Joey D’s on Main in Norristown is standing up to the Super Wawa that opened a block away by offering delicious food and a small-gas-station vibe, writes Maria Panaritis for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The owner, Joey Valerio, purchased the gas station from an old Italian family in the 1980s and added food as a side dish. But over the years, the food has become the main attraction as drivers took to its homemade sandwiches.

One of the reasons is that the food is locally sourced. The meat comes from a butcher a few blocks away, while the rolls arrive from Conshohocken. The zeps are a local version of the South Philly Italian hoagie: made on a kaiser bun without lettuce.

The place is packed in the mornings, but the customers still keep streaming in after the grill shuts down at noon. What remains then are piles of delicious sandwiches kept under heat lamps or in glass refrigerators. Wawa has not changed that.

“There’s a feeling in here,” said Valerio, 67. “I can’t put it into words.”

Read more about Joey D’s on Main in The Philadelphia Inquirer by clicking here.

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