Wawa Is Miami Bound Next

BROWARD COUNTY, Fla. — Wawa Inc. continues its expansion in the Sunshine State with a doubleheader grand opening in Florida’s Broward County July 27.

The Pennsylvania-based convenience store chain opened the doors to its 119th and 120th stores, respectively, at 4290 Davie Road in Davie, and 3601 N. Federal Hwy. in Pompano Beach. The stores mark Wawa’s entrance into Broward County and are the chain’s southernmost locations to date.

The first 100 customers at the Davie c-store will receive special prizes, including Wawa gift cards, while the first 100 customers at Pompano Beach will receive prizes like free coffee, hoagies or smoothies for a month, or two free tanks of Wawa gas.  

As part of the doubleheader grand opening celebration, the Davie and Pompano Beach stores will offer free coffee, any size, all day for the first 10 days they are open.

Each of the in-store celebrations will include a ribbon-cutting celebration, kicking off at Davie at 10 a.m., followed by Pompano Beach at 1 p.m. On the docket for each ceremony includes:

• A parade of Wawa’s Florida and fuel milestones;
• An appearance by Wawa’s mascot, Wally Goose;
• Remarks made by Davie Major Judy Paul and Pompano Beach Mayor Lamar Fisher, respectively;
• A charitable Hoagies for Heroes hoagie-building competition featuring Davie Fire & Rescue and Davie Police, and Broward County Sheriff’s Department and the Pompano Beach Fire & Rescue, respectively;
• A $1,000 donation made by Wawa to a local charity selected by each Hoagies for Heroes team; and
• Remarks from Wawa Executive Vice President & Chief Operations Officer Cathy Pulos about the c-store operator’s Florida milestone and continued expansion in the Sunshine State.

The celebration served as a kickoff to Wawa’s hunger-fighting initiatives through its “Lending a Helping Hoagie Program.” Through the campaign, Wawa will donate a portion of hoagie sales for the Davie and Pompano Beach stores — up to $5,000 for each store — to Feeding South Florida, with a goal of donating $10,000 in one week.

“We are thrilled to celebrate our official entrance into the Broward County region as we spread our wings to serve more customers and communities and fulfill more lives in Southeast Florida each day,” commented Pulos. “Opening our first locations in Broward County — our southernmost stores to date — is a significant step toward furthering our ability to invest in Florida by building new stores and creating more jobs. We can’t wait to continue our Florida expansion and look forward to connecting with our homecoming customers and introducing ourselves to new customers throughout the rest of 2017!”

Wawa’s Continued Florida Expansion Plans

During a special media day preview of the Davie and Pompano Beach c-stores, Ron Brill, regional real-estate manager for Wawa, announced the company’s future plans to move into the Miami-Dade area.

The first three Miami Wawa stores are expected to open in the second quarter of 2018, he said.

Moving forward, as many as 50 Wawa stores could open in Miami-Dade, with as many as 100 new stores to debut across South Florida in the coming years, reported Miami New Times.

Although the exact Miami locations weren’t divulged, it has been speculated that the first Miami-Dade Wawa will likely be located at 590 NE 167th St. in North Miami Beach. A filing with Miami-Dade Water and Sewer uncovered plans for a gas station, a 3,310-square-foot fast-food eatery, and a 3,576-square-foot restaurant. The facility will partner with Krispy Kreme, replacing the current Krispy Kreme bake shop, and will also use an adjacent piece of land, according to the news source.

Wawa celebrated its historic 100th store opening in the Sunshine State on Nov. 4, 2016. To date, Wawa has more than 115 stores in Florida and plans to open 11 stores in Palm Beach and Broward Counties throughout 2017, and another 10 to 12 stores in 2018. The company will add 25 to 30 new Florida stores per year for the next several years, according to the company.

Headquartered in Wawa, Pa., Wawa operates more than 700 convenience stores.