Wawa Plans To Bring Hoagies, TastyKakes To Miami

MIAMI, FL — Mention the name "Wawa" to any Philadelphia transplant and they almost certainly will regale you with tales of built-to-order hoagies, the Eagles Super Bowl victory, soft pretzels, Mike Schmidt, why no one can make potato chips like Herr's, the El and Tastykakes.

If you think we're kidding, just wait until next year when Wawa opens its first stores in Miami-Dade.

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Wawa representatives came to Miami on Thursday to formally unveil the Philly chain's expansion plans for Miami-Dade County at three separate construction events.

"The first-ever triple-header hard hat events featured hundreds of Wawa fans, Wawa leadership, local officials, community partners, and more," explained a store spokesman. During each construction event, hundreds of Wawa fans were in attendance to sample their favorite products and share personal stories about what Wawa means to them."

Famous for the slogan: "Everybody Goes to Wawa," here are the first three locations where Miamians can go to see what all the fuss is about once the stores open:

• 6971 SW 24th Street, Miami
• SW 137th Ave., Miami
• 11101 SW 184th Street

Wawa Senior Vice President Brian Schaller shared store renderings and details on the locations during Thursday's events.

The first three stores will open in May 2019 with plans to begin construction on three more stores in 2019.

"Overall, Wawa is planning to open three new stores in the Miami market every year for the next few years, with the goal of opening at least 50 new stores in Miami," company officials said.

Wawa’s COO Cathy Pulos and The Wawa Foundation announced local partnerships around Miami with Nicklaus Children’s Hospital, Feeding South Florida, and other community organizations.

Those partnerships included a check presentation to Nicklaus Children’s Hospital to support the hospital's child life services programs; Wawa mobile pantry visits to various Feeding South Florida locations for a three-hour distribution of fresh produce, vegetables and perishable items; and donations of some 500 books to local K-8 schools through the Communities in Schools program.

In addition, Wawa’s President and CEO Chris Gheysens kicked off the Wawa Bus Tour, which will be cruising around the streets of Miami-Dade to introduce Wawa to non Philadelphians.

To see a full list of all Wawa’s bus tour stops, visit wawa.com.

Photo courtesy Wawa