Halfway there: Wawa makes progress on launching 76 new stores this year

The Wawa store at 604 Pine St. in Lakehurst it the 31st of the retailer's to open this year.

The Wawa store at 604 Pine St. in Lakehurst is the 31st of the retailer's to open this year. - WAWA

Kimberly Redmond//July 20, 2023//

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After Wawa‘s latest grand opening in Ocean County, the chain is almost halfway toward its goal to launch more than six dozen new stores in 2023.

Located at 604 Pine St. in Lakehurst, the store officially began welcoming customers July 20, making it the 31st Wawa to open this year.

The new location’s built-to-order fresh food kitchen features Wawa’s signature hoagies and latest food innovations, as well as coffee, baked foods and specialty beverages – all of which are available via mobile ordering, for curbside pickup and delivery. Additionally, the location offers packaged goods, fuel services and catering.

According to Wawa, Kyle Sommer will serve as general manager of the new store, leading a team of 50 associates, all of which are new local positions. In addition to competitive salaries and health benefits when eligible, workers are able to participate in the company’s employee stock ownership plan, Wawa said.

At the new location, opening-day festivities included a ribbon-cutting ceremony with Wawa mascot Wally Goose, along with free any-size coffee all day long for customers and a hoagie building competition between first responders to benefit charity.

Wawa is partnering with ezCater to launch a corporate catering program, allowing workplaces have their orders delivered directly from any of the chain's 1,000-plus stores in Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, Florida and Washington, D.C. — Wawa recently launched a corporate catering program, which also is available from the new Lakehurst location. – WAWA

In a statement, Chris Gheysens, Wawa’s president and chief executive officer, said, “At Wawa, our core purpose is fulfilling lives every day, and since our first store opened, we’ve believed that we all have a role in making this world a better place. Our associates deliver experiences and often create emotional connections with customers that go beyond what traditionally happens in a retail environment, and we look forward to welcoming old friends and making new ones in this wonderful community.”

After marking its 1,000th store opening three months ago in Oaklyn, the Pennsylvania chain says it is adding 76 new locations this year throughout the Mid-Atlantic region and Florida as part of a goal to launch 1,800 outlets nationwide by 2030.

This summer, Wawa will continue growing its 260-plus-store footprint in New Jersey with scheduled grand openings in Ocean Township (Route 35 & Deal Road), Hamilton (55 Flock Road), Linden (Route 1 & South Park Avenue), Clementon (Blackwood Clementon Road & Cherrywood Drive), Mount Laurel (1115 Route 73) and Neptune (3520 Route 66).

It also expects to break into new markets in 2023, such as Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana, and will share more details on those locations soon, Wawa has said.