Wawa, the East Coast convenience store chain expanding rapidly across the central Gulf Coast, will open its fifth Alabama store Thursday, March 6.

The new Fairhope store will be the third in Baldwin County, after locations on the south side of Fairhope and in Robertsdale. Mobile’s first Wawa opened in August, followed by its second in November; overall, the company says it plans to open seven to 10 locations in coastal Alabama over the next three to four years.

The new Wawa is at 10040 Encounter Drive, just off the intersection of Ala. 104 and Ala. 181. According to information released by the company, Thursday’s festivities start at 7:45 a.m. and doors open at 8 a.m., with free T-shirts for the first 100 people in line. Other attractions include a “Hoagies for Heroes” contest with competitors winning donations for area nonprofits, and customers are invited to participate in a celebration and parade at 8:30 a.m.

Read more: What to order for lunch at Wawa

Free samples of limited-time breakfast offerings including French toast and the sausage, egg and cheese Sizzli breakfast sandwich will be available in limited quantities. As is usual at Wawa openings hot coffee will be free for 10 days.

Read more: We ranked Wawa’s famous hoagies

Wawa is a food market/gas station chain that started with a dairy market in 1964 in the Pennsylvania town of Wawa. It’s a privately held company with more than 1,000 stores, mostly in East Coast states, including many in Florida’s main peninsula. The company announced in 2022 that it planned a rapid expansion into the Florida Panhandle and Lower Alabama.