Wawa plans to add new markets with expansion into Tennessee
The first Nashville store is slated to open in 2025, with the potential for up to 40 stores in the new market, the company said.
As Wawa continues to add stores within its current geographic footprint, the Delaware County-based convenience chain plans to expand into the home town of country music, Nashville.
The first Nashville store is slated to open in 2025, with the potential for as many as 40 stores in the new market, the company said in a news release.
“With a commitment to ‘fulfilling lives’ in our community, we’re thrilled to continue our growth in new markets to provide quality fresh food, beverages and support to new friends and neighbors,” John Poplawski, vice president of real estate for Wawa, said in a statement.
Wawa continues its growth throughout its current market areas of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Florida and Washington, and adjacent markets including the Florida Panhandle, South Alabama and North Carolina.
In 2022, the chain plans to open 54 stores, including three in Pennsylvania that are slated to open by the end of the summer. Two of those sites are expected to be standalone drive-through stores.
Wawa’s drive-through locations have a smaller, limited menu based on the store’s most popular offerings. Prepackaged, grab-and-go snacks, such as Tastykakes and items such as gallons of milk, aren’t available.
“The drive-through is primarily about convenience and speed of service, and if we made the entire offer available it would be hard to be able to meet the metrics for speed of service and convenience,” Michael Sherlock, Wawa senior vice president and chief marketing officer, told The Inquirer when the company opened its first drive-through in Westampton, Burlington County, in 2020.
Wawa also plans to open traditional stores in North Carolina, Wawa CEO Chris Gheysens has said. That’s building on the brand’s success in Chesapeake, Va.
Wawa aims to open about 100 new stores every year. Gheysens said the company is currently opening about half that number annually. The company, which has about 965 stores, wants to build up to a network of almost 2,000 stores by 2030.