meet so many kinds of people,” he added.

    New catering trucks start at more than $125,000, like a high-end camper.

    All the carts and trucks are built from stainless steel sides, stamped with Custom’s distinctive elongated-diamond pattern over tubular steel framing. The company uses multiple steel suppliers, including Allegheny Ludlum Steel Corp. in Pittsburgh. It was harder to find domestic steel when the U.S. auto industry demand was stronger, Kyle said. But now materials costs are much higher, often in response to higher tariffs.

    “We try to use built-in-USA [materials], but some stuff you cannot get here,” Kyle said. Robertshaw Controls, for example, makes the only burner controls that fit Custom’s standards. They moved the operation to Mexico from Texas, so Custom now imports them.

    Cart metal is just one inflating cost vendors face, said Christian Subashi, second-generation owner of Loudogs hot-dog carts in Sea Isle City. Refrigerators were 50% cheaper before last year’s new tariffs, he said, and sausage prices have “gone through the roof.”

    Kyle said his company’s hot-dog cart price “has gone up $1,000 or $2,000 in 10 years,” lower than the general inflation rate. “We have to absorb some. It’s how you do business,” he said. He’s confident steel prices will stabilize eventually.

    The future of food carts

    The company has no plans to automate, Kyle said. “All our products are custom built — handmade and hand-fabricated. No two carts are exactly alike,” he said, noting that the company also retrofits and rehabs units as needed. “They can last forever.”

    “Our pricing is more, but it lasts longer than assembly-line stuff coming in from Mexico or China at low cost.”

    One once-robust market that has all but evaporated is carts for vendors who work construction sites. Custom employed over 100 during the building boom of the late 1990s. The company built a catering truck a day, on average, back then; now it’s closer to one a week.

    “Wawa and DoorDash are delivering deli trays to jobs sites now. And Wawa has built out so many stores in their area, guys can just leave the job and run to Wawa. So that business is down for us,” said Kyle.

    The focus now is on larger orders that can be built more efficiently. Plus it’s gotten harder, Kyle said, to hire skilled craftsmen.

    Local buyers of carts and trucks include Shore ice cream and water-ice vendors, as well as the food vendors that sell at breweries, thanks to the New Jersey’s restrictions on breweries serving food

    But Custom is also very much “a national brand,” said James Evans, who runs the food-truck division for Ocean City-based Manco & Manco Pizza, including eight Phillies stadium locations.

    Like Custom, Manco is a third-generation South Jersey business, and Evans said he wouldn’t have gone anywhere else to build stadium-ready trailers. The two firms cut a deal last February for Custom to build an initial “food truck you can drive, available for private parties, corporate functions, MLB events, anywhere we can take a truck.”

    The first was delivered in July, with four propane-fueled Baker’s Pride deck ovens “to cook our pizzas to Manco standards.”

    Custom faces a string of manufacturing challenges with any order, Kyle said.

    But from Manco’s perspective the passage of his project from plan to delivery “was seamless,” said Evans.

    “As we morph into their larger trucks, we will add wings and tenders,” he said. “If everything in business and life went that easy, it’d be great.”

  • This pizzeria has Craig LaBan’s stamp of approval | Let’s Eat

    This pizzeria has Craig LaBan’s stamp of approval | Let’s Eat

    Craig LaBan has found a pizzeria he can take his whole family to.

    Also in this edition:

    — Mike Klein

    If someone forwarded you this email, sign up for free here.

    This pizzeria has Craig LaBan’s stamp of approval

    Gluten-free pizzas are generally less than exciting, as Craig LaBan notes, with textures ranging between pressboard and Styrofoam. At Barclay Pies, it’s not like that at all. Even the mozz sticks and their conventional pizzas are well worth a stop.

    The bakery beat

    Wild Yeast Bakehouse, Wayne’s new sourdough bakery, has a living room vibe, writes Jenn Ladd. That makes sense, because the founder started baking out of his living room.

    Saif Manna started baking during the pandemic in his Temple dorm room. He’s opening a brick-and-mortar home for his Levantine and Palestinian pastries, and tomorrow is the first day.

    Ba Le Bakery in South Philly is practically synonymous with the city’s bánh mì scene. Now, writes Kiki Aranita, a third generation is expanding the business dramatically.

    Two Sweet Boutique has had an interesting problem in its new location in Washington Township, writes Sarah Nicell. It’s selling out. Want that banana pudding? Get there early.

    Memories: The Frog Commissary Cookbook

    After four decades, The Frog Commissary Cookbook remains a Philadelphia icon — “our book,” says one acolyte. Contributor Devra Ferst takes a stroll down memory lane and winds up at the Commissary’s original location, where the current restaurant occupant bakes its carrot cake.

    Omakase on a budget at Oroshi

    Oroshi, a new omakase restaurant at Broad and Lombard Streets, is part of a minitrend of faster, less expensive omakase experiences. The lights are bright and the decor is spare, but Kiki Aranita walked away happy after 90 minutes.

    Getting with the GLP-1 program

    Here’s a twist: Local food brands such as Philly Pretzel Factory are working to accommodate consumers who are eating less and “protein-maxxing,” Olivia Prusky writes.

    The best thing Craig ate last week

    Craig visited an old fave — Porcini in Rittenhouse — and found the pastas have not lost a beat even after three decades. And yes, it’s still a BYOB.

    Scoops

    Chef Nic Macri and restaurant-ops specialist Suzanne O’Brien are proving you’re never too old experienced to open your first restaurant. They’re partnering with Stephen Simons on a spot just off 13th and Sansom in Washington Square West, and Macri describes the menu as “Philadelphia cooking with an Italian accent.”

    Anh Em, a Vietnamese bar-restaurant and bar from husband-and-wife team Victor Nguyen and Anna Huynh, is aiming for an Aug. 8 grand opening at 1252 S. 21st St. in Point Breeze, the former Madira. Nguyen, a longtime Philadelphia hospitality veteran who bartended at Mad Mex in the late 1990s, co-owned a Chinatown bubble tea shop in the early 2000s and later spent 15 years managing Tango, is realizing a longtime goal of opening his own place. The roughly 45-seater will pair Vietnamese comfort food (pho and bánh xèo alongside home-style dishes) with a 20-seat bar pouring 24 local drafts and a small cocktail list.

    Andorra Kitchen & Tap will join Andorra Shopping Center’s $32 million glow-up by Federal Realty, possibly in the fourth quarter. Spanning 6,900 square feet in the former Applebee’s, the restaurant is positioning as an all-day neighborhood gathering place serving breakfast/brunch, lunch, and dinner, with a full bar and dedicated coffee area for the morning. Owner Emmanouil Lagoudakis says he was drawn to Andorra-Roxborough for its “wonderful energy.”

    Restaurant report

    333 Belrose, one of the Main Line’s old-guard restaurants, has reopened after a dramatic renovation that flipped the bar with a dining room, opening up the layout. The menu is still “nothing too cerebral, nothing too crazy,” as chef Ross Essner told me, adding that there’s one dish he will never take off the menu.

    Toll Man Joe’s, whose South Philly run was abbreviated by the pandemic, will resurface at the former Mixto on Pine Street near 12th. The owners hope to get the sports bar open in just a few weeks.

    Pomelo Rooftop Terrace, atop the new Brandywine hotel in Radnor and counterpoint to Merrick’s Tavern off the lobby, will grand-open Aug. 8. It’ll be open year-round with indoor-outdoor seating. Weekend brunch begins Aug. 22.

    The region’s last Brio Italian Grille, in Cherry Hill’s Towne Place at Garden State Park, closed abruptly Monday, two months after its Marlton location shuttered. The site 42Freeway joined the Facebook account A View From Evesham in first reporting that steakhouse Fogo de Chao will occupy the Cherry Hill location, citing township permits. A rep from Fogo declined my request for comment.

    Briefly noted

    Flash back to 2023, when chef Dionicio Jiménez and Mariangeli Alicea Saez of Cantina la Martina, La Baja, and the Cantina on the Go locations went to Mexico with Inquirer critic Craig LaBan and photographer Jessica Griffin for articles that won a James Beard Award in 2024. The restaurateurs are using part of that trip as inspiration for a five-day excursion to Oaxaca they’re planning for Oct. 30–Nov. 4. (LaBan and Griffin, who also met with Tequilas’ David Suro for a lesson in mezcal and tequila production during that 2023 trip, will sit this one out.) Limited to eight guests, the experience will feature family celebrations, cultural traditions, home-cooked meals, a private mezcal tasting, artisan visits, and special dinners, including one from Jiménez himself. It’s $2,000pp plus airfare. Details via cantina@cantinaonthego.com.

    Nine Philadelphia bartenders will throw down Patrón Tequila-based cocktails in the Dirty Rocks Cocktail Competition from 3-7:30 p.m. Sunday at Fringe Bar (140 N. Columbus Blvd.). Attendees will determine the winner among Matt Welch (R&D), Kari Rosenfeld (Bourbon & Branch), Kevin Castro (Soufiane at the Morris), Roland Bui (Com.Unity Consulting), Damian Langarcia (Drams by Damian), Chris Harrop (Known Associates), Tony Jimenez (Static), Jackie Miller (Fringe Bar), and defending champion Jessica Stark (Trestle Inn). Also: a DJ, pizza truck, food and drink specials. Admission ($20) includes three tasting votes; VIP tickets are $45 and include a welcome cocktail, gift bag, and 10 votes. Cocktails: $5-$12. Tickets via DirtyRocks.com.

    2nd Street Festival returns to Northern Liberties from noon-10 p.m. Sunday, transforming the stretch from Spring Garden to Girard Avenue into a festival with more than more than 50 restaurants and food trucks, 10 beer and cocktail gardens, two live music stages, and family activities.

    ❓Pop quiz

    Name the brand that Wawa has partnered with on a hot-selling tote bag.

    A) Vera Bradley

    B) Coach

    C) Lands’ End

    D) Louis Vuitton

    Find out if you know the answer.

    Ask Mike anything

    Any news on New York Bagels? — John C.

    Owner Rayyan Kayyali sounded discouraged but not defeated when we caught up yesterday, more than two months after a gas explosion destroyed his Overbrook Park bagel bakery on the very morning of its reopening following another blast in March. He said he is waiting for a new burner pipe for the oven, and “so far, I haven’t seen a dime” from the insurance company. Meanwhile, lords Jeffrey Gladstone and Andy Rubin of Herbert Yentis & Co. say they have not charged him rent since the first explosion. Kayyali vows to rebuild and reopen.

    📮 Have a question about food in Philly? Email your questions to me at mklein@inquirer.com for a chance to be featured in my newsletter.

    By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.

  • Like rival Wawa, Delco’s Swiss Farms plans to add gas pumps under its latest owner

    Like rival Wawa, Delco’s Swiss Farms plans to add gas pumps under its latest owner

    The new owner of Swiss Farm Stores, a Delco fixture selling dairy, groceries, and convenience goods almost as long as cross-county rival Wawa, is planning new stores with gas pumps in Delaware, Philadelphia, Montgomery, and Bucks Counties.

    “We were neck and neck with Wawa, then they went into gas in 1996, and it revolutionized their business,” said Arsh Pola, a Drexel University graduate and gas station and convenience store operator, who bought the chain in stages after starting talks in 2022.

    “It’s a beautiful business,” Pola said. Serving through drive-up windows from posted menus of hot and cold foods and pantry items, “we have a different customer from other stores: mom. We are serving local families milk and the things that built a cult following. We will add more of the right things.”

    Side entrance at Swiss Farm Stores’ Drexel Hill, location.Joseph DiStefano

    Pola’s vision to update Swiss Farm, which started in 1968, is fuel and an expanded menu.

    Adding gas to a drive-up chain might not be a long jump for Pola, who owns gas stations, stores, and apartments in Philadelphia and Montgomery County.

    The North Penn High School alumnus jokes that his retail focus in a family of professionals — engineer, pharmacist, dentist — makes him “a black sheep” but also tracks with his Gujarati immigrant grandfather, a teacher who saved his pay to buy a New England convenience store.

    Pola began negotiating to buy Swiss Farm franchises in 2022, two years after Florida-based Farm Stores bought the company from Radnor-based MVP Capital and other investors.

    Earlier owners tried and failed to grow Swiss Farms beyond Delaware County. When Pola realized the Delco-area franchises were the only stores still open, he bought one after another, starting in 2024, and then the parent company. He was financed by regional banks that also backed his gas station deals. The purchase closed June 30.

    His plans rely on execution by Swiss Farm veterans, topped by Chris Gray, who worked 25 years at the company and rose to CEO before MVP let him go. Pola, now CEO, brought Gray back as chief operating officer.

    Pola agreed to detail his plans for Swiss Farms to The Inquirer in interviews at the Broomall and Drexel Hill stores.

    How did you get into retail?

    When I was studying finance at Drexel [graduated 2019], I had the dream of working at Goldman Sachs. I became the youngest co-op at Goldman Sachs. And they quickly told me, ‘You get along really well with the clients.’

    I started buying gas stations while I was still a student. I took Warren Buffett’s advice: ‘Buy something with a moat around it.’ Gas stations have a very strong customer cash flow that’s recession-proof.

    I started with a former Liberty, up at Ridge and Manatawna. I wanted my own brand on the store. I called it Posh [with a crown over the P]. I ended up doing Marathons and Lukoils. I still have a few stations in Philadelphia and Montgomery County.

    How could you afford to buy Swiss Farms?

    Each gas station required a million-dollar investment. So I wanted to do a portfolio deal [buy several at once]. Everything was financed from the banks that knew me. They do 20-year mortgages.

    Farm Stores’ goal was: ‘Let’s franchise!’ Wawa doesn’t franchise. Raising Cane’s CEO Todd Graves talks about this: You can’t control the quality of a franchise when you don’t own it.

    I told Farm Stores, ‘You guys are 1,500 miles away. Let me buy it all.’

    Sign at Swiss Farms’ Broomall, Delaware County store.Joseph DiStefano
    What are the first few things you will add or take away?

    The stores need a facelift. We won’t take away the silos, but [we’ll give them] a fresh look.

    And the stores need more employees. In-N-Out doubled their payroll, and sales went up three or four times over.

    We always had employees in these black shirts. Now we’ve added six new colors, make it fun for the staff.

    We just did an event with [former Eagle] Brian Dawkins. Everyone on his staff knew Swiss Farms and loves us.

    How can you compete with large chains like Wawa and 7-Eleven that can purchase gas and food in bulk at lower costs?

    I’m already in the gasoline business. I buy on the open market every day. I buy from the same [fuel suppliers] that sell to BJ’s and Sunoco. We are going to price gas the most aggressively we can.

    Some costs you can cut. Swiss Farms had a consultant negotiating what were supposed to be the best trash rates. We cut that.

    Swiss Farm Stores drive-up menu, July 2027Joseph N. DiStefa
    Kathy Strimmel, who runs the Drexel Hill store, says she’s a longtime customer, who’s now been working there for a year. Is it hard to find people to work your stores?

    It’s difficult to find quality talent. People don’t all have the same drive, or loyalty. We start at $10 to $12 an hour.

    Your milk costs maybe a dollar more a gallon than the store down the street, why?

    It’s good milk! People don’t say, ‘Can I get a gallon of whole milk?’ They say, ‘Can I get Swiss Vitamin D?’ And we share the cost for getting it into your car.

    We do have the best prices on our iced teas. I don’t know why, but Delaware County has a reputation as the best iced-tea market in the country.

    How many new stores are you planning?

    Twenty-five in the next five years. We will find locations here in Delaware County, and we will enter Philadelphia, Montgomery County, and Bucks County. After that, we will grow organically, state by state, where it makes sense.

    I respect Wawa. [Wawa CEO] Chris Gheysens said, ‘It took 60 years for us to get into six states; it’ll take six years to get into the rest.’”

    Wawa has closed several of its Philadelphia stores. How can Swiss Farms make the city work if Wawa can’t?

    You have to choose locations very wisely. I have gas stations in Philadelphia. I know how to do that.