John Mack - Newtown Supervisor
The Hoagies of Newtown vs. Wawa

The Hoagies of Newtown vs. Wawa

At a May 14, 2018, Newtown Township Board of Supervisors meeting, a resident claimed that "There is no place [in Newtown] to get a normal sandwich for less than $15". The comment was made in support of a plan for a Wawa superstore on Newtown Bypass (see here). 

Actually, there are many places in Newtown where you can get a sandwich/hoagie for under $15.

To prove it, I bought hoagies/sandwiches from six Newtown Township businesses. All were priced under $15. But how did they compare with a Wawa hoagie?

To answer that question, I drove 6.0 miles to the Wawa located on 2nd Street Pike in Richboro, PA and purchased a chicken with spinach classic hoagie for $5.79.

Just for fun, I decided to create an online quiz that challenged people to identify the Wawa hoagie among the six Newtown hoagies that I purchased (see image above). Of course, it was only possible to judge based on photographs I took of each sandwich. It was not a popularity contest and unfortunately, not a taste test. 

I also asked respondents to identify the highest priced hoagie among the group of seven. 

Results

Over 215 people participated in the quiz. Only 22% of them were able to correctly identify the Wawa hoagie (#6).

The majority (55%) of respondents thought #3 was the Wawa hoagie, but it is an Italian hoagie from Shady Brook Farm. It cost about $8.

About 13% of respondents thought it was #4, which is an Italian hoagie from Acme and cost $5.

Here's the identity of all the hoagies:

  1. Slack’s Hoagie Shack half Italian hoagie. About $8.50.
  2. La Stalla “Frank Sinatra” sandwich. $ 11.95.
  3. 12” Italian hoagie from Shady Brook Farm costs about $8.
  4. 12” Italian hoagie from Acme. About $5.
  5. Primo mild sharp Italian hoagie. About $10 for 9” size.
  6. Chicken with spinach classic Wawa hoagie. About $5 for 10” size.
  7. Joey G’s grilled chicken with asparagus sandwich. $7.95.

NOTE: 36% of respondents identified #2 as the "priciest" hoagie among the seven (it also had the most meat!) whereas 23% guessed it was #7 and 22% said #5 (close, but no cigar!).

One person complained about the lack of fairness: “I don't know why the same sandwich wasn't ordered, and that the sandwiches were positioned differently. Not really a fair visual comparison.”

In my defense - if any is needed - I got the idea for the survey AFTER first buying the Wawa hoagie from the Richboro, PA store and noticing how it seemed to be thrown together without much care. Afterward, I started buying other hoagies to compare - my preference was for Italian hoagies but I did not think it mattered that all of them should be the same type of sandwich.

Show Me a Wawa Italian Hoagie

To be a fair visual comparison, I agree that I should have a photo of an Italian hoagie from Wawa. So, while attending an EPA meeting in Horsham on 25 July 2018, I purchased a classic Italian hoagie from a local Wawa (see my Instagram post below).

 

During the lunch break today at the EPA PFAS Community Stakeholder meeting in Horsham, I was able to drive about 1 mile down Horsham Road to a Wawa and get this Classic Italian hoagie for $5 and change. It looks OK compared to the chicken hoagie I purchased at the Richboro Wawa. It also tasted OK, but not great. The amount of meat was pretty meager compared to other Italian hoagies I have purchased in Newtown.

A post shared by John Mack Newtown Supervisor (@johnmacknewtown) on

Posted on 24 Jul 2018, 11:47 - Category: Survey Results