Wawa CEO Howard Stoeckel said recently that the company’s stores scheduled to open this year in Florida will resemble a restaurant that sells gas, rather than a convenience store, as we are accustomed to in Pennsylvania and Delaware. The new store prototype will be built around fast-casual food and convenience, and will feature an array of proprietary foods and a “barista-style” coffee department.
According to reports, the first Florida store will open in Orlando in July, and five more locations will follow in the Orlando market in the following months. Stores in Tampa are scheduled to open in early 2013. Overall, the company expects to operate about 100 stores in central Florida over the course of the next five years.
