Video: Wawa celebrates 1,000th store with help from the Philadelphia Eagles
Wawa opens its 1,000th store with snacks and souvenirs, mascots and music, even a Philadelphia Eagles pep band and cheerleaders
Jim Walsh, Cherry Hill Courier-Post
Wawa is being built on Wayne Avenue in Chambersburg.
It’s one of several new Wawa locations coming as the regional chain of grocery stores and gas stations expands westward. Construction is progressing on a 1.16-acre site at the corner of Wayne and Sheller avenues, which was formerly home to Denny’s and, more recently, the Japanese restaurant Sakura.
The skeleton of the fuel island was clearly visible on Wayne Avenue (Pa. 316) on Monday. Behind it stood a concrete and steel structure that will house the Wawa store. Small groups of workers appeared to be doing infrastructure work around the site.
According to the zoning plan prepared by Dynamic Engineering for Chambersburg Wayne Developers LLC, the 55,000-square-foot store will include 12 gas stations.
According to the plan, 41 parking spaces are planned, about half of which will surround the building on three sides. Two disabled parking spaces are to be created in front of the store’s main entrance, which faces south.
The plan shows that two of the parking spaces can be converted into charging stations for electric vehicles.
Motorists can enter and exit the Wawa property from both Wayne (Pa. 316) and Sheller Avenue.
First in the Cumberland Valley: The proposed Chambersburg Wawa would be the first in the region
Franklin County Wawa is one of twelve openings in the region by the end of 2025
The Chambersburg location, which will be known as store 8204 at Wawa, is part of a goal announced in 2022 to expand into central Pennsylvania and open about 40 locations by 2027.
According to Convenience Store News, the Franklin County store will be among 12 stores opening in the region by the end of 2025.
The first Wawa west of the Susquehanna River is scheduled to open in Swatara Township, Dauphin County, on September 19. Four more stores are scheduled to open by the end of 2024, three in York County and one in Cumberland County.
The company’s press office did not respond to an email asking if an opening date has been set for the Chambersburg store.
Wawa plans to invest $7 million and employ an average of 140 contractors and local partners to build each of the new locations, according to Convenience Store News. Each store will have about 35 employees, and the entire expansion is expected to create 1,400 long-term jobs.
Wawa is also expanding in the tri-state area and plans to open stores in Washington County, Maryland, and Berkeley County, West Virginia.
Future road and bridge projects: Pennsylvania’s transportation plan calls for more than $150 million in projects in Franklin County.
How Wawa began and developed over the years
Wawa began as a dairy in 1902. The first Wawa Food Market opened 59 years ago in Folsom, Pennsylvania, just outside of Philadelphia.
From hoagies to coffee and hot meals to baked goods, the company has added new food products to its line over the years. The first gas station opened in Delaware in 1996.
There are now more than 950 Wawa locations in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Florida and Washington, DC
Amber South can be reached at [email protected].
