As a generally cheerful person, I’m pretty good at filtering out inflammatory Twitter discourse. And yet it is only Tuesday, and I have grown weary of the word “bodega.” Why am I paying attention to the ire when I could be doing so many other things, like reading Moby Dick or cleaning my vegetable crisper or learning how to tattoo my own butt? I guess it’s because I enjoy watching citizens of the World Wide Web talk about their favorite things. Yes, Virginia, despite what you may glean from Twitter’s inflammatory bowels, it is okay to have favorite things. Specifically, favorite convenience stores.

　　Mine, for example, is Kum & Go, the Iowa-based convenience store that also reigns supreme in my home state of Missouri. It’s a clean, well-stocked convenience store with a funny name that sounds like ~*SEX*~. Plus, Kum & Go is progressive; earlier this year, the brand took funds it had set aside for in-person Pride Week programming and donated them directly to the Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice and the Transgender Law Center’s Trans Agenda for Liberation. The chain also brews a damn fine cup of coffee, and its cheeky Twitter presence is a true emblem of Midwestern culture. It feels like home, I guess.

　　And so, dear readers, I want to know: what’s your go-to convenience store? It’s okay if it’s a bodega. It’s okay if you’re a Texan and you absolutely lose your grip on reality every time you hear mention of Buc-ee’s, that mythic Lone Star megaplex. It’s okay if you love WaWa, and it’s also okay if you prefer Sheetz. It’s okay if your favorite spot is an independent outlet that doesn’t even appear to have a name. And it’s okay if you live outside of the U.S. and have an entirely different allegiance. (Actually, that’s more than okay—please drop a line if that’s the case.) Either way, I’d like to hear about your favorite destination for snacks, toilet paper, and Powerball tickets.