Wawa Wows Customers in New Markets
Wawa Inc. is expanding its footprint and giving customers new ways to enjoy its signature hoagies and other offerings. The c-store operator unveiled new stores in Tannersville, Pa., and Palatka, Fla., as well as opening its first stand-alone drive-thru in Florida.
The Pennsylvania Wawa at 2977 Route 611 welcomed customers to its grand opening on June 27, featuring a ribbon cutting, free coffee and T-shirts handed out to the first 100 customers in line. Also on June 27, the operator threw a local party for its new location at 625 North State Road in the Florida town of Palatka.
Elsewhere in Florida, a 2,200-square-foot drive-thru is now open in the town of Largo, south of Clearwater. One of three drive-thru Wawa spots in the country, this one at 2530 East Bay Drive held a grand opening on June 13, during which customers could score free T-shirts and try out such fare as hoagies, cheesesteak sandwiches, wraps and burgers.
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Beyond the two store openings in Tannersville and Palatka, June 27 is a big day for Wawa in another way. The date marks Wawa Hoagie Day in Philadelphia, where the retailer distributed 15,000 free turkey hoagies to the public and donated 10,000 more to nonprofit groups, including Philabundance, the Police Athletic League of Philadelphia and the Veterans Multi-Service Center. In addition to the big Philly celebration, all Wawa stores are celebrating Hoagie Day by giving 30 sandwiches to heroes who serve their respective communities.
Meanwhile, the Wawa Foundation is donating $900,000 from an in-store fundraising campaign to USO programs as part of its Wawa Welcome America program. “Wawa Welcome America is an incredible series of community events that honor our local heroes as we lead up to our nation’s birthday, and each year, Hoagie Day becomes even more exciting, meaningful and delicious,” said CEO Chris Gheysens. “We look at Hoagie Day as a tradition of giving back and a way to bring the community together to show appreciation to those who serve. We are so grateful to our heroes and want to wish them and everyone in our communities a very happy July 4th!”
Wawa is set to gain even more fans as it expands its U.S. presence beyond the Northeast. The operator recently broke ground on its first stores in Indiana and Ohio and is moving ahead with plans to add outposts in Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia and North Carolina.
Founded in 1803 as an iron foundry in New Jersey, Wawa, Pa.-based Wawa opened the first Wawa Food Market in 1964 in Pennsylvania as an outlet for dairy products. Today, the privately held Wawa operates more than 1,050 locations and is No. 35 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2024 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.
