Super sneak peek: Hope Mills community experiences a taste of Wawa at the brand’s first travel center

By Faith Hatton, posted Aug 27, 2025 on BizFayetteville.com

It was a busy day before the grand opening of the new Wawa Travel Center as VIP customers, local officials, community partners and media outlets got a behind-the-scenes look at the new facility at their Taste of Wawa event.

The new location for the chain joins more than 1,100 across the country and is the latest to open its doors in Cumberland County, following a successful grand opening to the Wawa location in Fayetteville located on Raeford Road on Aug. 8.

While similar to its sister store in Cumberland County, offering fresh food and beverages, conveniences and the friendliest flock of associates, the travel center expands on its offerings and space.

Wawa Area Manager Blake Loper (right) pictured with Town of Hope Mills Mayor Jessie Bellflowers (center) and special guest Alex Mai with Mutha Trucker (left).

With over 8,000 square feet of space, the travel center offers fuel for passenger vehicles and a high-speed diesel fuel court for the needs of professional tractor trailer drivers and amenities such as a pet park, clean restroom facilities and a welcoming storefront for other travelers on the road.

“We believe our Wawa Travel Center will transform the landscape of options available to professional drivers and the family travelers alike, along with our everyday customers, distinguished by a unique experience not found anywhere else,” shared Wawa Area Manager Blake Loper.

Today’s Taste of Wawa event included several inaugural activities to allow the community to see and experience first hand the Wawa brand and offerings including:

A tour of the store and its facilities
A chance to sample a variety of Wawa’s signature products
The ceremonial building of Wawa’s first hoagie in the travel center by Hope Mills Mayor Jessie Bellflowers
The Inaugural first honk and first fuel of diesel trucks at the new gas pumps.

A word from leadership:

Wawa leadership was on site today to meet and greet the community and share more about the nation’s first ever travel center.

“It's incredibly exciting to begin this new chapter in our Wawa history. Our 60+ year history includes innovating and evolving our store design to meet the changing needs of our customers. And today, while our fuel model is our anchor, we're testing new concepts beyond our current the boundaries, to redefine the standard for convenience for our communities,” shared Wawa’s Director of Store Operations Kim Dowgielewicz. “The building you're standing in today is the first of its kind for us. With more than 8,000 square feet inside, we have more space to serve on the road professionals and families alike. Our regular size store, for those of you that don't know, sits at about 5,000 square feet.”

Plans are already in motion to expand the new concept across the country.

It was also announced that two other travel centers are currently under construction in Richmond, Indiana and Lima, Ohio, both anticipated to open in early 2026.

Town of Hope Mills Mayor Jessie Bellflowers was able to build the first hoagie in the location.

Feeding the community:

As part of the Taste of Wawa event, Wawa Inc. announced the launch of their Lending a Helping Hoagie program in Hope Mills. To promote the program, Town of Hope Mills Mayor Jessie Bellflowers was able to build the first hoagie in the location. Next week, Wawa is giving back with a portion of proceeds from every hoagie sold, up to $2,500, going towards a local food bank in Hope Mills.

Town of Hope Mills Mayor Jessie Bellflowers holds up the first hoagie for the new Wawa Travel Center.

“That was really really cool to fix the first hoagie. I’ll tell you a little secret, the great staff at Wawa, they left the lights on for me last night so I could come in and be first,” joked Mayor Bellflowers. “It's really wonderful, and I'm honored and humbled to be able to put the first one together of many, many more for years to come.”

More to come:

The Wawa Travel Center will have its grand opening on Thursday, Aug. 28 with a ribbon cutting ceremony scheduled for 9 a.m. Festivities will include free t-shirts for the first 250 customers, free any size hot coffee from Aug. 28- Aug. 31, 2025 and a ceremonial “Honk” by mascot Wally Goose with some of the nation’s most popular big rig truckers.

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