Wawa has opened its store in Ohio.
The first location in the popular convenience store chain, Buckeye, held its grand opening Wednesday morning in Liberty Township, not too far from Cincinnati.
The grand opening event, held at Wawa’s 61st anniversary, included grant announcements to local “Community Partners,” the “Hoagies for Hoagies for Hoagie Building Contest,” and ribbon cutting.
The new Liberty Township Store paves the way to entry into Wawa’s Midwest, adding yet another state in the company’s footsteps.
This is “the first of nine Wawa stores that are scheduled to open in Ohio by the end of the year,” Wawa said.
“We are thrilled to fly to Ohio and bring a unique combination of fresh food and drinks, convenience and service to our new friends and neighbors in Buckeye,” Wawa President Brian Schaller said.
“This historic milestone begins the next chapter of growth in the Midwest. We are delighted with the warm welcome we receive from many communities who are proud to be counted as part of Wawa’s herd.”
Wawa estimated that around 2,000 long-term new jobs would result from the overall planned expansion in Buckeye State.
Convenience stores aim to open 45-55 stores in Ohio within a decade, with a pace of 4-10 openings each year, Wawa said.
The company said each store will require more than $7.5 million in investments on Wawa’s side.
Having grown rapidly in recent years, Wawa currently operates more than 1,100 locations in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Florida, North Carolina, Alabama, Georgia and Washington, DC.
The store is located in Bainbridge, Georgia, and in November we carved the 9th state.
Kentucky and Indiana also earned their first WAWA locations of the year, with the former set to receive nine openings and the latter set to receive 10.
The company plans to bring convenience stores to Tennessee and West Virginia in the future.
In October, Wawa ranked number one in the American Consumer Satisfaction Index convenience store chain rankings. It scored 82 out of 100.
According to ACSI, it helped it come out on chains like Quiktrip, Buc-Ee’s and Murphy USA.
