Wawa Opens its Largest Store

WAWA, Pa. -- Looking to make a giant impact in competitive mid-Atlantic market, Wawa Inc. today marked the grand opening of the largest store in the company's storied history in Mays Landing, N.J.

At 7,400 square-feet and with gasoline service that fuels 20 vehicles at a time, Mays Landing represents the next generation of Wawa stores, and more of its kind are slated for Pennsylvania and New Jersey in the next few years.

"Today we are making history and ushering in a new era of growth for Wawa," said Maureen McFadden, store design project manager for the Wawa, Pa.-based chain, which operates 530 convenience stores. "On every level, we constantly strive to anticipate the needs of our customers and to make their lives easier. Store design is at the core of that promise. We're very proud of the amenities built into this store, and delighted to declare it open to serve its neighbors."

Customer comfort was foremost in mind as designers made the most of the square footage with an open floor plan that affords ample customer circulation space. To that end, the new Wawa employs sensible displays of complementary products that aim to make the shopping experience stress-free. Items that very often are purchased together are grouped together throughout the store.

Wawa Stores are typically between 2,800 and 4,400 square feet. And so the notable 7,400 square feet at Mays Landing allows for new capabilities in storage, as well. All cold beverages, including Wawa's line of dairy products, juices and teas, are housed in the 17-door cold box. The fresh food choices are centralized in the store.

"We intend for our brand to communicate the trust we cherish from our customers, so we set out to streamline it, across the board," said Dennis Pollock, Wawa's manager of Advertising. "The clean, appealing look it what we want to achieve on every level, and from our logo to our packaging, we're reinforcing that."

Gasoline is an essential part of delivering on the Wawa core purpose to simplify our customers' daily lives. Wawa's gasoline operation includes state-of-the-art credit-card readers. At the new Mays Landing store, the design includes 10 multiple product gasoline dispensers under a canopy that can fuel 20 vehicles at once, and offers customers ease of access to the lot, while not interfering with the convenience store.