Wawa revealed that it is expanding into eastern North Carolina, with the addition of 80 stores over the next 10 years. The first eight stores will open in 2024.
“We were thrilled to share our ‘flight plan’ for North Carolina and reveal, for the very first time, our exciting expansion plans, renderings and more with our newest soon-to-be neighbors!” said Kim Dowgielewicz, director of store operations for Wawa. “Our Community Partnership events also gave us the opportunity to meet new community members and talk a little bit about our history and what makes Wawa such an ideal fit for communities in this region. We can’t wait to open our doors to the community next year! As we get closer to our grand openings in 2024, we will be sharing even more details on our growth in North Carolina all while connecting with more customers, communities, partners and nonprofit organizations.”
The eight stores will be located at the following addresses:
- North Croatan Highway and West 4th St., Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina
- Halstead Boulevard and Route 17, Elizabeth City, North Carolina
- Raleigh Rd. Parkway and Hayes Place, Wilson, North Carolina
- Ward Road and Nash Street, Wilson, North Carolina
- Benvenue Road and Jeffreys Road, Rocky Mount, North Carolina
- Wayne Memorial Drive and Hospital Road, Goldsboro, North Carolina
- Stantonsburg Road and Moye Boulevard, Greenville, North Carolina
- US Highway 70 and NC Highway 581, Goldsboro, North Carolina
In addition to the stores set to open in 2024, Wawa has more than 30 sites under contract currently going through local approval processes. Wawa expects to open up to 15 stores in 2025 and 10 stores in 2026, with plans to open a total of 80 stores over the next 10 plus years in the eastern part of the state. Wawa Real Estate teams continue to look for sites throughout North Carolina.
Details on Wawa’s growth plans for North Carolina were announced during double-header Community Partnership events on Oct. 25 at the Greenville Convention Center and Casita Brewing Co. in Wilson, North Carolina. These events officially introduced Wawa to the community and allowed Wawa leaders to connect with new friends, neighbors and VIP customers, as well as local officials and partners.
In addition, attendees received a glimpse of new store design renderings and had the opportunity to hear about the Wawa story, Wawa’s offering and commitment to its new North Carolina communities, including new partnerships and community support of local organizations.
At the Community Partnership event, Wawa also encouraged guests to enjoy a Taste of Wawa, including samples of freshly made hoagies, freshly brewed coffee and other handcrafted beverages from its new Wawa Community Care Beverage Vehicle. Altogether, Wawa distributed hundreds of samples of Wawa strawberry smoothies and Wawa Dragon Fruit Refreshers, Wawa regular and flavored coffees and hoagies.
Finally, Wawa announced contributions totaling $10,000 to two regional community partners: the USO of North Carolina and the Food Bank of Eastern and Central North Carolina.
- Wawa is No. 9 on CSP’s 2023 Top 202 ranking of convenience-store chains by store count.
Wawa has about 1,000 stores primarily in Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, Florida and Washington, D.C.
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