Wawa Welcomes Customers at First Drive-Thru Location

WAWA, Pa. — Customers at a New Jersey Wawa will now have the option to stay in their cars.

According to the Courier Post, Wawa Inc. will open its first drive-thru convenience store in Westampton, N.J., on Dec. 18. As part of the socially distant grand opening, the retailer's mascot, Wally Goose, will serve drive-thru customers, a spokeswoman told the news outlet.

In July, Wawa announced that it would be testing the drive-thru at a store rising at Rancocas Road and Highland Drive in the Burlington County town. The store will also have three parking spaces reserved for curbside pickup, as Convenience Store News previously reported.

The drive-thru will operate from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. for a limited menu of food and beverage items, including hoagies, Sizzli breakfast sandwiches, soup, coffee and smoothies. The planned model for the drive-thru allows for up to 19 vehicles to line up at an 88-square-foot drive-thru.

The service comes as convenience retailers continue to enhance their offerings to meet consumer demands for less-contact and contactless options amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to piloting drive-thru, Wawa launched curbside pickup — starting with multiple stores in New Jersey and Pennsylvania on June 8.

Based in Pennsylvania, Wawa operates more than 900 c-stores in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Florida and Washington, D.C.