WAWA, Pa., April 14, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Wawa, Inc., is thrilled to announce today that this year’s annual Wawa Day tradition will not only mark Wawa’s 61stanniversary in the convenience retail space but will also celebrate the company’s expansion into its 10th state with the grand opening of Wawa’s first store in Ohio! On Wednesday, April 16th, the company will celebrate the occasion by offering customers FREE hot coffee of any size, chainwide, all day! Throughout the day, Wawa expects to serve nearly 1.5 million free cups of any-size coffee to customers at its more than 1,100 stores.
On April 16, 1964, Wawa entered the retail business by opening its first store in Folsom, Pennsylvania. Every year on the week of April 16th, Wawa celebrates its anniversary through Wawa Day, honoring the customers, associates and community partners that make these anniversary milestones possible. This year’s Wawa Day celebration will celebrate special moments in time that have allowed its family to grow and become a home away from home for customers and associates alike. See video collection here.
“Every year, Wawa Day is a chance to reflect on our roots, honor all the people and partners that have been part of our Wawa story and helped us achieve this tremendous milestone, and look ahead to the many ways we will continue to grow both our offering and our Wawa Family,” said Chris Gheysens, Wawa’s CEO. “This April 16th, we invite our customers to join us for a cup of free coffee on us, celebrate good times by checking out some heart-warming videos of our customers on Wawa.com, and join us in welcoming Ohio to the flock as we begin our Midwest expansion. Cheers to 61 years!”
Key Wawa Day activities will include:
- Free Hot Coffee, Chainwide: Wawa will serve nearly 1.5 million free cups of any-size hot coffee for all customers, chainwide, all day. Customers can simply come into their local store and grab their favorite hot beverage from Wawa’s self-serve coffee bar with our heartfelt thanks for being loyal customers.
- Grand Opening of First Ohio Store: Wawa is spreading its wings into its 10th state and celebrating the grand opening of its first store in Ohio, located in Liberty Township, Butler County. During the event, the company will be joined by hundreds of customers, local officials, first responders and community partners to mark this milestone in the company’s history.
- Video Series on Wawa.com Featuring Special Customer Moments: Wawa will launch a special video series on Wawa.com spotlighting heartfelt customer and community stories. Check out a glimpse of these videos below:
- Celebrating Good Times with loyal Wawa customer Pat, who frequents her local store regularly, and credits the mashed potatoes for reaching the age of 90! With the help of Pat’s daughter, the store team threw a 90th birthday celebration to make her milestone year even brighter!
- Serving Communities during Times of Need was demonstrated in a suburb of Philadelphia when a school experienced a two-alarm fire, and the fire department spent hours putting it out with the support of Wawa associates who provided food and beverages to the everyday heroes!
- Toasting Times Ahead in the State of Ohio! Upon announcing Wawa’s opening in the Buckeye State, the retailer received an email from Jean, a former New Jersey Wawa associate who worked at the company in the 1980s and has relocated to Ohio. Now, she’s bursting with excitement to reunite with her favorite store!
- Presentation of $350,000 in gift cards to National and Local Partners: The week following Wawa Day, beginning April 21st during National Volunteer Week, Wawa and The Wawa Foundation will donate $350,000 in Wawa gift cards to its seven National Charity Partners, all being distributed to each organization’s constituents and volunteers to provide food, fuel and resources to people in need. The Wawa Foundation will designate one day per organization to share how the gift cards are providing comfort and care. The partners include American Red Cross, Breakthrough T1D, Check Out Hunger/Feeding America Food Banks, Children’s Miracle Network, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Special Olympics, and the USO.
About Wawa
Wawa, Inc., a family and associate owned, privately held company, began in 1803 as an iron foundry in New Jersey. Toward the end of the 19th Century, owner George Wood took an interest in dairy farming and the family began a small processing plant in Wawa, PA in 1902. The milk business was a huge success, due to its quality, cleanliness and “certified” process. As home delivery of milk declined in the early 1960s, Grahame Wood, George’s grandson, opened the first Wawa Food Market in 1964 in Pennsylvania as an outlet for dairy products. Today, Wawa is your all day, every day stop for freshly prepared foods, beverages, coffee, fuel services and surcharge-free ATMs. Wawa stores are located in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Florida, North Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Ohio and Washington, D.C., with more than 1,100 locations to date. The stores offer a large fresh foodservice selection, including Wawa brands such as custom prepared hoagies, freshly-brewed coffee, Sizzli hot breakfast sandwiches, hand-crafted specialty beverages, a dinner menu including burgers and an assortment of soups, sides and snacks. Forbes.com ranks Wawa as #24 of America’s Largest Private Companies.
CONTACT: public.relations@wawa.com
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/cc8b31ad-7402-498b-8fc8-6c1fadbbc42b
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