👋 Ned here, recovering from three straight days of eating lunch exclusively at gas stations.

What's happening: Royal Farms, a Maryland-based convenience chain best known for its fried chicken, is making a push into Richmond.

• The company eventually plans to open as many as eight stores in the metro area.

Why it matters: These are big convenience stores very much in the vein of Sheetz and Wawa — enterprises that stir passion, loyalty and fierce debate over which is best.

• So I was curious, how does the food at Royal Farms slot in against the OGs?

To find out, I ate at all three this week.

Royal Farms already has a store in Colonial Heights, so I made the trek south.

• I got a spicy chicken tender sandwich on Texas Toast ($6.99). It was pretty much exactly as advertised: quite spicy, fairly tender and huge (like Texas?).
• Overall, the quality of the chicken is a clear step up from anything I've ever gotten at a grocery store, but maybe not quite as good as chains like Lee's and Popeyes.
• Sides are a different story. For fries, they do potato wedges, which are a lot of potato and not a lot of crisp. And the mac and cheese had an off flavor I couldn't place.

Wawa's my typical go-to.

• I went for the spicy turkey hoagie ($5.89). It was fine and easily cleared my most basic bar for gas station food: I did not feel gross eating it and, unlike the fried chicken, left with no worries about falling into a midday food coma.
• But being so mild has its drawbacks: It was kind of dry, and I could see the spicy sauce but could not taste any spicy flavor.

Sheetz's food has always made me a little uncomfortable. The menu's vibe is like Wawa on meth — doing a lot of things, none of them quite right.

• My visit this week did not change my view. I let the prompts on the ordering screen sell me on a special that consists of a hamburger topped with three mozzarella sticks and marinara sauce ($6.99).
• To be honest, it tasted better than it sounds, but was still easily the worst meal of the week.
• That said, the curly fries were legit and super crispy.

The bottom line: I'd marry Wawa, date Royal Farms and ghost Sheetz.

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The Texas chain that built the world's largest gas station has plans to open its first Virginia outpost in New Kent County, but not until 2027.

What's happening: Buc-ee's announced earlier this year that it's eyeing a location off I-64 near exit 211.

Why it matters: The store itself will be larger than a football field and surrounded by 120 gas pumps and 557 parking spaces, per New Kent County's economic development authority.

But it's not just about size.

• Superfans say they love the chain for its barbecue brisket, fudge counter and super clean restrooms, per the Knoxville News Sentinel.

What they're saying: As Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis put it when the company announced its third location in his state earlier this year: "They make so much stuff. They have those beaver nuggets. They have all kinds of barbecue that they make," per WESH.

• "It's basically like the Shangri-La of service stations."

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⚖️ Two residents of North Chesterfield were charged this week with coercing a relative into forced labor in the gas station they operated, Lovely Market. (USDOJ)

• They are accused of withholding the person's passport and immigration documents between 2018 and 2021 while requiring them to work in the shop under threats of force, per the indictment.

🧑‍⚖️ A former deputy director of the Richmond's public works department and his wife pleaded guilty to defrauding the city out of at least $226,000 by creating fake companies to bid on work that was never completed. (NBC12)

🏳️‍⚧️ RPS superintendent Jason Kamras recommended the school board ignore new transgender student guidelines issued by the Youngkin administration. (NBC12)

🪴 Dozens of Virginia cannabis growers will compete this weekend in the East Coast Connoisseur's Cup off Arthur Ashe Boulevard. (Times-Dispatch)

If you're looking for the best roadside food in town, true Richmonders know where to go: Wise Choice Convenience Store in Goochland, just over the Henrico County line.

Driving the news: The store attached to an Exxon station is known for fried chicken, bologna burgers and 5am breakfast sandwiches — all made fresh daily and priced affordably.

• A three-piece chicken dinner with two sides and a roll is $9.69, and weekday specials (like cheesesteak Wednesdays and livers and gizzards Tuesdays and Thursdays) come with a side and drink for under $7.

Wise opened in 1987 to feed Southern fried favorites to local shift workers and semi-drivers, per Virginia Living, but in the digital age became something of a regional sensation.

• The internet is littered with reviews like: "You wouldn't think you'd find such delish food at a convenience store/gas station, but this place rules the roost!" and "The smoked chicken is the best I've ever had! I drive from Roanoke at least twice a year to get it."

Pro tip: Hit them up between meals as the lines get long around lunchtime.

Getting there: Take the Rockville exit off I-64 west (the first exit off after Short Pump and 288). Hang a left, and it's a half-mile down the road on the left.

Honorable mentions:

🧆 Scott's Shawarma's second location in Innsbrook for fantastic shawarma and Middle Eastern food attached to a Mobil station.

🍛 And Market Cafe for traditional Indian and optional Exxon at the pump, also in Innsbrook.

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If you happen to end up at a gas station for a reason other than dining, here's how gas prices are looking locally this month.