Wawa's Store Expansion Includes Its First Travel Center
As Wawa expands its real estate footprint to the west and south, the Pennsylvania-based convenience store chain will soon open its first travel center in North Carolina.
The 8,000-square-foot store in Hope Mills, just south of Fayetteville, is set to open Aug. 28 and will offer fresh food, beverages, interior and exterior seating, and fuel. Other amenities include a CAT weigh station, free parking for tractor-trailers, restrooms, and a pet relief area. News of the new store was first reported by Chain Store Age, a sister publication of Store Brands.
“We are thrilled to pilot this new format in Hope Mills and believe this new travel center model is a great way to bring Wawa to customers while serving a need for travelers,” said John Poplawski, Wawa’s chief real estate officer. “Not only will our Wawa Travel Center meet the fueling needs of professional drivers, but our store will offer the freshest of food, beverages, conveniences, and the friendliest flock of associates, while also remaining a community hub for local friends and neighbors to enjoy.”
The travel center is part of Wawa’s larger expansion in North Carolina. During the next eight to 10 years, the company plans to build and open six to eight stores per year as it looks to reach a total of 90 stores in the state. To build each store, Wawa will invest more than $7.5 million per location and employ, on average, 140 contractors and local partners.
Expansion in North Carolina is a component of the retailer’s plans to grow beyond its Northeast roots. The convenience store chain recently broke ground on its first stores in Tennessee, and this past spring opened its first stores in Indiana and Ohio. In late 2024, it opened its first store in Georgia.
The privately held Wawa operates more than 1,100 locations in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Florida, North Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and Washington, D.C.
