A new Wawa convenience store/gas station is scheduled to open the first week of December in the Union Center Plaza along Route 309 in Wilkes-Barre Township.
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The gas pumps are also ready to accept customers at the new Wawa convenience store/gas station is scheduled to open the first week of December in the Union Center Plaza along Route 309 in Wilkes-Barre Township.
The new Aldi grocery store is also expected to open the first week of December in the Union Center Plaza along Route 309 in Wilkes-Barre Township.
WILKES-BARRE TWP. — Wawa Inc. announced on Monday that the new convenience store/gas station on Route 309 will open its doors on Friday, Dec. 6.
“I am thrilled to share that we will be opening our doors to our new store on Friday, December 6,” Lori Bruce, senior manager of media relations at Wawa Inc., said Monday.
“We look forward to serving the community,” Bruce said.
Bruce enclosed a Wawa media alert that provides all details of the Grand Opening event:
The grand opening will feature free 60th anniversary t-shirts for the first 100 customers, free any size hot coffee for 10 days, and an “impactful” ribbon cutting ceremony.
The alert states that in April 2024, Wawa reached its 60th anniversary of opening its first store in Folsom, PA, in 1964 and at each of its new store openings this year, the convenience retailer will reinforce its commitment to “fulfilling lives” of its associates, customers, and community.
Festivities will start at 7:45 a.m. with Wawa General Manager Tammi Fennelly doing the honors of counting down the moment when the doors open for the very first time at 8 a.m., with free “In My Wawa Era 60th Anniversary” t-shirts for the first 100 customers, as supplies last, and free any size hot coffee from Dec. 6 through Dec. 15.
Immediately following at 8:30 a.m., customers are invited to participate in a brief ceremony with remarks about the impact Wawa has on its community, signature “Hoagies for Heroes” hoagie-building competition between police and fire departments, and an official ribbon-cutting with mascot Wally Goose.
“Wawa is proud to open its doors to provide trusted quality products, convenience, new jobs, support, and to Fulfill Lives in the community,” the media alert said. “The event will celebrate new associates and customers and simple gestures, like holding the door for one another, that together make a big difference in making Wawa’s family-like store atmosphere possible. The grand opening celebration will gather the community to welcome everyone on day one and celebrate the impact the new store will have on its neighbors and community.”
The new Wawa will be in Union Center Plaza along Route 309 in Wilkes-Barre Township — the former Kmart Plaza.
The building is up and people are working inside to put finishing touches on the new convenience store/gas station, and the gas pump area is also almost ready to accept customers.
In the same plaza, work is also moving fast at Aldi, a grocery store that will occupy most of the space of the former Kmart store. Aldi is expected to open the first week of December as well.
And at the opposite corner of the plaza, a new Cloud 10 Car Wash is also moving ahead.
“Once open, each of our stores 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).
Wawa is also looking to build in two other Luzerne County areas — Dallas Township and Plains Township.
The Dallas Township store is to be built next to Tractor Supply on Route 309.
The proposed site in Plains Township is near Mohegan Pennsylvania at the intersection of East Main Street and Route 315 — across the street from a similar type chain, Sheetz.
Reach Bill O’Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.