Another Wawa store is coming to Escambia County. Here's where and what to expect.
About 2.5 acres of undeveloped land on the corner of U.S. Highway 98 and North Blue Angel Parkway will soon hold one of the nation’s most popular convenience store chains.
A project to build another Wawa was issued a Development Order on Wednesday by Escambia County's Development Review Committee. The project is the chain’s third-approved location in the county and is planned for construction at 9262 W. Highway 98.
The new Wawa store will be 5,915 square feet with 73 parking spots and an access road on both North Blue Angel Parkway and West Highway 98, according to its development order. The location will also have eight gas pumps and multiple EV charging stations.
This location was the first Wawa project proposed to Escambia County for development. Developers proposed the project twice last year to the Development Review Committee, once in April and once in October, before it was approved on Wednesday.
The latest plans made slight changes to the initial proposal, including modifications to the store’s size and its parking layout.
A timeline of when this Wawa might open is not available yet.
Where will Wawa be in Escambia County?
Related: Pensacola's first Wawa is set to break ground soon on West Nine Mile Road
Two additional Wawa locations have been approved for development in Escambia County so far.
The first location to receive approval will be more than 6,000 square feet and open at 5888 W. Nine Mile Road on a near 18-acre parcel.
The second Wawa to get approval from Escambia County broke ground off of Pine Forest Road. This store will be the same size as the location approved for U.S. Highway 98, but will have less parking available on its 2-acre site.
Why do people love Wawa?
Open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, a Wawa offers all the things you'd expect from a convenience store ? snacks, lottery tickets, drinks, tobacco, gas (at most locations), etc. ? but they also offer a larger variety of fresh food than most fast-food restaurants such as their made-to-order, fan-favorite hoagies and the hot breakfast "Sizzli" sandwiches.
Wawas also are famous for customer service, scrupulously clean bathrooms, decent gas prices, free air for your tires and no-charge ATMs. In 2022 Forbes ranked them #12 in their Halo 100 list of brands that consumers love.
Are more Wawas coming?
Wawa’s latest approved location is the third-and-last project that has been filed with Escambia County.
However, Wawa continues to build a pipeline of sites in the Panhandle region and anticipates opening eight to 10 stores in Pensacola and 20 stores in the Florida Panhandle over the next five to eight years.
A project was recently submitted to Santa Rosa County to develop the county’s first Wawa in Pace.
To build each store, Wawa will invest more than $7 million and employ, on average, 140 contractors and local partners.
Once open, each store will employ an average of 35 associates, with Wawa expecting to create hundreds of new jobs in Pensacola and the Panhandle as a result of expansion.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Wawa store approved for U.S. Highway 98 and North Blue Angel Pkwy
