Wawa, a privately held, family-owned chain of convenience stores, broke ground on its first Alabama location.
The groundbreaking in Fairhope included local officials, partners and VIP customers. The store is projected to open in the second quarter of 2024.
The Fairhope store is the first of several planned in Mobile and Baldwin counties. The second location for the chain in Alabama will be in Mobile County at Cottage Hill Road and Sollie Road, with a groundbreaking ceremony planned for October.
“We couldn’t be more thrilled to break ground on our first store and celebrate with our newest soon-to-be neighbors,” said Steve Hasher, director of store operations for Wawa. “We are thrilled to be kicking off our expansion into Alabama and can’t wait to open our doors.”
At the groundbreaking ceremony, Wawa presented a $2,500 grant to Prodisee Pantry to purchase kid-friendly foods for a program with the local library to teach children how to cook healthy foods.
Wawa Inc. began in 1803 as an iron foundry in New Jersey. Towards the end of the 19th century, owner George Wood took an interest in dairy farming and the family began a small processing plant in Pennsylvania. The milk business was a success. However, in the 1960s, Grahame Wood, George’s grandson, noticed the decline of the home delivery milk business, so he opened the first Wawa Food Market in 1964 in Pennsylvania as an outlet for dairy products.
Today, the company is a stop for freshly prepared foods, beverages, fuel services and surcharge-free ATMs. The store’s foodservice selection includes Wawa brands including hoagies, coffee, breakfast sandwiches, soups, burgers and snacks. Wawa stores are located in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Florida and Washington, D.C., with nearly 1,000 locations.
