BY DAN HILDEBRAN
Wawa said it would officially open its Starke store on Thursday, March 20, and celebrate the new outlet with a grand opening ceremony the following day.
The Pennsylvania-based company said the 8 a.m. grand opening would feature free “Sizzlis & Smiles” T-shirts for the first 100 customers. That would be followed at 8:30 by remarks from Wawa leaders, a ribbon cutting, a Milestone Parade, and a hoagie-building competition between first responders.
Company leaders expected at the event include Wawa Director of Store Operations Nancy Dulany, Area Manager Angela Reynolds, and General Manager Breanne Quintana. A company mascot, Wally Goose, will also be on hand.
The Thursday opening will feature free hot coffee of any size. That offer will extend through April 5. The company said the new store would also give away samples of French Toast and Sausage, Egg, and Cheese Sizzlis while supplies last.
The opening will also incorporate Wawa’s “Making Mornings Easy” campaign, which features a Sizzli, hot or iced coffee, and hash browns for $5. That promotion is currently running throughout Wawa’s 1,100 stores.
From New Jersey iron to Florida stores
The company traced its origins to an 1803 New Jersey iron foundry in a news release.
“Toward the end of the 19th century,” the company said, “owner George Wood took an interest in dairy farming, and the family began a small processing plant in Wawa, Pennsylvania in 1902.”
The company said the milk business was a huge success, delivering milk and ice cream throughout the Philadelphia area. However, as milk delivery declined in the 1960s, Grahame Wood, George’s grandson, opened the first Wawa Food Market in 1964 in Folsom, Pennsylvania, to distribute the family’s principal products. Five years later, stores had been opened in New Jersey and Delaware, and the company launched its in-store kitchens, which featured hamburgers and fried chicken.
In the 1970s, the company introduced its premade hoagies and sandwiches. It further enhanced the deli in the next decade by offering built-to-order sandwiches and hot foods.
In 2010, Wawa launched its in-store coffee bar, offering lattes, macchiatos, and hot chocolates.
Two years later, it invaded the Sunshine State, beginning with a store on the Central Florida Parkway across from SeaWorld Orlando. By 2023, it had 250 stores in the peninsula. Last year, Wawa pushed into the panhandle, opening its first Tallahassee, Pensacola, and Panama City stores.
Now, the privately held Wawa has locations in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Florida, North Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, and Washington, D.C.
Forbes.com ranks the Wawa, Pennsylvania-headquartered firm as the 22nd largest private company in the U.S., and it is listed among Forbes’s 2023 America’s Best Employers for Women and New College Graduates.
24-hour deli, free ATM
Things to know about Wawa
—Wawa is a native American word for wild goose.
—It never closes. 24 hours, 365 days a year.
—Order at the kiosk and pay at checkout. After you order at the kiosk, it will produce a receipt, which you can use to pay at checkout. They won’t make your food in the deli if you don’t pay. After you pay, wait for your number to be called in the deli.
—Use the self-checkouts. They don’t accept cash, which explains why you will sometimes see the cashier line four or five deep with no one at the self-checkout.
—Use the app. Sometimes, the wait at the deli can reach to 15 minutes. Save time by ordering ahead of time using the app.
—The ATM is free.
