The chain of more than 1,000 convenience retail stores operating in eight states has plans for a huge expansion in Ohio, as well as surrounding states, in the coming years. As many as 60 Wawa stores are expected to be open across the Buckeye State, which includes four others within the first half of 2025.
In addition to the Fields Ertel one, Greater Cincinnati stores planned also include in Liberty Twp., Fairfield, Mason and Springdale, and are all expected to be open by summertime next year. Statewide, there will be 11 total stores opening by mid-2025, according to the company.
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
“You can buy sandwiches and beverages a lot of places, but what you can’t find is our unique balance of convenience, of great associates giving amazing customer service, being part of their communities, and of course our crave-able products,” said John Poplawski, Wawa’s vice president and chief real estate officer.
The Deerfield Twp. groundbreaking was the third of four across the Midwest (they also had events in Kentucky and Indiana) and Poplawski said the Ohio groundbreaking “has been the biggest, most exciting turnout that we’ve had.”
At the corner of Fields Ertel Road and Wilkens Boulevard, the site that was on old Steak and Shake was a mini festival with music blaring, free food and beverages, the company’s mascot, Wally Goose, and free red T-shirts celebrating “Wawa flying to Ohio.”
“When I first heard a Wawa was coming to Cincinnati and to Deerfield Twp., I was very excited,” said Deerfield Twp. Trustee President Julie Seitz, adding that friends and colleagues in her day job could not stop talking about the destination store.
She also is happy to welcome a store that invests within the community, giving $10,000 to the Freestore Foodbank as part of the groundbreaking.
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
“Those are the kinds of businesses that we want in Deerfield Twp. and Ohio,” Seitz said.
Among the couple of hundred people attending the Thursday morning groundbreaking included Brian Mulvaney from the Cincinnati neighborhood of White Oak, who grew up on Wawa’s pretzels and hoagies when vacationing in the summer with family in Jersey Shore. He’s “sooo excited” to get his favorites closer to home.
“Wawa was always a staple,” he said when visiting his family. “It’s just so easy to go in and get something to eat. They just have so many options. I love it.”
Being a destination store, it drew officials from Hamilton County north to commemorate the event. Cincinnati Vice Mayor Jan-Michele Kearney described the groundbreaking as a party, “and we love to party,” she said.
And the jobs created around the region will be key for Greater Cincinnati and Southwest Ohio.
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
“They’re starting here and we’re looking forward for them to opening in Cincinnati and other counties in Ohio, but we are so grateful that Wawa is here in Ohio and here in our part of Ohio because we’re talking about jobs, we’re talking about economic growth for our citizens,” Kearney said.
Each Wawa store, which executives describe as a convenience store that also sells fuel, will see $7.5 million invested for construction, and employ on average 40 people. With this expansion, Wawa is expecting to create 2,500 new jobs in Ohio, and company associates own 40% of the company through an employ stock ownership plan.
By 2026, another 10 stores are expected to open, and at least five stores in the years thereafter. The company is also looking for even more sites around the region.
“Our roots go back to Pennsylvania, which is not that far away, and when we think of Pennyslvania, we think of people who love their towns, work hard, love their sports teams, and Ohio’s no different,” said Poplawski. “It’s a state of neighborhoods ... friends and neighbors serving friends and neighborhood.”
Though Wawa officials won’t comment on sites that haven’t received approvals, there are plans being considered by communities across Southwest Ohio and the Miami Valley, including as many as three more in Fairfield. On Monday, Fairfield will start the process of considering a fourth Wawa of Pleasant Avenue near John Gray Road. So far only two have received site plan approvals.
A third Wawa is planned for Mack and Ohio 4, replacing the former PNC Bank building and the former The Detail Doctor, which was a car wash.
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
Wawa is a privately held company, family- and associate-owned company, that began in 1803 as an iron foundry in New Jersey. The company began dairy farming in Wawa, Pennsylvania in 1902 and the first Wawa Food Market opened in 1964 as home milk delivery declined. Today, Wawa is a convenience store and fueling station in eight states and Washington, D.C.
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, and a dinner menu including burgers, as well as an assortment of soups, sides and snacks.
OHIO’S FIRST FIVE WAWAS
Wawa will begin construction on five store locations in Southwest Ohio this year. They include:
5308 Fields Ertel Road, Deerfield Twp. in Warren County
7198 Cincinnati-Dayton Road, Liberty Twp. in Butler County
4577 Dixie Highway (Ohio 4), Fairfield in Butler County
5248 Courseview Dr., Mason in Warren County
370 Glensprings Drive, Springdale in Hamilton County
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