Wawa Sues Little N.J. Food Mart Over Name

The owner of a North Jersey food market is going on the defensive after South Jersey convenience store giant Wawa filed a lawsuit against the business regarding its name.

Wawa filed a federal lawsuit against DaWA Food Mart of Paterson, ordering the store to change its name. The convenience-store chain claims customers are likely to be confused and think that DaWA is associated with Wawa.

Wawa is a privately-owned company that operates more than 630 stores on the East Coast in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and Florida. The chain claims to serve more than 400 million customers annually.

Lori Bruce, Wawa's public relations manager, said in a statement that the company has an obligation to "protect consumers" from confusion and protect its "brand name, goodwill and reputation" that they've worked so hard to build over the past 50 years.

Bruce said Wawa reached out to Mike Han, DaWA's owner, several times to resolve the matter amicably.

"We wish them nothing but success, just without our name, or something so close to it, included," Bruce said.

Han was not available for comment.

Han said in a Philly.com report that he will not change the store's name.

"This is my place," he said. "It's DaWA food."

Han, a Korean, said the name means everyone is welcome, in Korean.

"I'm a Christian," he said in the report. "I just want to open my arms to the community people."

Patch could not obtain a copy of the lawsuit.

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