6 Things Floridians Learned When Wawa Moved In
When Wawa opened its first Pensacola store in December 2024, people were lined up around the corner by 6:45 a.m.
Floridians have watched Wawa spread across the state since 2012, and it’s brought more than coffee.
Here’s what Floridians learned when Wawa moved in.
1. Hurricane Response
Wawa had 122 stores in Florida when Hurricane Irma arrived in September 2017.
Irma hit on Sept. 10.
About 85 of them were open by midday on Sept. 12.
Wawa sent two water tankers to Fort Myers, where boil advisories were in effect.
It had about 10 portable generators and was borrowing about 10 more.
Seven years later, Wawa gave free coffee and fountain drinks to first responders, National Guard members and emergency responders in Florida during Hurricane Helene.
The giveaway ran Sept. 26-29.
If you were on a response crew in Florida those four days, your coffee was free.
What Wawa Told Customers Before Helene
Wawa told customers ahead of Hurricane Helene in 2024 that it would do everything possible to keep Florida stores open and stocked with fuel.
Some stores might modify hours or temporarily close because of evacuations and power outages.
It also promised to post up-to-date store information, including temporary closings, on its website.
Check Wawa’s website before you drive there on a low tank.
2. Orlando Debut
Wawa opened its first Florida store to the public on July 18, 2012.
The 6,000-square-foot store sat at Central Florida Parkway and International Drive in Orlando.
The doors opened on a Wednesday.
SeaWorld was across the street.
The address was 5910 Central Parkway.
Dozens of people lined up before sunrise for the grand opening.
Inside, you could pick from more than 1,000 soft drink and coffee combinations.
The shelves had fresh fruits and vegetables, plus alcohol.
A full-service sandwich bar made sandwiches to order.
3. Anniversary Coffee Giveaways
Wawa marked its first year in Florida on July 18, 2013, with free coffee all day.
By then, Wawa had 14 stores in the Orlando market and eight in the Greater Tampa Bay market.
In 2014, Wawa planned to open 14 more stores in the Tampa Bay market and 11 in the Greater Orlando market.
Wawa’s CEO said the Florida stores had used 1.5 million pounds of ice in smoothies in year one.
Ten years after the Orlando opening, Wawa offered all Florida customers free coffee on July 18, 2022.
Both fell on July 18.
The company launched a statewide charity fund with grants of up to $2,500 for local nonprofits.
A week earlier, Wawa unveiled a plaque at the original store on Central Florida Parkway.
Wawa planned an anniversary party at that first store on July 14, 2022.
If you stopped in on either day, the coffee cost you nothing.
Psst! How much do you know about Wawa? Take our quiz and see if you can ace it.
Quiz
Wawa Pop Quiz
Answer these questions on Wawa’s roots and the storms that have hit Florida. We bet you can’t get them all right. Prove us wrong?
Wawa is a Native American name for which bird?
4. Thousands of Jobs
Wawa had more than 1,000 associates in Florida when it turned one in 2013.
By April 2022, the company said it employed almost 10,000 people across the state.
At the first Pensacola opening in 2024, Wawa said building each new store employs 140 contractors.
Once the doors open, roughly 35 new jobs were expected at each location.
5. Miami Arrival
Wawa launched its first Miami locations on May 9, 2019.
May 9, 2019 was a Thursday.
If you drove past those lots in fall 2018, you saw construction underway on the first three Miami-Dade stores.
Wawa scheduled groundbreakings at Southwest 24th Street, Southwest 137th Avenue and Southwest 184th Street in October 2018.
Three Miami-Dade stores came first.
Social media photos from opening morning showed regular gasoline at $2.25 a gallon.
In 2019, Wawa expected to have more stores in Florida than in New Jersey or Pennsylvania by 2021.
6. Pensacola Opening
Wawa opened its first Pensacola store at 8 a.m. on Dec. 19, 2024, at 8840 Boesch Lane.
Dec. 19, 2024 was a Thursday.
People were lined up around the corner by 6:45 a.m. for the free coffee.
The first 250 customers got free t-shirts.
If you were in line, you left with a free hot coffee in any size.
First responders competed in Hoagies for Heroes, a contest for their favorite charities.
The Escambia County Sheriff's Office won the contest by beating the fire department, and both groups got money for their causes.
Wawa put the investment at more than $7.5 million for each location.
Community Giving
Wawa said it had donated nearly $225,000 to community partners by its first Florida anniversary.
The Florida team hosted quarterly blood drives that collected more than 1,370 pints of blood.
Local partners included Second Harvest Food Bank and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
In 2017, Wawa started an in-store donation drive for Irma relief.
The drive ran 10 days.
The drive started that Tuesday.
The money went to the American Red Cross.
If you stopped at a Wawa during those 10 days, you could give in the store.
Wawa sent trucks of ice, water and food to food pantries in Florida.
Some volunteers from the Philadelphia region were set to go down to help.
Panhandle Targets
Wawa's Panhandle plans took shape in April 2022.
The company said then that it anticipated opening stores in Pensacola, Panama City and Tallahassee in 2024.
Wawa's first Pensacola store opened in December 2024.
At the opening, about 20 more stores were expected to follow along the Panhandle over the next three to five years.
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