For more than a year now, the central Gulf Coast has been waiting for Wawa. On Wednesday, a lucky few got a first look inside Alabama’s first Wawa store, and a first taste as well: Of the pizza. The meatballs. The smoothies. The wraps. The coffee. The quesadillas. And, of course, the famous hoagies.

Alabama’s first Wawa will hold a grand opening starting at 8 a.m. Thursday at 18968 Greeno Road in Fairhope, and it will be much more than just another opening for a chain that already has a lengthy corporate history and well over 1,000 locations. Until now, those stores have been located primarily in northern East Coast states and the main peninsula of Florida; but in 2022 the chain announced aggressive plans for expansion across the Florida Panhandle and coastal Alabama.

This was big news because Wawa has developed legions of loyal fans over the years. To many in Alabama, “Wawa” is a new name, but you don’t have to ask around much to find people who grew up with them before moving to Alabama and miss them, or who stumbled across them on their travels and were impressed.

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To answer a common question, Wawa is nothing like Buc-ee’s, another gas-station chain whose move into Alabama has generated frenzied excitement. Buc-ee’s builds monster interstate fueling stops designed to accommodate travelers who want to gas up, chow down and use a nice clean restroom all at one location. Wawas are located to serve communities and have the format of typical medium-large gas station-convenience stores.

But they’re really, really nice gas station-convenience stores, and a few key features have helped them generate their cult following. Wawa has a reputation for clean stores, a high standard of service, good coffee and great food – especially the made-to-order hoagies. The company also emphasizes social purpose, through support of local nonprofit organizations and other activities.

A limited preview on Wednesday was a chance for the brand-new Fairhope store to show off some of those charms. “Limited” doesn’t seem like the right word: It was a madhouse. The store was jam-packed with vendors, company officials, and superfans. The crowd was so thick that there was barely room for employees to circulate with trays of free samples, but circulate they did. (Don’t feel entirely left out if you missed it, company officials said the store’s coffee will be served for free for its first 10 days.)

And Fairhope Mayor Sherry Sullivan was given the honor of constructing the store’s first official hoagie, as she was guided and cheered on by the staff.

“This week, we are celebrating National Volunteer Week and it’s all about giving back to our community,” Sullivan said, in her remarks to the crowd. “[We’re] So thankful to have Wawa here … people can choose to go anywhere and we’re just thankful they chose Fairhope and Baldwin County and our region to make their next investment. [It’s] just not the job creation, but coming here and becoming part of our community, which I tell people all the time, we live in a beautiful place, a lot of people want to live here, but it’s the people that make Fairhope a special place. And when companies like this come in and start to give back, you know they’re going to be our people. So we so much appreciate them being here, look forward to a continued partnership and look forward to just building that relationship.”

“We take great pride in creating family-like bonds with our customers,” said area manager Charlene Harrell. “We remember names … When you come in, if you come in every day, they’re going to remember what you ordered.”

“We’ve had some important events, believe it or not, in our stores,” Harrell said. “We’ve had weddings and birthdays. We really have weddings. People are like, ‘Really?’ No, people have gotten married in their favorite Wawa. So we’re thrilled to have some of our most dedicated Wawa fans here today. And some have told us that you’ve been waiting for the Wawa to be open closer to your home.”

“We are thrilled to officially celebrate our launch into Alabama,” said Harrell. “This is a great area and a terrific location. All of the visitors from up north have nothing but amazing things to say about your community. So thank you for having us. We believe that we bring something unique to this market. Our history goes back more than 200 years from an iron foundry to a milk plant to a dairy and opening our first food market in 1964. Through all of the change, the purpose and values have remained the same. We are privately held and family- and associate-owned — our associates own 39% of Wawa through our employee stock ownership plan. All of that drives a unique company culture that inspires our associates to form strong bonds with their customers — you become our family, you’re not just customers — and provide a unique Wawa experience that many say feels like home.”

With this Alabama opening, Wawa has expanded into its seventh state. Wawa director of store operations Joe Collins said things will proceed quickly from here: over the next few years, up to 10 stores will open in the area. “Before the end of summer, we’re going to open two more stores, one in Mobile and one in Robertsdale,” he said.

Construction recently began on a second Mobile store and a groundbreaking is imminent for the first one in the Pensacola area, Collins said. Fairhope will get a second store at the intersection of Ala. 181 and Ala. 104, with others coming to Semmes and Daphne. “I mean, we are really excited about this market and we plan to grow with you,” he said.

Early beneficiaries of this new Wawa include Prodisee Pantry, which will receive a portion of the proceeds from the first week of hoagie sales; USA Children’s & Women’s Hospital, which is receiving a grant from the Wawa Foundation; the Fairhope Educational Enrichment Foundation; and Fairhope first responders, who will do battle in a “Hoagies for Heroes” hoagie building competition.

Thursday’s grand opening begins at 8 a.m. when doors open. The first 250 customers to enter the store will get T-shirts. A ribbon-cutting and the Hoagies for Heroes competition will take place at noon. Grand opening specials include $4 “shorti” hoagies, 16-ounce milkshakes for $3 and 99-cent fountain drinks. Regular coffees up to 24 ounces will be free through Sunday, May 5.