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Information About

Wawa Food Markets




  Company Type Private
  Foundation 1964
  Slogan "gottahava Wawa"
  Founder Grahame Wood
  Location City Wawa, Pennsylvania
  Location Country USA
  Key People Howard Stoeckel, CEO
  Industry Convenience Store
  Products Hoagies, Coffee, Sizzli
  Revenue US$ 319 billion ( 2005 )
  Num Employees 16,000
  Homepage Wawacom


Wawa is a chain of Convenience Store / Gas Station s located in the eastern United States ; specifically New Jersey , Pennsylvania , Delaware , Maryland , and Virginia . The stores are mostly in the Delaware Valley region of the Northeast United States , although the chain has now expanded into Virginia as far as the Virginia Beach region. Stores can be found throughout Eastern Pennsylvania, Central & Southern New Jersey, Maryland, and Delaware.


COMPANY

On April 16 , 1964 , Wawa Food Markets opened their first store in Folsom, Pennsylvania under the guidance of Grahame Wood. To this day, many Wood family members are active within the company. Although Wawa is a Family-run Business , the Employee s of Wawa also hold a relatively large Percentage of stock. Most Wawas are open 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. The Chain 's name comes from the site of the company's first milk plant and corporate Headquarters in Wawa, Pennsylvania . The name of the town is in turn derived from the Ojibwe word for the Canada Goose (taken from " The Song Of Hiawatha ").1 An image of a Goose in flight serves as the Wawa Corporate Logo .
It is said that the goose was chosen because the company employs the principles of teamwork, group consensus and encouragement which is found among the geese community. Note that the Wawa Corporate webpage correctly says "Wawa" means "goose," but incorrectly claims it is a Lenape word.2

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Wawa sells over 165 million cups of counter was among the first Convenience Food-marts to implement Self-serve Computer Touch-screen menus for food orders, in an attempt to improve accuracy. It can potentially be used as gateways to Up-selling , as well.

The current pumps, and all new Wawas constructed are of the "Super Wawa" variety (though not all feature gas stations). Wawa, for the most part, covers the parts of The Keystone State not already covered by fast-growing in-state rivals Sheetz and Turkey Hill Minit Marts .

In the late 1980s and through the 1990s , Wawa engaged in a Scholarship Sponsor ship program that involved Irish students (mainly from UCC in Cork, Ireland ) running a considerable number of stores on the Pennsylvania Main Line . This was a successful program that allowed the students to study for their MBA 's from Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia , while facilitating the feasibility of these stores located in these affluent neighborhoods where it was difficult to get local labor.The program has now been changed to Northern Ireland http://www.sju.edu/ucomm/archives/2003/december/hawkeye_12082003.html

Wawas are often neighborhood gathering places. Many College s have Wawas on Campus or close by, including the University Of Delaware , Villanova University , Cabrini College , Harford Community College , Haverford College , Rowan University , West Chester University Of Pennsylvania , Widener University , Princeton University , University Of Maryland , University Of Pennsylvania , Drexel University , Lafayette College , Valley Forge Military Academy And College , Ursinus College , East Stroudsburg University Of Pennsylvania , Penn State Berks , Virginia State University and The College Of William And Mary .

The Wawa location in Columbia, Maryland was destroyed by Arson in 1994 . The company chose not to rebuild, leaving Maryland's largest Unincorporated Community without a Wawa, although there are several Wawa locations in Frederick and points west.

Wawa is headquartered in Wawa, Pennsylvania , a Neighborhood that includes parts of Middletown Township and Chester Heights Borough in Delaware County . The corporate headquarters, known as Red Roof, is on Baltimore Pike in Chester Heights. The nearby Dairy Farm , across from the former Franklin Mint is in Middletown.

Wawa has recently partnered with JPMorgan Chase to offer a Credit Card branded with the Wawa name.

In the spring of 2007 , Wawa began offering Its Own Line of Soda in its stores.


WAWA DAIRY FARMS

Wawa Dairy is a dairy processor that produces its own line of Milk , Ice Cream , Iced Tea s, Juices , and fruit drinks. George Wood started Wawa Dairy Farms in 1902 with a small Herd of Cow s and a Processing and Bottling Plant in Wawa, Pennsylvania. This early dairy operation was famous for its "Doctor Approved" Pasteurized milk. In the early 20th Century , Wawa's Milkmen were so well trusted by their clients that many of them were given the keys to the households that they delivered to, so that they could simply let themselves in and place the milk in the Ice Box .

In the summer of 2002 , Wawa Dairy celebrated its 100th anniversary by having a week-long "thirst aid tour" where delivered over 100,000 cold Beverage s to those who needed them the most. Wawa partnered with local Food Bank s in an attempt to raise awareness as to the ongoing need for support.


IN POPULAR CULTURE



ADVERTISING SLOGANS

  • 1970s: "Fast, fresh shopping night and day."

  • 1980s: "Just a little bit better: Wawa."

  • 1990s: "One great taste after another." "Mornin, Noon And Nite, Wawa Does It Right"

  • Late 1990s: "Go to Wawa when you're hot, hot, hot."

  • 2002-2005: "My choice. My Wawa."

  • 2005-Present: "gottahava Wawa"



STORE LOCATIONS BY STATE (ACTUAL)

  • New Jersey: 236

  • Pennsylvania: 210

  • Delaware/Maryland/Virginia: 124

  • Stores with Gasoline: 222

  • Total: 570 stores as of 8/2007.

  • Note: Wawa's territory once stretched into Northern New Jersey , New York and Connecticut , but in the late 1990s, the decision was made to abandon the New York Metropolitan Area and New England , as it was too competitive. The stores were re-branded when they were sold to Krausers (in Connecticut) and a variety of other convenience retailers, but most still retain their distinctive design.



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EXTERNAL LINKS