Community Corner
Tampa Wawa Grand Opening
Wawa
Extends Commitment to Fulfilling Lives Every Day, Through
Grand Opening of New Tampa Store
Grand Opening Marks New Reach for the
Wawa Experience, Festivities to Include Charitable Hoagie Building Competition
and 10 Days of FREE Coffee!
Tampa,
FL (July 24, 2014)
– Wawa, Inc. today announced the grand opening of its new Tampa store,
located at 2604 South U.S. Highway 301, Tampa, FL 33619. The
celebration will include fan fare, a charitable hoagie building competition
between members of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office and the
Hillsborough County Fire Rescue and free coffee for the first 10 days the store
is open! The Grand Opening of its Tampa store marks the 12th
Wawa store to open in 2014. Throughout the year, Wawa plans to open 45
new stores across its service area with the latest store design prototype to
bring the Wawa experience to more people than ever before.
On Thursday, July
24, at 10:00 a.m. the Grand Opening celebration will officially begin! The
festivities will include local officials; State Representative Ross Spano;
State Representative Betty Reed; members of the Hillsborough County
Sheriff’s Office and the Hillsborough County Fire Rescue; Wawa
Director of Store Operations, Todd Souders; Wawa Area Manager, Peter Rasmussen;
Wawa General Manager, Lameh Cortes; Wawa associates and customers; and Wawa’s
mascot, Wally Goose, who will all join together for a ceremonial ribbon cutting
and ceremony celebrating the many ways Wawa seeks to fulfill lives every day.
Find out what's happening in New Tampawith free, real-time updates from Patch.
“2014
is an exciting year for us, as we continue a year full of celebrations,
including our 50th Anniversary, the launch of our community
foundation, the release of our first-ever book and opening of 45 brand new
stores,” said Chris Gheysens, Wawa’s President and CEO. “The opening of our
latest store here in Tampa is another example of the ever-growing Wawa family
we are so proud of. We’re eager to continue brightening our customers’ days and
truly changing their lives for the better each and every day.”
Hoagies for Heroes Competition
The grand opening event will
conclude with a Hoagies for Heroes, charitable hoagie
building competition, as the Hillsborough
County Sheriff’s Office and the Hillsborough County Fire Rescue face
off in a battle of bravery, skill, and sandwich-making expertise. Each team
will be challenged to see who can build the most hoagies in three minutes
in the traditional Wawa way. Wawa will conclude the Hoagies for Heroes
competitions by presenting checks on behalf of the winning and runner up teams,
for $1,000 to the charities of their choice.
Find out what's happening in New Tampawith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Lameh
Cortes will serve as general manager of the store, leading a team of nearly 60
associates, all of which are new positions brought to the area through the
development of the store. Associates in these full- and part-time positions
will not only receive competitive salaries and health benefits, but will have
the opportunity to be enrolled in Wawa’s employee stock ownership plan. The new
Wawa store will offer customers numerous Wawa brands, such as the award-winning
Wawa coffee (195 million cups sold annually); the Sizzliä,
Wawa’s hot breakfast sandwich; Wawa’s new line of specialty beverages (hot,
cold, iced and frozen); Wawa Bakery; Wawa’s built-to-order hoagies (80 million
sold annually); and Wawa’s beverage line of dairy products, juices and teas.
“As
we celebrate our grand opening here, we celebrate our new community, as well as
our great associates that build such lasting relationships, which have enabled
us to become the living, breathing brand that we are today. We’re looking
forward to the next 50 years here in Tampa and beyond,” said Gheysens.