Wawa History: Founding, Timeline, And Milestones - Zippia

Wawa history Zippia score 4.5Job openings (464)Claim this company＋ Add a reviewOverviewJobsSalaryRevenue

Reviews

History

DemographicsCompetitorsCEO & ExecutivesFAQsFollow companyFollow company

Wawa company history timeline

464 Wawa jobs1968

The 1968 edition of Dun and Bradstreet's Million Dollar Directory listed Wawa Dairy Farms as having 250 employees and $9 million in annual sales.

1968 Wawa Dairy Farms and Wawa Food Markets merge with the Millville Manufacturing Co. to form Wawa Inc.

1968 The first New Jersey store opens

1969

1969 The first Delaware store opens

1970

1970's 1970 Pre-made hoagies and sandwiches are introduced

1972

By 1972, there were 100 Wawa stores open for business.

1972 A new slogan “People on the Go – Go to Wawa Food Markets” is introduced

1974

1974 The Goose and gold background are added to the Wawa logo

1975

1975 Wawa stores begin brewing and selling fresh coffee

1977

1977 Wawa begins testing a paperless cash-access system at 12 Pennsylvania stores.

In 1977, Wawa began sharing ownership of the company with its associates through profit-sharing plans.

1978

1978 The 200th Wawa store opens in Souderton, NJ

1979

Sales per store, which averaged $11,000 a week in 1979, had jumped to $20,000 a decade later.

1980

1980's 1980 Wawa wins “Best of Philly” award for coffee

1984

1984 Hoagies are now Built-to-Order

1984 Hot foods are introduced: Here comes the Meatball Express!

1985

1985 The company begins test-marketing Lite Bite salads, its first product directly targeted to working women.

1985 The 300th store opens in Woodstown, NJ

1986

1986 Wawa wins “Best of Philly” award for coffee and deli

1988

Wawa began a program of eliminating ozone-layer-depleting chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in 1988.

1988 The President’s Club is launched to recognize and celebrate Wawa’s store managers

1990

By the end of 1990 the Wawa chain had grown to about 485 stores in Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware.

1991

In 1991 prepared foods (as opposed to packaged items) were accounting for 25 percent of Wawa's sales, with the average gross margin per location, after spoilage, 55 percent.

1992

On Hoagie Day--May 6, 1992--the company celebrated by building a 500-foot-long sandwich.

In 1992, Wawa formalized its associate ownership with its Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), with stock being awarded to associates annually based on the prior year's service.

1994

Although store size stayed about the same, sometimes the company had to buy the lot next door to increase parking for the growing number of customers, who brought the weekly sales level per store to $35,000 in July 1994.

1994 First “super store” opens in Tinicum, PA. It was 5,700 sq. ft. and had 50+ parking spots

1995

ATM services were developed in later years, and all Wawa stores had ATMs by 1995.

1996

With 515 outlets in 1996, Wawa Inc. was one of the largest privately held convenience-store chains in the United States.

Wawa-owned refrigerated units like walk-in coolers and deli/dairy cases in its stores were being slowly replaced or converted, with completion of the project scheduled for 1996.

An Associated Press survey of Wawa's stores in 1996 found yuppie favorites like kiwis, mineral water, pasta salad, cappuccino, and yogurt available along with the predictable cookies and candy bars in its stores.

1996 The Sizzli breakfast sandwich is introduced

1996 First fuel store opens in Millsboro, DE

1997

Indeed, sales surpassed the $1 billion mark in 1997.

1998

1998 First store in Virginia opens

1998 The Wawa Bakery is introduced

1999

1999 The "Rendelli" hoagie is featured at Hoagie Day to raise funds for education

2000

At least ten more Wawa stores were expected to be selling gasoline by the year 2000, on larger properties than its current superstores, which averaged about 5,000 square feet.

2002

2002 The Wawa Dairy celebrates its 100th anniversary

2004

2004 The 24 oz. coffee cup – Big 24! – is introduced

2004 “Gottahava Wawa” is launched

2005

An October 2005 Philadelphia Inquirer article explained the benefits of contactless technology reporting, "A shopper simply holds her card within two inches of a radio-frequency reader to pay for purchases at the register.

In partnership with Chase Bank USA, Wawa launched its Visa Rewards credit card with contactless technology in late 2005.

2005 Howard Stoeckel becomes the first nonfamily CEO.

2005 Toasting begins in stores

2006

With 550 outlets in 2006, Wawa Inc. is one of the largest privately held convenience store chains in the United States.

2006 Wawa’s annual charitable giving tops $5.6 million

2008

2008 Coffeetopia celebrates Wawa’s coffee selection

2010

2010 April 14, 2010: 1 billionth surcharge-free ATM transaction is celebrated!

2010's 2010 Built-to-Order Smoothies and Frozen Cappuccinos are launched

2012

2012 First Florida store opens in Orlando on July 18

2012 Freshly made Specialty Beverages like Hot & Iced Lattes, Hot Chocolates, and more are launched

2014

2014 Wawa celebrates its 50th Anniversary

2015

In 2015, a study confirmed what many convenience store shoppers already knew: Wawa is the best.

Work at Wawa?Share your experienceFounded1964HeadquartersMedia, PAFoundersGrahame WoodGet updates for jobs and news

Rate Wawa's efforts to communicate its history to employees.

Wawa jobs

Do you work at Wawa?

Does Wawa communicate its history to new hires?

YesNo

Wawa competitors

Company name	Founded date	Revenue	Employee size	Job openings
B & B Corporate Holdings Inc	1995	$150.0M	751	-
Quik Trip	-	-	-	-
Sheetz	1952	$7.2B	19,700	636
7-Eleven	1927	$5.5B	138,808	1,549
Holiday Stationstores	1928	$1.0B	6,000	-
Rutter's	1921	$175.0M	2,375	90
Cumberland Farms	1938	$16.0B	6,000	263
Fry's Electronics	1985	$2.4B	14,000	-
Men's Wearhouse	1973	$1.5B	10,001	-
H-E-B	1905	$21.0B	100,000	494

Show moreFind jobs from similar companiesPersonalize your job search. Where would you like to work?

Wawa history FAQs

How old is Wawa?

Who is the founder of Wawa?

When was Wawa founded?

Related company histories

• Sheetz history
• 7-Eleven history
• Holiday Stationstores history
• Rutter's history
• Cumberland Farms history
• Fry's Electronics history
• Men's Wearhouse history
• H-E-B history
• ALDI USA history
• Winn-Dixie history
• Circuit City history
• Food Lion history
• BJ's Wholesale Club history
• Stein Mart history
• Linvilla Orchards history

Working at related companies

• Work at B & B Corporate Holdings Inc
• Work at Sheetz
• Work at 7-Eleven
• Work at Holiday Stationstores
• Work at Rutter's
• Work at Cumberland Farms
• Work at Fry's Electronics
• Work at Men's Wearhouse
• Work at H-E-B
• Work at ALDI USA
• Work at Winn-Dixie
• Work at Circuit City
• Work at CarGroup Holdings
• Work at SaladStop
• Work at Linvilla Orchards

Related company jobs

• Sheetz employment
• 7-Eleven employment
• Holiday Stationstores employment
• Rutter's employment
• Cumberland Farms employment
• H-E-B employment
• ALDI USA employment
• Winn-Dixie employment
• BJ's Wholesale Club employment
• RaceTrac employment
• Kwik Trip employment

Wawa highest paying jobs

• Customer Service Associate Wawa jobs
• Assistant General Manager Wawa jobs
• Team Supervisor Wawa jobs
• Customer Service Supervisor Wawa jobs
• Associate Wawa jobs
• General Manager Wawa jobs

• Companies
• Pennsylvania
• Media, PA
• Wawa
• Wawa History

Updated July 21, 2023

Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of Wawa, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about Wawa. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at Wawa. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by Wawa. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of Wawa and its employees or that of Zippia.

Wawa may also be known as or be related to Additional 11 claims in Esquega Township, Wawa, Wawa, Wawa Inc and Wawa, Inc.