MILLIANS: Eating on the run

Published 10:00 am Friday, April 11, 2025

Well, I would have preferred a QT (Quick Time) myself. I’m partial to QT’s blueberry muffins (and other pastry selections), and Wanda likes their coffee.

But I guess we should be happy about the RaceWay rising on the corner of U.S highway 441 and Meriwether Road. It’s Milledgeville’s ticket to the big-time in the new world of convenience stores/gas stations that offer way more than just gas, a dirty bathroom and rotisserie hot dogs that look like they have been rolling for a month.

We’re getting a RaceWay, not to be confused with RaceTrac. They’re owned by the same company, but RaceWays are contractor-operated stores and RaceTracs are company-operated stores.

Thus, the sign in front of our RaceWay which reads: “Call Pratik Patel at 800-688-6199. Franchise available. Multi-year lease.”

The local RaceWay is expected to open in July and will have separate areas for cars and trucks. It’ll add on to the already 200-plus stores in 11 states in the Southeast.

The company was started by Carl Bloch in St. Louis in 1934. Yes, the sign above his early gas stations was Bloch Gas (for less).

Nowadays, these gigantic gas oases have just about everything you can think of to please your grab-and-go hearts. Gas, spotless bathrooms and food — boy, howdy. I have never had a gas-station piece of pizza, but that might be about to change.

The RaceWay website touts Hunt Brothers Pizza, Chester’s Chicken on the Run, and Krispy Krunchy Chicken among the brands its stores feature. I stopped at one near Athens and had some very tasty frozen yogurt, too.

Of course, RaceWay/RaceTrac has some fierce competition.

I mentioned QT. The Tulsa-based company features breakfast wraps and croissants, pizza, pretzels, frozen drinks and a huge coffee selection.

Then, there’s Love’s Travel Spots, Wawa, Circle K and Sheetz. (You can’t make this stuff up.)

What the heck is a Wawa?

They’re big into core values: Value people; delight customers; embrace change; do the right thing; do things right; and have a passion for winning.

Sounds like a Kirby Smart motivational speech, without the bad language.

Wawa, by the way, comes from the Ojibwe Native American word “we’we”, which translates to “snow goose” or “wild goose.” It is also the name of the town where the company’s first dairy plant and corporate headquarters were located in Pennsylvania.

Wawa, which already has several locations in South Georgia, is known for selling its coffee for $1 — no matter the cup size.

Sheetz, which are located mainly in the Midwest, specialize in made-to-order (MTO) food: burgers, hot dogs and salads, just like a restaurant.

And, that brings us to the king of all gas station/convenience stores — the one that’s on steroids.

That, of course is Buc-ee’s.

Buc-ee’s is known for three things: 1. Enormous clean bathrooms, with a hand-washing station beside every urinal; 2. An extensive food selection with snacks and meals, including Beaver Nuggets, brisket sandwiches, beef jerky, fudge, and banana pudding, among many other options; 3. Enough gas pumps to accommodate a long convoy.

Just in case you forgot, Beaver Nuggets are caramel-coated corn puffs. I do not care for them, but Wanda loves them. Their brisket sandwiches are not bad.

There’s good news for Buc-ee’s fans. The next new one will be not far from here on I-75 in the Forsyth area next year. It’ll be the fourth in Georgia, joining Warner Robins, Adairsville and Brunswick.

When I go in a Buc-ee’s, I always ask the same question: Where do all these people come from? It’s shoulder-to-shoulder, night and day.

I guess I’d better wake up and change with the times. All these people coming out of super-sized gas-station/convenience stores carrying a hot dog in one hand and a large soft drink in the other in the middle of the afternoon, maybe they are on to something.

My mother used to say, don’t ruin your supper.

Maybe that is their supper.

Made to order.

—Rick Millians, a 1970 Baldwin High graduate, worked at newspapers in Georgia, Ohio and South Carolina before retiring. Reach him at rdmillians@aol.com.