Wawa Opens 200th Florida Store

SARASOTA, FL — Philadelphia favorite Wawa celebrated its 200th Florida store Thursday with all the fanfare you might expect from an institution that is famous for its built-to-order Philly hoagies and soft pretzels.

Mention the name "Wawa" to any Philadelphia transplant and they almost certainly will regale you with tales of the Eagles Super Bowl victory, Mike Schmidt, the El and Tastykakes. See also Wawa's Grand Opening Brings Taste Of Broad Street To Miami

"To commemorate the 200th milestone, Wawa created a special Florida Family Photo, featuring 200 customers, associates and community partners from the state of Florida standing in the shape of the number 200," a Wawa spokeswoman said.

The 200th Florida store is located at 12456 Tamiami Trail E., (41 & Price) in Naples but you can find stores around Sarasota, Bradenton, Lakeland and the Miami area.

In honor of the milestone, Wawa is offering a hand-crafted specialty beverage called The Wawa Florida Sunrise for a limited time throughout Florida locations.

"This specialty drink features a refreshing combination of lemonade, orange juice and strawberry, all in a beautiful colored beverage that is meant to bring to life a beautiful Sunshine State sunrise," the Wawa spokeswoman said.

Up to $25,000 of the proceeds from the specialty drink will be donated to Feeding Florida Foodbanks in Wawa’s operating areas through the end of October.

The Wawa Foundation will also make three grants — one to each of its focus areas of health, hunger and everyday heroes.

The grants total $75,000 and include $25,000 to Children’s Miracle Network Hospital affiliates in Wawa’s market areas; $25,000 to USO Chapters in Florida and $25,000 to Feeding Florida Food Banks.

The first Wawa store in Florida opened in July of 2012 outside SeaWorld.

"Just seven years later Wawa is celebrating the 200th store opening in Florida ahead of its initial timeline projection," the spokeswoman said.

Wawa plans to open an average of 20-30 stores per year for the next several years in Florida with the goal of reaching 400 stores by 2028.