Wawa Salutes New Pottstown Store

Pottstown, PA. – Wawa, Inc. announced the grand opening of their newest addition- a brand new store located on 1417 South Hanover Street in Pottstown, PA.

To mark the opening of the new store, Wawa is hosting a military-inspired celebration complete with a military salute to the men and women of the United States Armed Forces, and a check presentation for $500 to the United States Marine Corp Toys for Tots foundation; the donation will be made on behalf of the son of the General manager of the Pottstown store, who currently serves in the Marine Corps and was recently deployed to Operation Iraqi freedom.

Wawa will also be saluting our local heroes at the celebration through a charitable hoagie building contest between the North Coventry Police Department and the Norco Fire Department .

“As a company that understands what it means to be available 24/7,  service and dedication are values Wawa holds in the highest regard, so we would like to wholeheartedly thank our Soldiers for their unfaltering commitment to protecting us all,” said Howard Stoeckel, Wawa’s President and CEO.  “We feel honored to support their valiant efforts through this exciting grand opening celebration.

On Friday, December 18, 2009, at 10:00 AM, Wawa will officially commence the grand opening ceremony with a salute to the men and women of the armed forces currently serving in Iraq.  Wawa executives, store associates and Wawa’s mascot, Wally Goose, will be on hand to share in and celebrate the grand opening festivities.  The National Anthem will then performed by the ROTC Color Guard led by Captain Marc T. Stanley, USN (Ret) and Senior Naval Science Instructor at Owen J. Roberts High School.  At the conclusion of the National Anthem, Wawa will present a $500 check to o the United States Marine Corp Toys for Tots foundation on behalf of LCP Christopher Mest, (Pottstown General Manager, Joelle Mest’s son) who is a MP with the Marine Wing Support Squadron 472 out of Willow Grove.  The Toys for Tots check will be accepted by Major Brooks, a retired marine who now works with Toys for Tots.

Immediately following the check presentation, the Hoagies for Heroes hoagie building contest will begin.  The contest will pit a team from the North Coventry Police Department and the Norco Fire Department against one another in a battle for the title of “heroes” of hoagie building.  Each team will be challenged to build as many hoagies as they can in the traditional Wawa way in three minutes.  Wawa will contribute $1,000 on behalf of the charity of the winning team’s choice and $500 on behalf of the runner’s up choice.

“I feel lucky to be a part of a company that has a special relationship with the men and women of the armed forces, and know first hand, how much this donation will mean to my son and all the troops,” said Joelle Mest, GM of the Pottstown store.  “Our local heroes and troops abroad deserve to be recognized everyday, and I thank Wawa for making them a meaningful part of the exciting community celebration.”

The Pottstown location features Wawa’s new store design prototype, including 4,600 square feet of retail space and additional gasoline facility, as well as new in-store graphics, colors, restroom design, and merchandising features.   Joelle Mest, will serve as General Manager of the store, leading a team of nearly 30 associates, a number of which are new positions brought to the area through the development of the store.  Joelle has worked at Wawa since 1985, serving at a number of stores throughout the chain.

The Pottstown  store offers customers numerous Wawa brands such as the award-winning Wawa coffee (195 million cups sold annually); the Sizzliä, Wawa’s hot breakfast sandwich; a full-service deli; Wawa Bakery; Wawa’s built-to-order hoagies (70 million sold annually); and Wawa’s beverage line of dairy products, juices and teas.

Wawa’s branded gasoline operation includes eight gasoline dispenser sections that can fuel 16 cars at once and offers customers easy access to the lot while not interfering with the convenience store.  Wawa’s premium gasoline offers standard features such as on-site quality testing and up-to-the-minute systems designed to monitor and protect the quality of the product as well as the environment. The gasoline also features a performance guarantee, and Wawa’s gasoline systems meet or exceed Environmental Protection Agency standards.

About Wawa, Inc.

Wawa, Inc., a privately held company, began in 1803 as an iron foundry in New Jersey.  Toward the end of the 19th Century, owner George Wood took an interest in dairy farming and the family began a small processing plant in Wawa, Pa, in 1902.  The milk business was a huge success, due to its quality, cleanliness and “certified” process.  As home delivery of milk declined in the early 1960’s, Grahame Wood, George’s grandson, opened the first Wawa Food Market in 1964 as an outlet for dairy products.  Today, Wawa operates more than 560 stores in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia.

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