On August 2nd, 1996, just before opening our first fuel store in Millsboro, Delaware, we asked ourselves, “If we build it, will they come?”  Today, with 298 of our 588 stores offering fuel and customers that pump more than a billion gallons of gasoline each year, the answer is a resounding, “Yes—they certainly will!”

It's truly hard to believe that it's been 15 years since we opened our first fuel store.  Reaching this milestone in our history demonstrates our dynamic ability to embrace change, which has resulted in innovation and implementation of significant changes in our store design and product offering.  Adding fuel to our offering sparked the creation of state-of-the-art gasoline stores, each equipped with a range of six to ten multiple product dispensers. With this addition, our stores became a bit larger and our parking spaces more abundant.  More than anything, we helped add simplicity the lives of our customers as they embraced this new convenience from the first day it was offered.

We have come a long way since the day the fuel starting pumping at our Millsboro store, and we now reach customers across our entire five-state operating area, including full-service fuel stores in New Jersey proudly attended by teams of fuel court managers and associates who meet challenges and deliver our product and a wonderful experience to customers every day.  When our customers walk into our stores there is a feeling of coming home, and the same feeling is felt on the fuel court.

Today, we sell more than 1% of all fuel in the United States, something we all take great pride in. We offer customers a written guarantee on the quality of our gasoline and stand behind that quality. 

In 2011 we also reached a new fuel milestone when we surpassed the number of non-fuel stores with fuel stores.  In just 15 years, our fuel stores have created a truly exciting transformation of our business.

Full speed ahead into the future!

“Till next time…

Boy how time flies!  It’s hard to believe it’s that time again…the time when our loyal hoagie lovers across our five state area come together to celebrate a summer of peace, savings and Shortis with our annual Hoagiefest campaign!  Running now through July 31, we will feature a different Shorti every two weeks throughout the summer for just $3.49. Our mouthwatering lineup begins with Roast Beef and Turkey from May 23 to June 5 and continues with Cheesesteak, Italian, Meatball and Prime Rib.  For the full lineup go to www.hoagiefest.com.

Hoagiefest is all about celebrating Philadelphia’s most famous sandwich, while thanking our associates and customers for their passion and dedication  in the building and eating of every single hoagie made in our stores. We’re especially excited to host our signature Hoagie Day celebration on June 29 as part of the Wawa Welcome America! Independence Day festivities in Philadelphia. This free event, which is open to the public, will be jam-packed with hoagie building and eating excitement, highlighting our great hoagie tradition in the city of Philadelphia dating back more than 20 years.  This year, Hoagie Day will take place at noon in the Independence Mall area at 6th & Market, across from the Liberty Bell.  We will partner with the USO to salute the men and women of the armed forces and we will serve a 4.5 ton hoagie in their honor.

In addition to celebrating our company’s great hoagie tradition, Hoagiefest is about bringing our customers their favorite hoagies and products at a value at a time when prices matter the most. We are doing everything we can to offer value, even in light of significant increases in the cost of ingredients during the past few years. This year, our hoagies are featured at $3.49, still a great value over the everyday price point. And, our overall 2011 Hoagiefest offer is more robust than ever with a wide variety of discounted products.

Our Hoagiefest promotion includes incredible discounts on our beverages and assorted Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream flavors, as well as discounts to a variety of snacks, candy and Tastykake items.  We’re also excited to announce that our best selling hoagie, the Turkey Shorti, is available throughout the entire 10-week summer promotion at our discounted Hoagiefest price.  And did you know we have three kinds of turkey and all are included in Hoagiefest?  We also have a new wheat Shorti roll that has more grains and four grams of fiber.

We’re thrilled to bring you this year’s Hoagiefest as the ultimate celebration of peace, savings and Shortis!  We hope that you enjoy this promotion and join us in celebrating all summer long.

‘Till next time…

Yesterday, I had the good fortune of joining together with Pennsylvania Governor Rendell to announce some exciting news: by spring 2011, customers will be able to purchase lottery games and tickets at any of our Pennsylvania stores. Through a partnership with the Pennsylvania Lottery, we are installing self-serve Play Central Terminals in all of our PA stores that offer instant tickets and online games, like Powerball, through an easy touch screen system. In fact, you may have already seen or used these kiosks: we installed them in 20 stores as a pilot program in May and will have them in 85 Pennsylvania stores by the end of this year. (Photo courtesy of Commonwealth Media Services.)

Some of our longtime customers may recall that we’ve been down this road before. In response to demand from our customers, we’ve experimented with traditional lottery programs throughout the years. Our early attempts taught us that our customers on the go want to get in and out of our stores quickly. Although demand for lottery tickets was high, customers didn’t want to be slowed down when jackpot values climbed high. So, we listened to our customers.

At the same time, we continued to hear from those customers who, unable to satisfy their lottery needs at Wawa, expressed frustration at having to make a separate trip for it. We’ve struggled over the years to provide the added convenience of lottery ticketing at our stores without interrupting our fast, hassle-free shopping experience. Thanks to a culture committed to change and innovation and to a wonderful partnership with the Pennsylvania Lottery Commission, we’ve now developed a solution that brings the lottery to our PA customers without compromising our value proposition and commitment to simplifying our customers’ lives.

And so, it was with great anticipation that Governor Rendell and our mascot Wally Goose joined me at our Philadelphia Wawa store at 11th and Arch Streets in revealing the Instant Win Prize in an oversized lottery ticket: “Lottery Coming to all Pennsylvania Wawa Stores by Spring 2011.” After many years, many changes, and significant time listening to our customers, we are now able to say, “Stop at Pennsylvania Wawa stores for your Pennsylvania lottery games and tickets!”

‘Till next time…