Wawa grand opening of Millsboro store set Aug. 7
Wawa Inc. has announced the grand opening of its new Millsboro store, located at 24930 John J. Williams Hwy., Friday, Aug. 7. The celebration will include fanfare, a charitable hoagie building competition between members of the Indian River Volunteer Fire Company and Delaware State Troopers Troop 7.
And new for 2015, the Millsboro grand opening will feature a special visit from Wawa’s SurPrize Patrol, Wawa’s official gift and event patrol. During the event, the SurPrize Patrol will be on hand to personally help reward grand opening attendees who are signed up with Wawa’s new app and rewards program called Wawa Rewards, granting customers coupons and prizes on the spot.
The grand opening of its Millsboro store marks the 21st store to open in 2015. Throughout the year, Wawa plans to use its new store design prototype to bring the Wawa experience to more communities than ever before, opening 50 new stores throughout its operating area, including 25 in the Mid-Atlantic market and 25 in the Florida market.
“We are thrilled to bring the Wawa experience to the residents of Millsboro, and we look forward to demonstrating our commitment to fulfilling lives with our fresh food and beverages and with meaningful connections with our new friends and neighbors,” said Chris Gheysens, Wawa president and CEO. “From building new connection points with Wawa Rewards to opening new stores in new communities, we’ve never been more committed to investing in our communities and fulfilling customers’ lives each and every day.”
On Aug. 7, the new store will open to the public at 8 a.m. with the grand opening ceremony beginning promptly at 10 a.m. The festivities will include local officials and members of the community; members of the Indian River Volunteer Fire Company and Delaware State Troopers Troop 7; Wawa Director of Store Operations Kathy Monzo; Wawa Area Manager Cathy Ressler; Wawa General Manager Cheryl McAroy; Wawa associates and customers; and Wawa’s mascot, Wally Goose, who will all join together for a ceremonial ribbon cutting and ceremony celebrating the many ways Wawa seeks to fulfill lives every day. At 10 a.m. the event will begin with the Wawa SurPrize Patrol showering customers who have downloaded the Wawa app with coupons, gift cards or other prize items on the spot. The Wawa mobile app is Wawa’s latest way to connect with customers and do everything from pay with a phone, to redeeming rewards, to finding Wawa store locations and fuel pricing.
The grand opening event will conclude with a Hoagies for Heroes hoagie building competition, as the Indian River Volunteer Fire Company and Delaware State Troopers Troop 7 face off in a battle of bravery, skill and sandwich-making expertise. Each team will be challenged to see who can build the most hoagies in three minutes in the traditional Wawa way. Wawa will conclude the Hoagies for Heroes competitions by presenting checks on behalf of the winning and runner up teams for $1,000 to the charities of their choice.
McAroy will serve as general manager of the store, leading a team of nearly 45 associates, all of which are new positions brought to the area through the development of the store. Associates in these full and part-time positions will not only receive competitive salaries and health benefits, but once eligible, will participate in Wawa’s employee stock ownership plan. Wawa associates own more than 43 percent of Wawa through the ESOP.
The new Wawa store will offer customers numerous Wawa brands, such as the award-winning Wawa coffee (195 million cups sold annually); the Sizzliä, Wawa’s hot breakfast sandwich; Wawa’s new line of specialty beverages (hot, cold, iced and frozen); Wawa Bakery; Wawa’s built-to-order hoagies; and Wawa’s beverage line of juices and teas.
