Wawa is coming to West Virginia

West Virginia is getting the popular convenience store chain Wawa.

The private Pennsylvania-based company kicked off construction on a Wawa location in the Inwood community on Wednesday morning with a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the occasion.

Inwood’s planned convenience store will represent Wawa’s first-ever in the Mountain State and its latest foray into a new state. It will start welcoming customers in the first quarter of next year, Wawa said.

“Wawa is expanding to West Virginia, and we are thrilled to continue growing in new markets to provide the community with our one-of-a-kind offer and commitment to supporting the community,” Wawa Vice President of Real Estate John Poplawski said in a statement.

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There are over 1,060 Wawa stores in eight states and Washington, D.C. to date, according to a press release from earlier this month.

Poplawski said Wawa “look[s] forward to our first grand openings in early 2025 when we can begin serving this wonderful community” in West Virginia. 

A Wawa convenience store in Vienna, Virginia, US, on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024. Wawa is aiming to open as many as 280 new stores over the next decade. Photographer: Moriah Ratner/Bloomberg via Getty Images (Moriah Ratner/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)

Wawa said it aims to construct three to five new convenience stores in two West Virginia counties over as many years as part of its “initial plans” for the state. Its expansion in the state will bring roughly 250 long-term new jobs, it projected.

Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Georgia and Tennessee are other new states where Wawa has said it is putting future convenience stores.

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In early June, for example, construction on its first pair of Kentucky stores started, with Wawa saying it ultimately aimed to establish up to 40 in the state within five to eight years. In Indiana, it wants to bring 10 stores next year and up to 50 more on top of that longer-term, Wawa said last month.

This comes as Wawa has been embarking on a massive effort to expand its presence in recent years.

WASHINGTON, DC – MAY 29: A Wawa store is seen on May 29, 2024 in Washington, DC. The convenience store and gas station chain, which has its origins in Pennsylvania, recently opened its first store in North Carolina with 10 more expected across the st (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images / Getty Images)

The company has said it sees over 1 billion customers at its convenience stores each year. It also makes over 182 million cups of coffee annually.

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Earlier this year, Wawa reached the milestone of six decades of retail operations.