Behind the Scenes at Wawa

Inc. Magazine examines the family-owned chain’s popularity on the East Coast.

May 23, 2018

MEDIA, Penn. – For more than a half century, Wawa has been serving up food and fuel at a growing number of locations up and down the East Coast. These days, the family-owned business has focused more on coffee and kale salads than gas and cigarettes, Inc.com reports.

Since its founding in 1964 by Grahame Wood, the chain has expanded to nearly 800 locations—all of them owned and operated by the company—which employ 30,000 workers in six states and Washington, D.C. The current CEO, Chris Gheysens, balances between inexpensive staples that appeal to frequent customers and fresh, gourmet foodservice options that appeal to health-conscious customers.

“We'll open up a store this year in Center City Philadelphia that won't sell cigarettes. It won't have gas,” Gheysens said. “When a convenience store doesn't sell cigarettes and gas, that begins not to be a convenience store.”

Along with Wegmans and In-N-Out, Wawa has developed a cult-like following as it gradually transforms into a more upmarket convenience store. NPD Group labels the chain as a “food-forward” convenience store, along with Sheetz, Royal Farms and QuikTrip.

With 800 million customers walking into a Wawa each year, the company makes “very few partial pennies per customer,” but the sheer volume is good for business, according to Gheysens. “You have to give them credit for having a really good business, but not standing pat, and incrementally changing to comport with how the customers are changing,” said John Stanton, a food marketing professor at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, who’s also been a consultant for Wawa.

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