LAKEHURST – Wawa will be opening its newest store on Thursday. The new convenience store is located at 604 Pine Street and a ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held at 8:30 a.m. celebrating associates, customers and the local community.
There will be free coffee and the first 100 customers through the door on July 20 will receive a limited-edition “Wawa Coffee, Hoagies & Kindness” T -shirts.
Other activities include Wawa’s signature Hoagies for Heroes competition. The Borough Police Department, Lakehurst Volunteer Fire Company, and Lakehurst First Aid Squad will compete to see who can build the most hoagies in three minutes.
Wawa will conclude the Hoagies for Heroes competitions by presenting checks for $1,000 to each department’s charity of choice.
Local friends and neighbors are invited at 7:45 a.m. to join General Manager Kyle Sommer who will do the honors of counting down the moment when the doors open at 8 a.m. for the very first time. According to Wawa, “this ceremonial start gives a nod to the power of positivity and kindness that naturally occurs when Wawa customers hold the door for one another, celebrating a gesture that happens thousands of times a day at Wawa stores and makes everyone feel welcomed and appreciated.”
“At Wawa, our core purpose is fulfilling lives every day, and since our first store opened, we’ve believed that we all have a role in making this world a better place,” Wawa’s Chief Executive Officer Chris Gheysens said.
Customers will then be invited inside to get a free cup of coffee and participate in the community toast and ribbon-cutting ceremony with Wawa’s mascot Wally Goose who will bring along an oversized scissors, red ribbon and confetti for the event.
Kyle Sommer will serve as general manager of the new store, leading a team of approximately 50 associates, all of which are new positions brought to the area through the development of the store.
The store is fully equipped to provide made-to-order hoagies as well as burgers, breakfast sandwiches, specialty beverages (hot, cold, iced and frozen), bakery items, and Wawa’s beverage line of dairy products, juices and teas.
Customers can access their Wawa favorites through mobile ordering, curbside pickup, delivery options and its newest catering online offer where customers can order food for their upcoming events.
Wawa plans to open 76 new stores throughout the Mid-Atlantic region and Florida in 2023.
The grand opening of the Lakehurst location is the 31st store to open among the chain’s operating area of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Florida and Washington, D.C. The chain also announced its future expansion to the Florida Panhandle, Alabama, North Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana.
Wawa, Inc. is a privately held company that was founded 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 “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.
