Wawa breaks ground in Jacksonville, announces more stores coming

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Wawa convenience store chain broke ground Thursday on its first two northeast Florida stores and announced that more of the iconic stores will be coming to the area.

The first northeast Florida Wawa will be built at Town Center and Gate parkways in Jacksonville, and the second will be in Clay County at Blanding Boulevard and Filmore Street.

“We've had a lot of fan customer support from Jacksonville. Either people who have moved down and know Wawa from up north or even outside of Florida. That's exciting for us,” said Chris Gheysens, president and CEO of Wawa. “We thing we'll have over 40 in the Jacksonville area over a period of time that will depend on reception. The stores are being built by people who live here and will be staffed by people who live here in your community.”

Wawa said its presence in the area has created about 4,000 jobs so far.

The future Duval County Wawa locations will be at:

• Wilson Boulevard and Lane Avenue (Winter 2017)
• Argyle Forest Boulevard and Old Middleburg Road (Spring 2018)
• Beach Boulevard and Central Parkway (Spring 2018)
• Beach and Southside Boulevards (Summer 2018)

The future Clay County Wawa locations will be at:

• Blanding Boulevard and Henley Road (Spring 2018)
• Park Avenue and Wells Road (Summer 2018)