1,000 Wawas: See Where Chain Is Opening Next In FL

FLORIDA — Wawa continues opening and remodeling stores in its service area, and the company with a legion of Florida fans announced the opening of a new store on Thursday will be its 1,000th location.

The gas station and convenience store favorite has 29 stores scheduled to open in spring, summer and fall of 2023, continuing to grow the brand's presence around the Sunshine State.

A big fanfare was scheduled for the 1,000th location in Oaklyn, New Jersey, on April 27, with free coffee available all day at the new store and special events to mark the milestone.

Last year, Wawa CEO Chris Gheysens told the Philadelphia Business Journal that the company plans to open another 1,800 locations in states across the U.S. There are already about 252 locations in Florida.

Here are where Wawa locations are slated to open this year in Florida:

Spring 2023

• 7790 Gate Parkway, Jacksonville
• 2901 W 16 Ave., Hialeah
• 1201 West Lantana Road, Lantana
• NW. 116th Way. & NW. South River Dr., Miami
• 11200 SW 248 St., Homestead
• 1851 N Federal Hwy., Hollywood

Summer 2023

• 970 Cassat Ave., Jacksonville
• 8115 Southern Blvd., West Palm Beach
• 1331 University Blvd. North, Jacksonville
• 15475 Southern Blvd., Loxahatchee
• 9910 S. Jog Rd., Boynton Beach
• 7785 Palm Parkway, Orlando
• 1675 W. Oakland Park Blvd., Oakland Park
• 8742 Baymeadows Rd, Jacksonville
• 3561 Spring Park Rd, Jacksonville
• 1055 Sun Market Pl., North Port
• 2224 Bloomingdale Ave., Valrico

Fall 2023

• 14560 Chancellor Blvd., Port Charlotte
• 2500 US 1 S., St. Augustine
• 54 Cypress Edge Dr., St. Johns
• 7870 W. Flagler St., Miami
• 16971 Aaron Warnek Pl, Fort Myers
• 4495 US Highway 1, Vero Beach
• 8380 SW Hwy. 200, Ocala
• Martin Hwy. & High Meadows Ave., Palm City
• 1245 Grumman Place, Titusville
• 1509 E Oak St., Arcadia
• Midway Rd. & Selvitz Rd. (NWC), Fort Pierce
• 106 South State road 7, Hollywood

Wawa's future expansion plans include stores with travel centers — "Wawa on steroids," Gheysens told the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia's 2023 Economic Outlook last January.

Gheysens first hinted last April at opening travel centers, telling the Business Journal that the company plans to nearly double its store count and operate about 1,800 locations by 2030. The plan involves new locations in existing markets and expansion into new states.

The opening of travel centers will likely take five years, a Wawa spokesperson told NBC10 Philadelphia. The facilities will be bigger than typical Wawa stores and located in more high-profile locations on major highways, such as Interstate 95 through Florida.

To celebrate its 58th year in business, Wawa will donate $1 million in gift cards to the Wawa Foundation's National Partners and certain community partners, including the American Red Cross. The company will also announce contributions of $1 million each to Check-Out Hunger and the Special Olympics.

Founded in April 1964, Wawa opened its first store in Folsom, Pennsylvania. It sold milk produced in Wawa, Pennsylvania, at a plant started by the Wawa founder's grandfather.

"Wawa" is also the Native American word for the Canada goose found in the Delaware Valley around the dairy plant, which is why the company's logo incorporates the bird.

Since then, it has expanded into multiple states, including Florida, Virginia, New Jersey and Delaware, as well as Maryland and Washington, D.C.

Find the Florida Wawa location nearest to you and store hours here.

This story contains reporting from Patch's Josh Bakan.