Pasta at Wawa? It’s being tested in at least one Delco store.
Is Wawa pasta the real deal or a spaghetti western?
Wawa’s getting saucy.
The convenience store chain is testing pasta dishes in at least one of its Delaware County locations but whether Wawa pasta is al dente or al don’te still remains to be seen.
Best known for its touchscreen order sandwiches, breakfast items, and grab-and-go goods, Wawa has been quietly test piloting new options for culinary convenience store connoisseurs in select area locations recently.
Last week, it was reported that six area Wawa stores were testing burgers, breaded chicken sandwiches, and waffle fries. Our food news reporter, Michael Klein, panned those items in his review, as did other critics.
I was on my way back from an assignment Wednesday when I stopped by the Glen Mills Wawa on Baltimore Pike to grab lunch. As the Philly Culture reporter, it’s imperative I eat at Wawa at least once a week to keep my Philly midi-chlorian count up.
As I approached the door, the large sign outside advertising Wawa pasta bowls hit me in the face like a sheet cake lobbed by Gritty.
It seemed impastable. The sign appeared to advertise spaghetti and meatballs, ravioli, and some kind of broccoli Alfredo dish.
Unfortunately, the pasta bowls weren’t available until 4 p.m. and I was on deadline, so I couldn’t wait around to try them. When I asked, the cashier said they were a test location for the dishes and she hadn’t had a chance to try them either yet, though she seemed appropriately Wawa enthused about doing so.
Wawa spokesperson Lori Bruce declined to identify how many or which stores are testing the pasta. The Glen Mills Wawa is a little more than a mile from Wawa’s Delaware County headquarters, so it would make for an ideal test store.
“This is a very, very small pilot and as such will change and evolve, and possibly be phased out and reintroduced a bit later," Bruce said.
She added that the pasta pilot is “part of a series of products in pilot as part of a larger dinner platform we have been testing.”
It’s unclear if the pasta dishes — which couldn’t even be viewed on the touchscreen menu before 4 p.m. — come with bread, parma-jawn cheese, or any other accoutrements. It’s also not entirely clear how they are cooked.
If this Wawa pasta sticks, it’s only a matter of time before you see a guy in Eagles slippers eating his spaghetti and meatballs atop the garbage can outside the door.
The pasta dishes are just one of several new concepts the chain has rolled out recently. The same Glen Mills store had new chip card readers at the gas pumps, an upgrade in light of a data breach of the store’s gas pumps that was disclosed in December.
And in January, Wawa opened a tiny new Center City concept store that even includes a walk-up window.