Wawa Arrives In Maplewood: North Jersey Patrons Celebrate

MAPLEWOOD, NJ — Wawa has finally arrived in Essex County. With the opening of its new location in Maplewood, the convenience store chain has created a much-clamored-for outpost for their strangely die-hard patrons in North Jersey.

A Dec. 16 grand opening brought several local municipal and county officials to the store’s 1511 Springfield Avenue facility, including County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo Jr., New Jersey Assemblywoman Mila Jasey, Essex County Freeholder Wayne Richardson, Maplewood Mayor Victor DeLuca and the other four members of the Maplewood Township Committee, India Larrier, Nancy Adams, Greg Lembrich and Ian Grodman.

“This is a great, great day for Maplewood,” DeLuca said.

During the grand opening, Maplewood police and fire crews faced off for a hoagie building contest to benefit local charities, with each team tying at 38 sandwiches and raising a $1,000 donation from Wawa, as seen in the below video by the Maplewoodian.

“Maplewood is proud to have the first Wawa in northern New Jersey join our Springfield Avenue shopping district,” town officials previously wrote. “Located at the intersection of Chancellor and Springfield Avenues, this store anchors the eastern entry to Maplewood, along with the recently renovated Maplewood Diner and the new apartment complex at Springfield and Boyden Avenues.”

Wawa has stated that it plans to open several other new locations in New Jersey by the end of the year, including Hamilton, Bridgewater Township, Somerdale and Edison.

• See related article: Where Will Wawa’s New Stores in N.J. Be Located? [MAP]

In addition to its New Jersey locations, Wawa has opened 50 stores between the Tampa and Orlando markets over the past two years, the company states.

According to the company’s website:

“Wawa began in 1803 as an iron foundry in New Jersey; and transitioned to a mill and bleachery in the mid-1860’s. In 1902, Wawa started a dairy farm and processing plan in Wawa, PA; and in 1964 the first Wawa food market was opened in Folsom, PA.”

The company employs more than 22,000 associates, serves more than 400 million customers and sells more than 190 million cups of coffee every year, according to its website.

Photo: Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo Jr., via Facebook

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