Wawa pitches more Ohio locations as part of 60-store expansion

Watch a previous NBC4 report on Wawa’s Ohio expansion in the video player above.

COLUMBUS, Ohio ( WCMH ) — Convenience store and gas station chain Wawa is taking the next steps to build more Ohio locations, as the chain’s first store in the state is under construction.

Wawa submitted a proposal for a new 5,900-square-foot location to be built at the corner of Miami Village Drive and North Springboro Pike in Montgomery County. The proposal, which received its first review by the Miami Township Zoning Commission on Tuesday, could open by fall of next year if approved.

“The development of a convenience store with fuel will benefit the community by providing food and beverage options to nearby businesses and residents, allowing them these conveniences within walking distance,” the proposal states, noting that the store would be built inside a 42-acre mixed use development named the Exchange at Spring Valley.

The chain has also begun moving through the approval process for several other locations, like requesting a liquor permit for a Tipp City store that would serve as Dayton’s second Wawa. Meanwhile, construction began earlier this summer on a location at 5308 Fields Ertel Road in Cincinnati , which will mark the company’s first Ohio store when it opens in the second quarter of 2025.

Crews are also set to start building a Huber Heights location at 4949 Chambersburg Road on Sept. 10, the chain announced earlier this month. In addition, Wawa is beginning construction this year on the following other Ohio locations, all aiming to open in 2025:

• 7198 Cincinnati Dayton Road in Liberty Township
• 4577 Dixie Highway in Fairfield
• 5248 Courseview Drive in Mason
• 370 Glensprings Drive in Cincinnati

“We are excited to begin construction on our stores in Ohio as we get closer to bringing the unique Wawa experience to new customers in more markets,” said Joe Collins, director of store operations for Wawa. “We look forward to continuing to spread our wings in Ohio and can’t wait to get started serving our new friends and neighbors.”

In 2025, Wawa is planning to open 11 stores in Ohio. Over the next five to eight years, the company aims to build and open 6 to 10 stores per year, with plans to open 60 stores in the state.

To build each store, Wawa said it will invest more than $7.5 million and employ, on average, 140 contractors and local partners. Once open, each store will employ an average of 35 associates, with Wawa expecting to create 2,500 new, long-term new jobs as a result of expansion in Ohio.

Wawa’s construction in Ohio comes after the chain announced in late 2022 it was planning to launch its first stores in Ohio , Indiana and Kentucky. The chain has said they wanted to expand after receiving “thousands of requests over the years.”

“These markets are the perfect places for Wawa to expand based on their strong business communities, their family-like atmosphere, and the confidence that our unique offer and amazing associates will be welcomed by these communities,” said Chris Gheysens, Wawa’s President and CEO, at the time of the announcement .

Competition chain Sheetz has already begun rapidly expanding in Ohio, including plans to bulldoze a Max and Erma’s restaurant in Dublin to make way for a new location. The gas station also purchased the site of Woody’s Wing House in Worthington to build a new store.

Georgia-based convenience store and gas station chain RaceTrac is also readying its first Ohio location in Delaware.

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