CINCINNATI — With more than 1,000 stores nationwide, Wawa is now making its way to the Midwest.
The family-owned chain of convenience stores and gas stations is set to open more than a dozen stores in the Tri-State.
While there's been plenty of buzz surrounding the upcoming Wawa locations, it begs the question: what exactly is Wawa?
To boil it down: Wawa isn't just soda machines and hot dogs on a roller. The convenience store has tons of freshly-made food options, sustainably-sourced coffee and more.
According to its website, Wawa is a "privately held, family-owned company with 200+ years in American business." The company began in New Jersey in 1803 with its first market opening in 1964. Now, Wawa has a huge following on the east coast with multiple locations in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Florida and Washington, D.C.
News of Wawa making its way to the Tri-State first broke in December 2022 when the chain announced its plans to launch its first stores in Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana.
While Wawa stores include gas stations, they are much more. It's similar to how Buc-ee's is much more than a gas station, but Wawa specializes more in food while Buc-ee's, which has massive stores compared to Wawa, also sells merchandise, decor and more.
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Wawa is a one-stop shopping adventure for gas, coffee, food and groceries.
Wawa has coffee options galore with hot and iced coffee, lattes, cold brew and more. Customers can even buy ground coffee, Wawa K-cups and bulk coffee to-go.
In terms of food, Wawa's online menu gets it right, saying "We hope you're hungry."
Wawa offers everything from breakfast sandwiches and burritos to hoagies, pizza and freshly-made salads. The store also has fresh-baked pastries and snacks as well as pre-packaged drinks and snacks similar to the every-day gas station.
On top of Wawa's food options, it's also a great place to get essential or quick groceries like bread, eggs, toilet paper, ice and more.
It's been known that there were Wawa locations planned for Liberty Township, Union Township and Colerain Township.
The company on Wednesday released the full list of Wawa locations coming to Ohio that are currently under contract:
Butler County:
- Dixie Highway & Symmes Road
- Cincinnati Dayton Road & Liberty Way
- Dixie & Mack Road
- Highway 4 & Tylersville Road
- Highway 4 & Liberty-Fairfield Road
Clermont County:
- State Route 32 & Mt. Carmel Tobasco
Clinton County:
- Highway 73 & State Route 380
Greene County:
- Dayton-Yellow Springs Road & Park Hills Drive
- Broad Street & Spangler Road
Hamilton County:
- Springfield Pike & Glensprings Drive
- 125 & Elstun Road
- Colerain Road & Struble Road
Miami County:
- S County Road 25A & W Kessler Cowlesville Road
Warren County:
- Fields-Ertel & Wilkens
- Highway 48 & Kingsview Drive
- Kings Mills Road & Courseview Drive
At this time, it's unclear if any Wawa stores will be opening in southeast Indiana and Northern Kentucky. All of the Ohio Wawa locations are expected to launch sometime after 2025.
