Wawa breaks ground on its first store in Mobile
Wawa continued its march into coastal Alabama on Thursday, breaking ground at its first store in Mobile and confirming the locations of two more to come.
The groundbreaking in Mobile was the second in the region, after one held in June in Fairhope. The first Wawa in Mobile will stand at the intersection of Cottage Hill Road and Sollie Road in west Mobile. Ken Bailey, Wawa real estate manager, said that two more sites are under contract: one at the intersection of Schillinger Road and Old Government Street Road in west Mobile and another at Schillinger Road and Silver Pine Road in Semmes.
Wawa is an East Coast convenience store chain that has a devoted fan base thanks to a reputation for cleanliness, good prices on fresh groceries and the made-to-order hoagies served at its deli counters. The chain spread down into Florida over the last decade, and in spring 2022 the company announced that a major expansion campaign would bring it across the Florida Panhandle and into coastal Alabama.
Among those who attended Thursday’s groundbreaking was Bradley Byrne, president and CEO of the Mobile Chamber. Byrne said he’d had the chance to visit a Wawa in Virginia earlier this year.
“Wow. More than a filling station,” he said. “Really cool stuff, great people, very clean bathrooms by the way. To be able to have that multiple times over in our area just thrills us all.”
Cyndy Baggett of Feeding the Gulf Coast speaks at the groundbreaking for Mobile’s first Wawa store on Nov. 2, 2023, as Wawa’s “Wally Goose” mascot holds a check representing a $5,000 donation.Lawrence Specker | [email protected]
Bailey said that Wawa invests about $6.5 million in each new store, and that each location employs 35 to 40 associates. Bailey said the Wawa at Cottage Hill and Schillinger will open in the third quarter of 2024.
“We continue to find sites in the region,” he said, “with plans to open 7 to 10 stores over the next three to four years in the Mobile and Baldwin County area.”
In conjunction with Thursday’s event, Wawa presented a $5,000 donation to Feeding the Gulf Coast, which officials said would pay for 25,000 meals for people in need.
Alabama’s first Wawa will stand at 18968 Greeno Road in Fairhope. That puts it at the the corner of U.S. 98 and Twin Beech Road, on the south side of town and just north of Fairhope High School.