Wawa hosts groundbreaking event for new travel center in Hope Mills

By Staff Report, posted Sep 11, 2024 on BizFayetteville.com

Area Manager Blake Loper speaks to the crowd of customers, local officials, charity partners and general supporters as they gather to celebrate the groundbreaking of the new Wawa Travel Center. Photo by GFBJ.

Wawa, a privately held, family and associate-owned chain of more than 1,060 convenience retail stores currently operating in eight states and Washington, D.C., officially broke ground on its first Wawa Travel Center in Hope Mills, North Carolina located at 5750 Corporation Drive. The store is Wawa’s first in Cumberland County and is projected to open in the second quarter of 2025.

“We are excited to bring our travel center prototype to our newest North Carolina store here in Hope Mills,” said John Poplawski, Vice President & Chief of Real Estate Officer for Wawa. “We look forward to spreading our wings to include the Fayetteville market, while launching our new Wawa Travel Center prototype with features to appeal to both family travelers and professional drivers alike.”

Kyle Watt will serve as the general manager for the Hope Mills location. The approximately 8,300 square foot center will offer Wawa’s signature fresh food and beverages, six high speed diesel fuel lanes and 20 fuel spots for passenger drivers. Other amenities include interior and exterior seating, a CAT weigh station, parking for tractor-trailers, well-maintained restrooms and a pet relief area.

By the end of 2024, Wawa projects to have nine stores open in North Carolina. In 2025, Wawa plans to open up to 11 stores in additional locations including Robeson and Cumberland Counties. Over the next 8-10 years, Wawa plans to build and open six to eight stores per year reaching a total of 90 stores in North Carolina. Wawa will invest more than $7.5 million per store and employ on average 140 contractors and local partners to build the store. Once open, each store will employ an average of 35 associates with Wawa expecting to create more than 3,000 long-term new jobs as a result of expansion in North Carolina.

As part of the groundbreaking, Wawa and The Wawa Foundation announced a $2,500 contribution to local community partner the USO to support the shipment of care packages to deployed military personnel from this market.

“Whenever we enter a new market and throughout our time serving the community, we will always look for ways to give back, and this grant for the USO is just one way we will be doing just that in North Carolina for many years to come,” shared Poplawski in a press release.

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