Adam Clark, an enterprise reporter for New Jersey Advance Media, is not a Wawa fan, and wasn’t brought up around the convenience store chain.

But he wondered about other people’s Wawa obsession and decided to tell that story by compiling an oral history, writes Amaris Casttillo for Poynter.

In November 2023, NJ Advance Media published “The Oral History of Wawa,” covering its origins to its place as a cultural phenomenon in New Jersey.

The piece is a multi-chapter read with source quotes, audio clips, and original and archival photos of Wawa.

To prepare, Clark read two books on the history of Wawa, interviewed more than 40 people, and checked out Facebook groups to find sources.

He visited a Wawa archive at a Delaware museum.

“I even spent time just standing in Wawa, observing what was happening to sort of put myself in that natural environment.”

The oral history also touches on some of Wawa’s darker moments like it’s unsuccessful expansions in New York and Connecticut in the 1980s and ‘90s.

Clark said his relationship to Wawa hasn’t changed much, except his daughter really likes their soft pretzels. He visits the store about once a week.

Read more about Adam Clark’s oral history of Wawa in Poynter.