WILSON – Wawa, a privately held, associate- and family-owned chain of more than 1,000 convenience retail stores currently operating in six states and Washington, D.C., shared new details on its expansion into eastern North Carolina during a Community Partnership Event on Oct. 25, at Casita Brewing Company in Wilson.
During the event, WaWa announced plans to open two stores in Goldsboro in 2024. The Goldsboro stores will be located on Wayne Memorial Dr. and Hospital Rd., and U.S. Hwy. 70 and NC Hwy. 581.
Wawa’s initial phase of expansion into North Carolina includes plans to open approximately 80 stores across the eastern region of the state over the next 10+ years with the first eight stores opening in 2024. While exact grand opening dates have not yet been determined, the following six locations will have Wawa stores opening in 2024, along with the two Goldsboro stores:
- N. Croatan Hwy. & W 4th St., Kill Devil Hills, NC
- Halstead Blvd. & Rt 17, Elizabeth City, NC
- Raleigh Rd. Pwky. & Hayes Place, Wilson, NC
- Ward Rd. & Nash St., Wilson, NC
- Benvenue Rd. & Jeffreys Rd., Rocky Mount, NC,
- Stantonsburg Rd. & Moye Blvd., Greenville, NC
- US Hwy. 70 & NC Hwy. 581, Goldsboro, NC
In addition to the stores set to open in 2024, Wawa has more than 30 sites under contract currently going through local approval processes. Wawa expects to open up to 15 stores in 2025 and 10 stores in 2026, with plans to open a total of 80 stores over the next 10+ years in the eastern part of the state. Wawa Real Estate teams continue to look for sites throughout North Carolina.
Details on Wawa’s growth plans for North Carolina were announced during double-header Community Partnership events on October 25 at the Greenville Convention Center and Casita Brewing Company in Wilson.
These events officially introduced Wawa to the community and allowed Wawa leaders to connect with new friends, neighbors and VIP customers, as well as local officials and partners.
In addition, attendees received a glimpse of new store design renderings and had the opportunity to hear about the Wawa story, Wawa’s unique offering and Wawa’s commitment to its new North Carolina communities, including new partnerships and community support of local organizations.
“We were thrilled to share our ‘flight plan’ for North Carolina and reveal, for the very first time, our exciting expansion plans, renderings and more with our newest soon-to-be neighbors!” said Kim Dowgielewicz, Director of Store Operations for Wawa. “Our Community Partnership events also gave us the opportunity to meet new community members and talk a little bit about our history and what makes Wawa such an ideal fit for communities in this region. We can’t wait to open our doors to the community next year! As we get closer to our grand openings in 2024, we will be sharing even more details on our growth in North Carolina all while connecting with more customers, communities, partners and nonprofit organizations.”
At the Community Partnership event, Wawa also encouraged guests to enjoy a Taste of Wawa, including samples of freshly made hoagies, freshly brewed coffee and other handcrafted beverages from its new Wawa Community Care Beverage Vehicle. Altogether, Wawa distributed hundreds of samples of Wawa strawberry smoothies and Wawa Dragon Fruit Refreshers, Wawa regular and flavored coffees, and hoagies.
Finally, Wawa announced contributions totaling $10,000 to two regional community partners: the USO of North Carolina and the Food Bank of Eastern and Central North Carolina.
