Wawa makes big entrance on Laurinburg's Main Street. Tomeka Sinclair Editor LAURINBURG - With cheers from the crowd, music from the Scotland High School band and Wally the mascot dancing through the excitement, Wawa opened its doors to the public for the first time in Laurinburg on Thursday morning. The grand opening celebration marked the company's 81st store opening of 2026 and its 21st location in North Carolina, as Wawa continues an expansion across 14 states in the Mid-Atlantic, Southeast and Midwest. The company plans to open nearly 100 stores this year in recognition of the nation's 250th anniversary. The first 100 customers through the doors received a free Wawa T-shirt, and the store will offer free coffee of any size through Sunday. Located at 1693 S. Main St., the new store brings a first-of-its-kind feature to North Carolina: Wawa's "Fly Through" concept, which combines mobile ordering with a drive-thru. "This concept should create a much more convenient and time-saving experience for you," said Jay Ratcliffe, Wawa's director of store operations for North Carolina. Ratcliffe said the store's location along U.S. 74, near the South Carolina state line, made Laurinburg an ideal fit for the company's expansion plans. "When you look at this area, what we've come to understand is everyone comes into Laurinburg... We knew that was a perfect community balance for us," he said. The company is eventually looking to expand into South Carolina, making Scotland County's location an important part of that strategy. Ratcliffe said the enthusiasm surrounding Thursday's opening reinforced the company's decision to come to Laurinburg. He added that people familiar with the Wawa brand had expressed that they had been waiting a long time for the convenience store to arrive in the community. Beyond its investment in the community, Ratcliffe also highlighted the company's focus on its employees, pointing to competitive starting compensation, benefits and incentives. Each new Wawa store represents an investment of more than $7.5 million in construction, with an average of 140 contractors and local partners involved in building the location. Once open, each store employs an average of 35 associates. Thursday's celebration also featured a little friendly competition between two of Laurinburg's public safety departments. The Laurinburg Fire Department came out on top in the Hoagies for Heroes competition, facing off against the Laurinburg Police Department to see which team could make the most hoagies. The winning team was set to receive a trophy, bragging rights and $1,000 for its charity of choice. Following the competition, organizers announced that both departments would receive the $1,000 prize for their respective charities. Wawa will stay open 24 hours, seven days of the week.

Wawa opens 12th Sussex store, plans five more by 2028. Route 24 location near Lewes adds another fuel and food retailer to one of eastern Sussex County's busiest growth corridors. LEWES, Del. - Wawa has opened its 12th Sussex County store along Route 24 near Lewes and plans five more locations in the county by the end of 2028, continuing the convenience-store chain's expansion in one of Delaware's fastest-growing areas. The new store opened Oct. 22 at the intersection of John J. Williams Highway, or Route 24, and Mulberry Knoll Road. It sits on roughly 3 acres and includes about 5,600 square feet of retail space along with fuel pumps. The opening would bring Wawa to 17 Sussex County locations if the company completes all five additional stores as planned. The expansion comes as residential and commercial development continues along the Route 1 and Route 24 corridors, where new neighborhoods, medical facilities, restaurants and retailers have followed population growth in eastern Sussex. A privately financed development. The Lewes-area Wawa was developed by DSM Commercial and Silicato Development, according to CoastTV. Sussex County records show the property encompasses about 2.98 acres at the southeast corner of Route 24 and Mulberry Knoll Road. County Council approved a conditional-use amendment for a convenience store with fueling stations in August 2024. DNREC records also show Wawa sought a permit for a vapor-recovery system for the fuel operation at 19656 Mulberry Knoll Road. Rob Wittig of DSM Commercial previously described the location as particularly attractive for commercial development and said it could help meet growing demand for fuel in the area, according to CoastTV. The project appears to have been developed through private investment. Delaware LIVE found no indication in the county and state records reviewed that the store received a public economic-development incentive. Growth brings traffic questions. The store joins a growing collection of businesses along Route 24, an increasingly developed east-west corridor connecting the Lewes and Rehoboth Beach area with communities farther inland. That growth has also generated concerns from some residents about traffic and the pace of development. The Wawa site itself underwent county land-use review before construction. Access and traffic patterns have been a recurring issue as commercial and residential projects have been proposed along Route 24. CoastTV reported that the Wawa project and another convenience-store development involving Royal Farms near Milton had generated concerns from residents about development pressures in Sussex County. Jobs and community opening. Wawa has not publicly disclosed in the sources reviewed how many employees were hired for the new store. The Oct. 22 grand opening included free coffee and Wawa T-shirts for the first 100 customers. The celebration also featured local first responders, continuing a tradition Wawa frequently uses at store openings. The bigger Sussex retail story Wawa's expansion is part of a broader increase in national and regional restaurant and retail investment in Sussex County. Dave's Hot Chicken, for example, has opened a Rehoboth Beach restaurant at Tanger Outlets, its second Delaware location after Dover. The 6,000-square-foot restaurant is at Tanger Seaside. Other chains are targeting Delaware as well. The Brass Tap announced Oct. 30 that it had signed a franchise agreement for its first Delaware restaurant, planned for Bayberry Town Center in Middletown. That project remains subject to completion of lease negotiations. For eastern Sussex County, however, Wawa's plans are particularly notable because of their scale. Five additional stores by the end of 2028 would represent a roughly 42% increase from the chain's current 12-store Sussex footprint. The expansion also illustrates the commercial investment following the county's residential growth - bringing additional services and jobs while adding to the continuing debate over traffic, infrastructure and the pace of development. To go box. * What: Wawa convenience store and fuel station * Where: Route 24 and Mulberry Knoll Road near Lewes * Opened: Oct. 22 * Size: About 5,600 square feet on roughly 3 acres * Sussex County footprint: 12 stores, with five additional locations planned by the end of 2028

Super Wawa construction picks up speed on Berlin Cross Keys Road. Construction is picking up speed for the new Super Wawa on Berlin Cross Keys Road at Johnson Road in Winslow Township, where the convenience store and gas station canopy are quickly taking shape. This will be the second new Super Wawa for Winslow Township, following the recent opening of another location on the White Horse Pike. First reported by 42Freeway more than three years ago, the Berlin Cross Keys Road project sits in a busy commercial area along the Gloucester Township-Winslow Township border. It also puts Wawa directly alongside a competitor: Royal Farms operates just across Johnson Road! The property previously held a smaller, classic Wawa within a small strip of stores. For this redevelopment, Wawa is utilizing the entire property for a larger convenience store, gas pumps beneath a front canopy, and additional parking. In January, I reported on the original Wawa's closing date. Demolition followed, with clearing and site preparation taking place over the ensuing months. Now the visible construction is moving fast. I was in this area about three weeks ago covering the upcoming Tiny Township Play Cafe across the street, and I don't recall seeing any vertical construction at the Wawa property then! On my latest visit, the full steel structure for the gas station canopy was in place. The main convenience store's outline was also established, including initial roof steel, with crews already framing exterior walls and raised roof sections. It's an impressive amount of progress in a short period. While I have a site plan, I haven't obtained a full building elevation. Based on construction so far, this appears to follow Wawa's more familiar building design rather than the newer style recently opened in Penns Grove. That may reflect when this project originally moved through the approval process. The layout is similar to neighboring Royal Farms, with the convenience store behind the gas pumps. Wawa will have direct access from Berlin Cross Keys Road farther from the intersection, plus another entrance on Johnson Road toward the rear. That rear entrance offers a way into the parking lot away from activity around the pumps. One difference between the two convenience store properties is stormwater management: Wawa's basin is toward the rear, while Royal Farms placed its basin at the front corner. The construction progress also makes this a good time to explain a development pattern I regularly see with Wawa projects. Typically, a local developer handles identifying and securing the property, obtaining approvals, and preparing the site. That work can include demolition, grading and underground utilities. A separate construction team then takes over to build the store and canopy. Those phases don't always line up perfectly. Site preparation involves variables that make an exact completion date difficult to predict, and the second team to construct the building may not be available immediately when that work finishes. That can leave a property looking quiet for several months, prompting the familiar Facebook questions: Was it canceled? Did something go wrong? A construction pause alone doesn't establish either of those things. Sometimes it simply reflects the transition between development phases. At this point I don't have a confirmed opening timeline for the new Winslow Township Wawa. Links and location. Wawa - Under Development 672 Berlin Cross Keys Road Sicklerville NJ