On September 24, Wawa broke ground on its newest project in Vienna, VA while also unveiling plans for a major expansion effort in Northern Virginia, one of the nation’s most affluent areas. The Wawa, PA-based merchant said it plans to open 40 stores in Northern Virginia alone over the next 15 years. The fast-growing company reportedly plans to spend approximately $240 million on its Northern Virginia cap-ex plan yielding about 2-3 stores per year. Currently, four other Fairfax County Wawa units are in the pipeline.
The 6,290 square foot Vienna store, located at 465 Maple Ave., will be Wawa’s first ever retrofit. The structure was built in 1974 and most recently served as a Coldwell Banker real estate office. The retrofit will not offer gasoline (as most newer Wawas do), but instead feature Tesla charging stations for up to eight vehicles.
Wawa began its expansion into the Washington D.C market in late 2017 with its first District-based store on 19th St. NW. It currently operates four stores in the nation’s capital. A fifth unit in the Adams Morgan section of Washington is slated to open later this month and another store on Thomas Circle NW is currently under construction. None of those stores offer gas.
The company has long been the convenience store share of market leader in the Delaware Valley and began an aggressive expansion beyond its core market in 2012 when it opened its first store in Florida. Those stores are performing at a high level and Wawa has continued to build stores in the Sunshine State where it currently operates approximately 165 units.
The company, which opened its first convenience store in Folsom, PA in 1964, now operates about 850 stores in Delaware, Florida, Maryland, New Jersey, Virginia and Washington, DC.