Wawa began construction on its first two Georgia convenience stores Thursday and shared plans to open 26 c-stores in southern and coastal Georgia over the next five to eight years, opening three to four stores per year.
The first two Georgia stores will be located at U.S. Route 341 and Community Road, Brunswick, Georgia, and 356 W. Orange St., Jesup, Georgia, and are slated to open in late 2024. Wawa currently has sites under contract in Brunswick, Jesup, Hinesville, Pooler, Waycross, Bainbridge, Tifton, Valdosta and Albany.
The Wawa, Pennsylvania-based c-store chain previously announced that it will open 80 c-stores in North Carolina, the first eight in 2024. Wawa also has revealed plans for 160 stores across the Midwest in Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana. And it said it plans to grow its store count in existing markets. The company has more than 1,000 stores in Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, Florida and Washington, D.C.
To build each store, Wawa will invest approximately $7 million and employ, on average, 140 contractors and local partners. Once open, each store will employ an average of 35 associates. Wawa expects to create nearly 1,000 long-term new jobs as a result of expansion in Georgia.
- Wawa is No. 9 on CSP’s 2023 Top 202 ranking of convenience-store chains by store count.
At the Georgia groundbreakings, Wawa introduced its brand to the community, shared expansion plans and welcomed VIP customers, local officials and charity partners, who received a first look at Wawa’s initial plans for the market. Wawa will host events on May 1 for the Hinesville and Pooler stores.
Wawa also announced contributions to two community partners—the Second Harvest of Coastal Georgia and the United Services Organization (USO) Georgia—with grant awards totaling more than $10,000 to support local initiatives.
“It’s official—Wawa is coming to Georgia, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to share details of our exciting growth plans with our newest soon-to-be neighbors,” said Robert Yeatts, senior director of store operations for Wawa. “Our two groundbreaking events gave us the opportunity to meet new faces and share with our new markets a little bit about our history and what makes Wawa such an ideal fit for communities here. We are thrilled to break ground on our first stores and get closer to our first grand openings in 2024.”
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