This past June, something beautiful finally came to Lewisburg: Wawa.

For years, central Pennsylvania has been dominated by Sheetz culture. When my family moved to this area during my senior year of high school, right before I started at Bucknell, I saw a Sheetz for the first time and thought to myself, now what even is that? Eventually, I went into the Sheetz over in Bloomsburg, and the impression was immediate. The interior was overwhelmingly brown and green, the atmosphere felt distinctly rural Pennsylvania, and the menu practically shouted “greasy comfort food.”

At first, I was intrigued by the milkshakes. They were indulgent and fun, and I can still admit they are one of Sheetz’s highlights. But as I explored the rest of the menu, a pattern emerged: Sheetz leans almost entirely into fried, heavy food. That is not always a bad thing, since sometimes you just want something guilty and filling late at night, but when everything revolves around grease, the novelty wears thin. Instead, you find yourself scanning through the menu over and over again trying to figure out what to fill your hungry stomach with. Plus, it’s not like we have many other late night options in the area. The mac and cheese bites are the standout for me though, crispy on the outside and gooey on the inside, perfect for a 1 a.m. craving, especially with some boom boom sauce. Beyond that, though, the menu becomes overwhelming.

Sheetz offers almost everything you can think of: burgers, tacos, wraps, burritos, quesadillas, salads, fried chicken, pizza and loaded fries. The problem is that with so many options, very little feels consistent. Their MexAmerican section is hit or miss, often bland or incoherent and the salads feel like afterthoughts. Fries on a salad, for example, is more confusing to me than appetizing. Many of Sheetz’s most memorable creations rely on gimmicks, like a burger topped with mozzarella sticks or chicken tossed into mac and cheese. These items are fun to order once, but rarely something you would go back for when you want food that sustains you. Sheetz, at its core, is designed around indulgence.

This is why the arrival of Wawa feels like such a shift. Wawa offers indulgent items too, but it does so alongside a much broader range of choices. The grab-and-go section alone makes it stand out. Fresh juices, pretzels, fruit, sandwiches and hashbrowns give you quick options that are actually satisfying, especially compared to the grab and go section at Sheetz filled with random, not the most appetizing items. Their hoagies are the crown jewel, filling but not overwhelming, and customizable to suit whatever mood you are in. Their mac and cheese is richer and more balanced than Sheetz’s, even though it unfortunately does not come in bite form. On top of that, Wawa has been expanding into more dinner-oriented items like pizza, soups and pasta, which makes it possible to treat a Wawa visit as more than just a gas station snack stop.

The crucial difference is how you feel after eating. A Sheetz run can leave you bloated and sluggish, which might be fine once in a while but unsustainable if it becomes a habit. Wawa meals, even the heavier ones, rarely leave you with that weighed-down feeling. That matters for students. With classes, activities and jobs stacked on top of each other, food is supposed to give us energy, not drain it.

The cultural debate between Sheetz and Wawa has long been debated, but with Wawa now in Lewisburg, that debate becomes real on campus. Sheetz represents a kind of maximalist eating culture, where more is always better and fried is always the answer. Wawa represents balance, consistency and flexibility. As students, having that flexibility is important. Sometimes you want a hoagie, sometimes you want a salad or a smoothie and sometimes you want a pizza or a breakfast burrito at midnight. Wawa makes those choices possible without trapping you in the same greasy cycle.

Sheetz will always have its place. I think the mac and cheese bites are iconic, I love the app samplers and milkshakes and sometimes the craving for fried food is unavoidable. But Wawa is the better option overall. It is reliable, versatile and feels more like a place you could eat at every week without regret. For Bucknell students, this new addition changes the late-night food landscape in Lewisburg.

So take the extra few minutes down Route 15. Goodbye Sheetz, Hello Wawa!