Wawa pizza? Convenience chain says it’s coming during milestone opening in Oaklyn
OAKLYN - Wawa Inc., which started in South Jersey more than 200 years ago, has hit a milestone by opening its 1,000th store here.
“We could not be more excited to celebrate 1,000 in the state of New Jersey, where it all began,” Wawa executive Brian Schaller said at an opening celebration for the store and fuel station on the White Horse Pike at West Park Avenue.
But he said plans to double the chain’s size relied on expansion to new markets in the South and Midwest.
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He also noted a pending addition to Wawa’s menu: “We have pizza coming.”
The pizza line, previously in test markets, is expected to launch this summer, a Wawa representative said.
Wawa’s celebration on Thursday provided gift-card donations totaling $1 million for area charities.
It also featured snacks and souvenirs, music and mascots, confetti and pyrotechnics, even the Philadelphia Eagles’ pep band, drumline and four cheerleaders.
The event offered lessons in history and, depending on your perspective, creative mathematics.
Schaller noted the Woods family, majority owner of the privately held firm, came to Salem County from England in the 1700s and initially operated an iron foundry and textile mills in South Jersey.
The family business moved in 1902 to Wawa, Pennsylvania, where its dairy farm offered home delivery.
Wawa opened its first convenience store in suburban Philadelphia in 1964 and its first South Jersey outlet four years later, Schaller said.
The company also has stores in Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Florida, and Washington D.C.
It's announced plans to expand into Alabama, Georgia and North Carolina, plus Tennessee, Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky.
As for the creative math, the opening came on the same day Wawa closed a smaller store about a block down the pike.
Wawa reached the 1,000 figure by taking into consideration “shifting construction schedules, re-openings and relocations,” said Wawa spokeswoman Lori Bruce.
She said the firm is “thrilled that Oaklyn can officially serve as our 1,000th store, right here in our home market.”
Many in the crowd were also thrilled by the store, which rose on the site of a car dealership.
“I love coming to Wawa,” said Scott Boyer of Voorhees, who held a Wawa hand-fan and one of the 1,000 shirts given to the day’s first arrivals.
“They make you feel at home,” said Boyer, whose bright yellow fleece and hat also carried Wawa's logo.
“I’ve been waiting for this,” said Alyssa Dunn, an 8-year-old Audubon girl clutching a balloon animal and a Wawa drink. “I’ve never been to a grand opening!”
Jim Walsh is a senior reporter with the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal.
This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Wawa, with help from Philadelphia Eagles, celebrates milestone store
