Wawa Rides Southeast Florida Expansion Wave
Jan. 17, 2017WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. --Wawa Inc. said that it is in the final stages of its launch into southeastern Florida, with the first wave of new convenience stores slated to open in Palm Beach and Broward counties during the first half of 2017.
The Wawa, Pa.-based chain, which has more than 730 c-stores in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and Florida, said it plans to open 25 to 30 stores every year in the Sunshine State for the next several years.
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The company is looking to fill more than 400 jobs, all of which are new positions brought to the area through the development of these stores, the company said. Each new Wawa store will employ nearly 40 associates.
Wawa’s operations team has started accepting applications for jobs at the first stores in southeastern Florida, and it is beginning interviews and hiring this month, it said. Wawa’s talent acquisition team has begun hiring customer service supervisors in both counties in anticipation of store openings throughout the year.
Associates in all of these full- and part-time positions will receive competitive salaries and health benefits, as well as the opportunity to participate in Wawa’s employee stock ownership plan (ESOP), the company said.
Upon the chain’s Florida debut, Todd Souders, director of store operations for Wawa in Florida, conducted a video tour of the new store design the company is using exclusively in the Sunshine State.
CSP Daily News offered an “Exclusive: A Visit to ‘Wawa South.’ ” CSP spoke with then-CEO Howard Stoeckel and then-President (now president and CEO) Chris Gheysens, above, about the growth in Florida.
Wawa revealed plans for expanding into Broward and Palm Beach counties in January 2015.
The chain held the grand opening of its 100th c-store in Florida in November 2016, ahead of schedule.