Today, Aug. 8, Wawa celebrated the grand opening of its first store in Cumberland County located at 3613 Raeford Road in Fayetteville. 

Today’s program included remarks from Wawa officials, a ribbon cutting and a “Hoagies for Heroes” hoagie-building competition between local police officers, firefighters and representatives from the USO. The police claimed the victory this time around. 

The line to enter the store at opening time wrapped around the building with Wawa fans from near and far hoping to get their hands on one of the 250 free t-shirts. The store is also offering free coffee today through Aug. 10 to celebrate the opening.

“This is just an amazing reception. You could not ask for more. [We’re] just so thankful for the support from the community, from the whole state, the whole town of Fayetteville, the County of Cumberland,” shared Wawa Area Manager Blake Loper. “I think it's an amazing opportunity to serve these people our awesome products and great service, but also to provide jobs in this community and really just build the partnerships and be a pillar, not just to sell things, but to be here to support them and provide, hopefully, a great career for people at Wawa, just like Wawa has for me.”

Wawa superfan Troy Smith even traveled from out of town and spent the night outside the store to claim the first spot in line. 

“Wawa has been in my blood my entire life. When I was 16, I applied for a job at a Wawa. Wawa has been in my family forever, and so when they came to North Carolina, it just made sense to go to the grand opening, and then to be first in line is fun,” remarked Smith.

Popular Wawa products include their built-to-order hoagies and their fresh coffee. But the quality of products is matched by the quality of the service. 

“Everybody comes here to see our people…customers will come here for our people. So it's not just the food, it's also the people,” remarked Wawa General Manager Eric Pressley-Butler.

In addition to celebrating the Fayetteville store, Wawa also announced that the first ever Wawa Travel Center will open in Hope Mills on Aug. 28. The travel center is more than 8,000 square feet in size and offers expanded amenities such as high speed diesel fuel lanes and parking for tractor-trailers. 

Wawa is still looking to hire additional talent for both the Fayetteville location and the Hope Mills location. Go to careers.wawa.com to browse open positions.