Did you know that Wawa has pizza?
Chances are if you live anywhere in Southeastern Pennsylvania, you already know the answer to this question. Ever since Wawa unveiled their new dinner offering earlier this year, I have been inundated with “Wawa has pizza!”, to the extent that it has become a running joke between me and my roommate to ask the question anytime we’re reminded of it — Did you know that Wawa has pizza?
Even months after the new food selection was added to the menu, I still cannot escape the relentless marketing campaign. ‘Wawa has Pizza’ follows me everywhere: the gas pump screens, my Instagram feed, the illuminated highway billboards on my way back to campus, the stylized sticker stuck to the side of my apartment building’s outdoor trash can. I go to the bathroom only for ‘Wawa has Pizza’ to watch me through the crack in the bathroom door like a creep. There is no escaping it.
So I caved. I’m trying the stupid Wawa pizza. Are you happy now, capitalist advertising?
Don’t get me wrong, I love Wawa. A nice meatball sub or a pint of their chocolate milk—i’m all for it—but the pizza just crossed a line for me. Who goes to Wawa to get a whole 14 or 16 inch pizza? People who have no respect for pizza, probably. I’ve always been mildly curious about how good the pizza actually is, but never enough to fork over whatever amount of money they wanted for it. Part of me was also boycotting the product just because of how insistent the advertising was. Oh you want me to buy your pizza? What will you do if I don’t, huh? Alas, I figured it was worth the sacrifice if it meant being able to expose the mystery of Wawa pizza for others. So here we go.
Taste:
From what I had heard, Wawa pizza was ‘just okay’. The consensus floating around ranged anywhere from ‘pretty good’ to ‘meh not that great’. In the end, I would agree with this. The pizza was actually not as bad as I thought it would be, or as bad as it looked in the box. Let me be clear, this is no local pizzeria pie. It doesn’t even compare to a nice fresh pizza from your favorite family-owned pizza stop down the street—but it’s not bad. The sauce has a nice flavor, and the crust was appropriately browned without being burnt. I would even say that it was far better than what you might get at your nearby Domino’s or Pizza Hut, frankly. It even comes with the option of garlic crust for no extra charge (though I would say that they went a little heavy on the garlic).
My only real negative comment regarding taste would be the cheese. Let me just say, if you were lactose intolerant you would probably die eating this pizza. I don’t know if it was because I opted for plain cheese as my topping, but whoever made it decided that we needed all of the cheese. Even just a little less would have made for a better sauce-cheese ratio.
Value:
Wawa offers only two pizza sizes currently: 14 inch and 16 inch. I paid $13.77 for a 14 inch. Overall this price is pretty reasonable, given the price of pizza these days. This is slightly cheaper than Dominos, at $13.99 (pre-tax/fees) for a 14 inch. Obviously a local pizza place would charge far more, but you’d be paying for higher quality. As an inexpensive option, I would say Wawa generally delivers.
Other Considerations:
I do think there are a few other factors to acknowledge when considering Wawa pizza. Though small, I would like to note that the pizza I received did not look like the pizza does in any of the advertising—but that could be said for most food. It also took an unusually long time to get my order. I think this could very well have been due to understaffing or a high order volume, but we did wait around 15-20 minutes for our pizza and several other people got their order before us. So if you’re looking for a fast option you may want to order ahead or choose another menu item.
My largest and final critique would be the lack of single slices offered on the menu. Wawa is largely an individual food service—families stopping for a quick bite on a road trip, workers on their lunch break, teens looking for a cheap meal. For this reason it seems absurd that they would only offer full pies instead of individual slices or personal pan sizes. Furthermore if you’re looking to get a pizza or two for your family pizza night or a party, Wawa is probably not the place you’d be looking to go anyway.
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All in all I would say that annoying advertising aside, Wawa pizza isn’t terrible, but it does beg the question: Wawa may have pizza, but does it need pizza? I guess you’ll have to figure that out for yourself.
