Gas-and-convenience chain Wawa has joined the Pensacola area and opened Thursday morning to a long line of eager customers, some of whom have spent years awaiting Wawa’s arrival in our area.
Wawa’s first Pensacola store opened its doors at 8840 Boesch Lane in northwest Pensacola.
Many of the people in line viewed Wawa as a crucial part of their lives in another state. Others simply came out on Thursday to see what the hype was about. Regardless of their reasons for coming out, everyone left Wawa smiling.
“I love Wawa. I’m from up north so having a Wawa in Pensacola is great,” said Nicholas Didomenico, who’s originally from New Jersey and was one of the first people in line for the new store on Thursday. “I wanted a Wawa here like four years ago, I’m so glad they’re introducing it to Pensacola now.”
Despite the chilly weather and early morning timeframe, a line wrapping around the building had formed by the time Wawa opened its doors at 8 a.m.
Open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, a Wawa offers all the things you’d expect from a convenience store − snacks, lottery tickets, drinks, tobacco, gas (at most locations), etc. − but they also offer a larger variety of fresh food than most fast-food restaurants such as their made-to-order, fan-favorite hoagies and the hot breakfast “Sizzli” sandwiches.
Wawas are also famous for customer service, scrupulously clean bathrooms, decent gas prices, free air for your tires and no-charge ATMs.
As part of its arrival to the Pensacola region, Wawa gave out free shirts to the first 250 customers in line and is offering a free hot coffee – of any size – at the store until Dec. 29.
While they waited for the shopping and celebration to commence, customers fondly recounted their experiences with Wawa.
Michael Greene was introduced to Wawa while visiting his brother in New Jersey. Since moving to Florida, he’s eagerly anticipated Wawa’s arrival and was excited to be in attendance for the grand opening.
“I’ve been waiting for a Wawa for a while now, probably four or five years now,” he said. “I can’t wait to get in and buy some of the good food.”
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Now that his wish has come true, Greene plans to visit Wawa often.
“Probably three or four times a week, at least,” he continued.
For Aidsha Wallace, Pensacola feels a little bit more like home now that there’s a Wawa.
“We’re from Maryland, we moved down here three years ago and there was a Wawa on every corner over there. When we came down we were sad (finding) out we were going to have no Wawa here,” Wallace said. “We’re ecstatic.”
Wawa is based in Pennsylvania and has spread all over the northeastern region of the U.S., creating a dedicated fanbase along the way.
“I’m originally from the northeast, so my first experience at Wawa was when my sister was in college in Pennsylvania,” said Jennifer Irby, who’s originally from Massachusetts. “I love their coffee and their food, it’s like a step above regular gas-station food.
“When my sister first told me about (Wawa) I was like … a gas station? But then I went and I thought the food was so good,” Irby said.
Multiple Pensacola residents familiar with the chain mentioned that they missed its convenience after moving here.
Pensacola residents and fans of the Pennsylvania-based Wawa stores celebrate the convenience store and gas station chain’s first retail location in the Florida panhandle on Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024.
“A lot of us are from up north and we’ve been waiting for this moment to have a Wawa in our hometown, not having to drive down south to get the things we love,” said Melissa Scott, another one of the first customers in line for the store’s grand opening.
Although they’ve never lived in an area with a Wawa, Kellie Moeller and her husband have gotten their fill over the years by planning trips to Wawa in Gainesville, which is nearly 350 miles away. They’ve even spent Thanksgivings at Wawa in order to get items like turkey and potatoes.
“Gainesville has always been my closest,” she said.
Moeller, a Cantonment resident, is looking forward to the convenience that Wawa provides being much, much closer to home with a 20-minute drive.
“They’re always very efficient and it’s always consistent, there’s no surprises. When you put in the order, you’re going to get it quickly and it’s always going to be amazing,” Moeller continued.
The new Wawa store location is now open and serving the Pensacola area. The Pine Forest Road store, the company’s first in Northwest Florida, held its grand opening celebration on Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024.
Not every customer at the grand opening event was familiar with Wawa before Thursday. Even so, many left pleasantly surprised by their experience.
Leslie Trafford saw the grand opening on Facebook and decided to give it a try. After her visit Thursday, she said the build-up and hype for the store were warranted.
“I think it’s pretty awesome,” Trafford said, even mentioning that she’d likely return every day for coffee.
As part of its entry into the community, Wawa hosted a charity hoagie building competition between the Escambia County Sherriff’s Office and Escambia County Fire Rescue. Competitors had to construct Wawa’s hoagies in an assembly line and fill up more boxes of sandwiches than the other side.
In the end, ECSO narrowly beat the firefighters by one box of hoagies. Both groups were awarded $1,000 from Wawa to donate to a charitable cause.
“It’s about growing as a community, it’s about partnerships, it’s about a great company wanting to invest their money for the citizens of Escambia County. They think that Escambia County is worth investing in,” said Sherriff Chip Simmons. “We, from a law enforcement perspective, believe that our engagement and partnerships are also important because together we can build our community up.”
Wawa also donated $7,500 to USO Florida Northwest and $2,500 to Feeding the Gulf Coast at the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Wawa near me in Pensacola
Wawa already has over 200 stores in Florida, but they’re mostly found in the central and southern parts of the sunshine state.
Wawa’s Boesch Lane location is store number 251 in Florida, and they’re planning more for the Panhandle in the near future.
Charlene Harrell, Wawa’s area manager for Pensacola, told the News Journal that Wawa’s next store is planned to open at 5888 W. Nine Mile Road during quarter one of next year.
Escambia County has approved plans to develop five different Wawa stores around the county, including the Boesch Lane location, which will stretch from the southern end of the county on Blue Angel Parkway over to its northeastern side on North Davis Highway.
Wawa has been approved for the following addresses in Escambia County so far:
Their initiative in Pensacola is part of a plan to build up to 20 stores across the Panhandle over the next three to five years, with each store planned to bring about 35 jobs along with it.
Wawa hasn’t been approved to develop any stores in Santa Rosa County so far, but they have filed plans for a location in East Milton, Navarre and Pace respectively.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Wawa Pensacola grand opening on Boesch Lane brings out the community