As 2024 presidential election campaigns ramp up, former President Donald Trump visited a New York City bodega and President Joe Biden made stops at both Sheetz and Wawa.
In 2016, Trump—then a candidate for president running against former First Lady and Sen. Hillary Clinton—stopped at a Wawa convenience store in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, after delivering a speech nearby.
This time around, while in town for one of his trials, Trump went to a bodega in Harlem where a worker had lethally defended himself during a confrontation with a customer, according to a Forbes report. He delivered remarks outside the store after a private visit.
Last week, Biden first visited a Sheetz convenience store in Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey and Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato accompanied the president to pick up sandwiches for construction workers, reported KDKA. A spokesperson for Sheetz told the news outlet that Biden’s team placed a large order online that also included fruit and other ready-to-eat items.
“Everyone loves a good Sheetz run, even the President of the United States,” Sheetz said in a statement provided to KDKA.
Biden later stopped at the construction site of the Pittsburgh International Airport's terminal to drop off the sandwiches and shake hands with workers, according to the report.
- Wawa, based in Wawa, Pennsylvania, is No. 10 on CSP’s 2024 Top 40 Update to the 2023 Top 202 ranking of U.S. c-store chains by store count. Sheetz, Altoona, Pennsylvania, is No. 13. Watch for the full 2024 Top 202 ranking in the June issue of CSP magazine and in CSP Daily News.
Perhaps seeking to avoid favoritism in the legendary Sheetz vs. Wawa debate, Biden also visited a Wawa convenience store in Philadelphia, according to a Forbes report. He was accompanied by Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker, reported the Philadelphia Inquirer.
He toured both stores and spoke with customers and employees. He ordered an Italian hoagie with American cheese, a black-and-white milkshake, a dozen pretzels, a dozen assorted pastries, two orders of mozzarella sticks, two bottles of Coke and a low-fat, strawberry banana yogurt, the report said.
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