Wawa Officially Enters Central Pennsylvania
Wawa Inc. is celebrating the opening of the chain's first convenience store in central Pennsylvania with a pair of special events.
On Sept. 18, one day prior to the store's official opening at 1601 West Harrisburg Pike in Middletown, the retailer held a "Taste of Wawa" store tour and luncheon during which local officials and community partners were able to take a preview tour of the store, receive an update on Wawa's expansion plans in central Pennsylvania, and celebrate new community partnerships plus the building of Dauphin County's first official Wawa hoagie.
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Invited preview guests could also sample a variety of signature Wawa products, handed out by Wawa chefs, and speak one-on-one with company and local officials. Special attendees included Mary-Rose Hannum, chief product marketing officer at Wawa; Jovine Edwards, area manager at Wawa; Carmine Veneziale, Wawa general manager; and Wally Goose, Wawa's mascot.
On Sept. 19, Wawa will open the doors to the new Middletown store at 8 a.m. and hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 9 a.m. The grand opening event will feature giveaways, including free t-shirts for the first 100 customers and free any-size hot coffee at the store from Sept. 19-29.
The ceremony will feature a parade of Wawa history, remarks by Wawa leadership on future expansion plans, remarks by local officials, celebration of partnerships and announcements of support to Special Olympics Pennsylvania and Veterans Multi-Service Centers.
The event will conclude with a check presentation to a local food bank and a charitable "Hoagies for Heroes" hoagie-building contest between the Middletown Fire and Police Departments and students from Penn State Harrisburg, with a trophy and $1,000 checks presented to each team to benefit their chosen charities.
Wawa plans to open more central Pennsylvania stores in Middletown, York, Dover, Hanover and Enola by the end of 2024. Over the next five years, the c-store chain expects to have up to 40 stores in the market, opening approximately five to seven locations each year as it expands its footprint and enters new Pennsylvania communities along the Susquehanna River.
Pennsylvania-based Wawa Inc. operates more than 1,060 convenience stores in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Florida, North Carolina, Alabama and Washington, D.C.
This article was originally covered in sister publication Convenience Store News.
