Wawa history

1969 The first Delaware store opens

1970's 1970 Pre-made hoagies and sandwiches are introduced

By 1972, there were 100 Wawa stores open for business.

1974 The Goose and gold background are added to the Wawa logo

1975 Wawa stores begin brewing and selling fresh coffee

1977 Wawa begins testing a paperless cash-access system at 12 Pennsylvania stores.

1978 The 200th Wawa store opens in Souderton, NJ

Sales per store, which averaged $11,000 a week in 1979, had jumped to $20,000 a decade later.

1980's 1980 Wawa wins “Best of Philly” award for coffee

1984 Hoagies are now Built-to-Order

1985 The company begins test-marketing Lite Bite salads, its first product directly targeted to working women.

1986 Wawa wins “Best of Philly” award for coffee and deli

Wawa began a program of eliminating ozone-layer-depleting chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in 1988.

By the end of 1990 the Wawa chain had grown to about 485 stores in Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware.

In 1991 prepared foods (as opposed to packaged items) were accounting for 25 percent of Wawa's sales, with the average gross margin per location, after spoilage, 55 percent.

On Hoagie Day--May 6, 1992--the company celebrated by building a 500-foot-long sandwich.

Although store size stayed about the same, sometimes the company had to buy the lot next door to increase parking for the growing number of customers, who brought the weekly sales level per store to $35,000 in July 1994.

ATM services were developed in later years, and all Wawa stores had ATMs by 1995.

With 515 outlets in 1996, Wawa Inc. was one of the largest privately held convenience-store chains in the United States.

Indeed, sales surpassed the $1 billion mark in 1997.

1998 First store in Virginia opens

1999 The "Rendelli" hoagie is featured at Hoagie Day to raise funds for education

At least ten more Wawa stores were expected to be selling gasoline by the year 2000, on larger properties than its current superstores, which averaged about 5,000 square feet.

2002 The Wawa Dairy celebrates its 100th anniversary

2004 The 24 oz. coffee cup – Big 24! – is introduced

An October 2005 Philadelphia Inquirer article explained the benefits of contactless technology reporting, "A shopper simply holds her card within two inches of a radio-frequency reader to pay for purchases at the register.

With 550 outlets in 2006, Wawa Inc. is one of the largest privately held convenience store chains in the United States.

2008 Coffeetopia celebrates Wawa’s coffee selection

2010 April 14, 2010: 1 billionth surcharge-free ATM transaction is celebrated!

2012 First Florida store opens in Orlando on July 18

2014 Wawa celebrates its 50th Anniversary