Wawa To Open 1,000th Gas Station With Springfield Store: Inside Roadside Icon's Rich History

By Chris Spiker From Daily Voice

Wawa is marking a major milestone in the same Pennsylvania county where the iconic convenience store chain's story began more than 120 years ago.

The 1,000th Wawa fuel store will open at 675 Baltimore Pike in Springfield Township on Thursday, Dec. 11. The new location will be the second in the Delaware County township, joining a store at the corner of Saxer Avenue and Powell Road.

The Philadelphia Eagles cheerleaders, the team's mascot Swoop, and Wawa's own mascot Wally Goose will be part of the grand opening. The store opens at 8 a.m., with a ribbon-cutting ceremony following at 8:30.

While Wawa has more than 1,175 locations, not every store offers gasoline. The chain opened its first fuel store in Millsboro, Delaware, in 1996.

A Wawa convenience store in Reading, PA.

Unsplash - A n v e s h

According to the company's website, George Wood founded Wawa Dairy Farms in Delaware County back in 1902, delivering fresh milk from certified Guernsey cows to homes across the region. In 1964, the first Wawa Food Market opened in Folsom.

By 1969, Wawa expanded into neighboring New Jersey and Delaware. In the 70s and 80s, the company started introducing pre-made hoagies, the popular Built-to-Order service, and the current deli layout.

Wawa has spread to 13 states, including Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, and North Carolina. Despite its Keystone State roots, Florida has the most Wawa locations with 309, according to data company ScrapeHero.

The popularity of Wawa has fueled an intense rivalry with Sheetz. Founded in 1952, Sheetz has about 800 locations, including many across central and western Pennsylvania.

The competitors have recently started cutting into each other's territory, Axios Pittsburgh reported. Sheetz is planning a location in Chester County, while Wawa is opening stores in Centre County, about 30 miles from Sheetz's headquarters in Altoona.

In April 2023, Wawa opened its 1,000th location of any kind in the Philadelphia suburb of Oaklyn, NJ.