Wawa is a service and service station chain that has been gaining popularity in recent years. From being featured on ABC's The Goldbergs to inspiring HBO's Mare of Easttown, Wawa has become a household name. The company is now expanding to its seventh state, North Carolina, and is looking to add 1,000 new associates across Florida over the next three months. Wawa has come a long way since its humble beginnings in the Philadelphia area.
In Forbes's annual ranking of the nation's largest private companies, Wawa rose to first place in Pennsylvania and 29th in the United States last year. It's not hard to imagine Wawa encompassing a growing territory in the US in the next 20 years, or even opening novel outposts in places like London or Hong Kong. Currently, Wawa operates around 900 stores in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Florida and Washington D. C.
Much of the growth has been driven by the expansion of the company's Super Wawa service stations, which account for approximately half of the Wawa stores. There are 49 states and territories in the US without any Wawa location. One location per 52,040 people, with approximately 25% of the total number of Wawa locations. The Sunshine State is about to replace Garden State as Wawa Inc. As the convenience retailer increases its number of stores in Florida, it is also looking to increase its number of employees.
Wawa recently announced a hiring campaign to add 1,000 new associates across Florida over the next three months, as previously reported by Convenience Store News. Wawa is also hosting contracting events as it prepares to open its first convenience stores in Miami. In 2024, when Wawa begins opening stores in North Carolina, it will need to catch up with Sheetz - its rival based in central Pennsylvania - which already has more than 100 locations in North Carolina. It may seem like an exaggeration today, but there was a time when 7-Eleven was the humble Tote'm Stores in the Dallas area in the 1920s. It now has more than 78,000 stores in 19 states and territories. Wawa has come a long way since its humble beginnings and is now one of the most popular convenience store chains in the US.
With plans to expand to seven states and territories and add thousands of new employees over the next few months, it's clear that Wawa is here to stay.
