Wawa under construction at Union Center Plaza in Wilkes-Barre Twp.

WILKES-BARRE TWP. — After years of speculation and anticipation, the dream of many devout convenience store customers is about to come true.

The first Wawa — of several planned — is under construction in Luzerne County and it is expected to open at the end of 2024 or early 2025.

Lori Bruce, senior manager of media relations at Wawa Inc., has confirmed that the construction project underway in Union Center Plaza along Route 309 in Wilkes-Barre Township will be, indeed, a Wawa convenience store/gas station.

“Wawa has officially kicked off construction on our store at Route 309 in Wilkes-Barre Township, Luzerne County,” Bruce said. “The store is projected to open late 2024 or early 2025.”

Bruce said she will provide updates as construction progresses and the company is able to confirm a date/time frame.

“We are excited to have our plans begin to take shape and look forward to connecting with our customers and communities in Luzerne County to share the Wawa experience soon,” Bruce said.

Bruce provided a store image rendering for Wawa lovers to see what the finished product will look like when completed. She said it takes, on average, about 140 contractors and local partners to build each Wawa store.

“Once open, each store will employ, on average, 35 new associates,” Bruce said.

She said Wawa is a family and associate-owned company with Wawa associates owning 39% of the company through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP).

“We look forward to serving this community with our quality fresh food and beverages and, as always, our deep commitment to the communities in which we operate,” Bruce said. “As a privately held, family and associate-owned company, we are most excited to share our unique culture and store experience, which has resulted in family-like bonds with our associates, our customers and our communities.”

Tom Zedolik, Wilkes-Barre Township Code and Zoning Officer, said concrete footers were poured this week for the Wawa and walls should be up soon.

“The plan is to be done for a December opening,” Zedolik said. “Work is also underway at the new Cloud 10 Car Wash, adjacent to the Wawa site, and Aldi is moving forward as well.”

Zedolik said there is no timeline available for any of the store projects,

“But you will see a lot of progress over the next few weeks,” Zedolik said. “We also expect the underground fuel tanks will be installed soon for Wawa.”

Zedolik also said that work is progressing on the Aldi store that will occupy part of the former Kmart in the same plaza. Zedolik said the entrance to Aldi will face Casey Avenue.

In other news, KPOT Korean BBQ and Hot Pot is expected to open in July or August in the former location of David’s Bridal at the Wyoming Valley Mall, Zedolik confirmed.

Burlington moving to Arena Hub

Zedolik also confirmed that Burlington Coat Factory, currently located along Spring Street near Home Depot, will be moving to the former Bed Bath & Beyond building in the Arena Hub Plaza.

A construction crew has been working to ready the space for occupancy.

“Burlington will occupy 86% of the former Bed Bath & Beyond space,” Zedolik said. “The other 14%, about 4,000 square feet, will be leased to another tenant that has not yet been determined.”

Julia DePillis, Assistant Account Executive for Burlington, said:

“We are thrilled to open a Burlington store in the Wilkes Barre community this fall, offering residents our everyday low prices on a wide assortment of brand-name merchandise for the entire family and home. Once made available, we will circle back with additional details.”

More Wawa news

Wawa is also looking to locate in two other Luzerne County towns — Dallas Township and Plains Township.

The Dallas Township Zoning Board has approved all zoning issues for a Wawa for “Dallas Development Partners.” The store is to be built next to Tractor Supply on Route 309.

The plans for the store are expected to be discussed at the July 9 meeting of the township Planning Commission. If approved, construction could begin soon after.

Plains Township Commissioner Thomas Shubilla said a traffic study on Route 315 and East Mountain needed to be approved.

“So the project has been sitting in limbo,” Shubilla said.

Jessica Ruddy, PennDOT spokesperson, said, “The developer and their engineer will be preparing the traffic study. The Department is awaiting the initial submission for review.”

The proposed site is in Plains Township, near Mohegan Pennsylvania.

According to township officials, a new Wawa will be built near the intersection of East Main Street and Route 315 — across the street from a similar type chain, Sheetz.

Officials said plans were submitted at the last meeting of the planning commission and five zoning waivers were approved, but there are still some items to be resolved.

Plains officials said the applicant for the project is Plains Development Partners, which is an arm of Summit Realty Advisors, LLC, of Ambler, Montgomery County.

That same company is also seeking to build the Wawa on Route 309 in Dallas Township near Tractor Supply.

A Wells Fargo bank branch sits at the corner of East Main Street and Route 315. Township officials said the plan is to build a Wawa that would wrap around the bank building and have access on both roadways.

The other location that had been proposed was on Market Street in Kingston, but that deal appears to have stalled.

Locally there are Wawa stores in Carbon and Monroe Counties — and reportedly one is planned for Scranton. A small, older format Wilkes-Barre store closed many years ago.

About Wawa, Inc.

Bruce said 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 1960s, Grahame Wood, George’s grandson, opened the first Wawa Food Market in 1964 in Pennsylvania as an outlet for dairy products.

Today, Wawa is an all day, every day stop for freshly prepared foods, beverages, coffee, fuel services and surcharge-free ATMs.

Wawa stores are located in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Florida, North Carolina, Alabama and Washington, D.C. with more than 1,050 locations to date.

The stores offer a large fresh food service selection, including Wawa brands such as custom prepared hoagies, freshly-brewed coffee, hot breakfast sandwiches, hand-crafted specialty beverages, a dinner menu including burgers and an assortment of soups, sides and snacks.

Forbes.com Ranks Wawa as #20 of America’s Largest Private Companies, #1 in Convenience Category for America’s Best Customer Service by Newsweek, one of Forbes 2023 America’s Best Employers for Women and New College Grads.

Wawa Highlights:

• Serves more than 600 million customers annually.

• Brews over 195 million cups of its award-winning coffee each year.

• Builds more than 80 million built-to-order hoagies annually.

• 36,000 employees.

• Wawa Logo: “Wawa” is a native American word for the Canada goose that was found in the Delaware Valley, thus the use of the Canada goose on Wawa’s corporate logo.