FORT MYERS, Fla. --Wawa Inc. has announced the latest milestone in its Florida development—the grand opening of its first three convenience stores in the Fort Myers area, each to open on April 23, 2015, marking its official entrance into Southwest Florida.
Two of the c-stores are in Fort Myers; one is in Cape Coral.
“We are thrilled to celebrate this tremendous milestone in our Sunshine State expansion, as we open our hearts and doors in the Southwest Florida region,” said Chris Gheysens, Wawa’s president and CEO. “This significant step into a new part of the Florida market not only furthers our ability to invest in Florida by building new stores and creating more jobs, but allows us to serve more communities and fulfill more lives each day. We are honored and excited to open three stores on the same day, and welcome our new neighbors three times over.”
Since its entrance into the Florida market in July 2012, Wawa has opened 62 stores, located in the Orlando and Tampa markets, with plans to launch throughout the Southwest Coast and Daytona. By year’s end, Wawa will have opened 25 new stores in the Sunshine State. By 2016, Wawa expects to hit the milestone of its 100th store open in the state of Florida, and during that year, begin to break ground in the Southeast portion of the state.
Each new Wawa store will employ nearly 50 associates, all of which are new positions brought to the area through the development of the stores. 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.
Wawa will host three in-store celebrations, each with a ribbon cutting, charitable Hoagies for Heroes competition benefiting local charities identified by the local fire and police from and launch of its Lending a Helping Hoagie program with the Harry Chapin Food Bank of Southwest Florida.
As Wawa opens three stores in the Fort Myers area, the Wawa Foundation, Wawa’s non-profit foundation through which it funnels all of its charitable giving, has committed to donating a portion of hoagie sales for these three stores (up to $5,000 per store) to the food bank, with a goal to raise and donate $15,000 in one week and help fight hunger in the Fort Myers community.
Wawa, Pa.-based Wawa is a chain of more than 680 convenience stores, 420 offering gasoline, in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and Florida.
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