Wawa, Inc. celebrated the grand opening of its first Riverview store and its ninth location in the Tampa Bay area on September 5. The new store and gas station is located at 10115 Bloomingdale Ave., near the corner with US Highway 301. To mark the occasion, Wawa hosted state and local officials, the Tampa Bay Chapter of the USO, members of the Army’s 332 Transportation Battalion and members of the community and the Greater Riverview Chamber of Commerce.
A color guard from the Tampa Bay USO officially opened the ceremony with the National Anthem. Store associates were also on hand and took part in the ceremony.
“We are thrilled to expand our presence in Florida with the opening of our 26th Florida location and cannot think of a better way to celebrate than by recognizing the USO and showing our appreciation for the men and women who serve in the armed forces and their families,” said Todd Souders, Director of Store Operations. “Our grand opening festivities are a wonderful way to bring the community and our local heroes together to celebrate our commitment to the greater Tampa Bay area.”
Beginning with the grand opening and for the following days, the Wawa store was selling gas at roughly a 20-cent discount over prevailing market prices, resulting in some lines as customers lined up for fuel. In addition, coffee from the store will be free for 10 days past the opening date.
The ceremony also included a ‘Hoagies for Heroes Competition’ with teams building hoagies in a challenge to see which team could build the most hoagies in three minutes. The competition concluded with Wawa presenting a $1,000 check to the USO to help fund Military Appreciation Day events for members of the armed forces and their families.
The new store will employ more than 50 associates, all of which are new positions brought to the area. Associates in these full- and part-time positions will not only receive competitive salaries and health benefits, but will have the opportunity to be enrolled in Wawa’s employee stock ownership plan. The new Wawa store offers customers numerous Wawa brands, such as Wawa coffee (195 million cups sold annually); the Sizzliä, Wawa’s new line of specialty beverages (hot, cold, iced and frozen); Wawa’s hot breakfast sandwich; Wawa Bakery; Wawa’s built-to-order hoagies (80 million sold annually); and Wawa’s beverage line of dairy products, juices and teas.
Wawa, Inc., a privately held company, began in 1803 as an iron foundry in New Jersey. Toward the end of the 19th century, owner George Wood took an interest in dairy farming and the family began a small processing plant in Wawa, Pa., in 1902. The milk business was a huge success, due to its quality, cleanliness and “certified” process. As home delivery of milk declined in the early 1960s, Grahame Wood, George’s grandson, opened the first Wawa Food Market in 1964 as an outlet for dairy products.
A chain of more than 600 convenience retail stores (300 offering gasoline), Wawa stores are located in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia and Central Florida. The stores offer a large fresh food service selection, including Wawa brands such as built-to-order hoagies, freshly brewed coffee, hot breakfast sandwiches, built-to-order Specialty Beverages, and an assortment of soups, sides and snacks.
For more information, visit www.wawa.com.