WOODBRIDGE, N.J. -- Wawa Inc. on Friday announced the celebration of the grand opening of its new store in Woodbridge, N.J., its 100th with gasoline in the Garden State. The store is the 602nd in the chain, the 237th in the state. This the first Wawa in Woodbridge, with a second under construction, projected to open in second-quarter 2013.
Wawa's growth plan for Northern New Jersey is for three to five new stores each year.
The Woodbridge location features Wawa's new store design prototype, including 5,547 square feet of retail space and additional gasoline facility, as well as new in-store graphics, colors, restroom design and merchandising features.
The Woodbridge store offers customers numerous Wawa brands such as Wawa coffee; the Sizzli, Wawa's hot breakfast sandwich; new frozen and hot built-to-order specialty beverages; Wawa Bakery; Wawa's built-to-order hoagies; Wawa's beverage line of dairy products, juices and teas; and full line of hot soups and sides.
Alease Crespo will serve as general manager of the store, leading a team of nearly 60 associates, all of which are new positions brought to the area through the development of the store.
Woodbridge Mayor John E. McCormac was on hand to for the opening of the Woodbridge store. He read a special proclamation recognizing National Employee Ownership Month, Wawa's status as an ESOP-owned company and the role Wawa associates play in their communities. He also discussed the importance of ESOPs and shared ownership in helping all companies and local businesses thrive.
During the event, Wawa executives, store associates and Wawa's mascot, Wally Goose, will join in and celebrate the grand opening festivities and ribbon-cutting ceremony. As part of the celebration, Wawa's CFO Jim Morey will lead the event, giving thanks to everyone in the community who works hard to keep us safe.
Immediately following the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Wawa will host a charitable Hoagie building contest between the Woodbridge Police Department and the Hopelawn Fire Department. Each team will be challenged to build as many hoagies as they can in the traditional Wawa way in three minutes. On behalf of the winning and runner-up teams, Wawa will make a donation to the charities of their choice.
"Our grand opening celebration is a wonderful way to show our support, bring the community together and provide the Woodbridge community with the Wawa products it loves," said Jim Shortall, director of store operations for the Wawa, Pa.-based company.
A chain of more than 600 convenience retail stores (300 offering gasoline), Wawa stores are located in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and Florida.
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