Wawa, Inc. will open its newest store at 3601 Wrangle Hill Road, Bear at 6 a.m. on Thursday. A ribbon-cutting ceremony is slated for 8 a.m.
Free coffee will be offered throughout the day.
The store is located at a key intersection in the Bear area.
Wawa was founded in New Jersey as an iron foundry in New Jersey. Owner George Wood decided to operate a small dairy northeast of Wilmington in Delaware, PA.
Like many dairies, Wawa moved to add convenience stores in the 1960s as home deliveries of milk became fewer.
Privately held Wawa now has more than 840 convenience retail stores (over 600 offering fuel), in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Florida and Washington, D.C.
The Wood family still has a stake in the company, which is also partially owned by employees.
The company has focused on hoagies, coffee, hot breakfast sandwiches, specialty beverages and an assortment of soups, sides and snacks while adding larger markets with an array of gas pumps.
In Delaware, Wawa has been competing with Baltimore-based Royal Farms for key locations.
