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

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

The gas station and convenience store favorite has four stores scheduled to open in spring and summer 2023, continuing to grow the brand's presence around the Commonwealth.

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 close to 105 locations in Virginia.

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

Summer 2023

• 860 Richmond Hwy., Fredericksburg
• Courthouse Road and Courthouse Bypass, Spotsylvania
• 5900 W. Broad Street, Henrico
• 1280 General Booth Blvd., Virginia Beach

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 Virginia.

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 DC or Virginia Wawa location nearest to you and store hours here.

This story contains reporting from Patch's Josh Bakan.