For the fourth time in the last two years, a new Wawa convenience store has opened in the Winchester-Frederick County area.
The latest Wawa opened its doors in Middletown on Friday morning, with a grand opening celebration that included free T-shirts, speeches, and a hoagie-building showdown between local first responders.
In anticipation of the 8 a.m. opening, a line of more than 100 people wrapped around the building.
The store, which will be open 24/7, is located at 56 Reliance Road off Interstate 81's exit 302.
Stephens City resident Steven Pierce was at the front of the line. He said he got there at 6:30 a.m. He also said that he has been the first customer at several local Wawa openings.
Asked why, he said, "I guess I'm the only one that does it."
Wawa's mascot Wally Goose and Wawa officials came outside before the opening to meet customers, take photos, and dance a little bit. When the store finally opened at 8 a.m., the first 100 customers entered through a gauntlet of employees to "We Like to Party" by Vengaboys and got a free T-shirt. Hot coffee, any size, will be free to all customers at the Middletown location through Sunday.
Wawa originated as an iron foundry in New Jersey in 1803, before foundry owner George Wood started a dairy farm in Wawa, Pennsylvania. This eventually lead to Wood's grandson Grahame Wood opening the first Wawa Food Market in Folsom, Pennsylvania, on April 16, 1964. Since then, Wawa has expanded its offerings to include hoagies, a wide selection of foods and beverages, and gasoline.
Wawa now has more than 1,200 locations in 16 states and territories in the U.S.
The Middletown store is the 60th out of nearly 100 that will open this year as part of Wawa's 2026 Grand Opening Tour.
Wawa Director of Store Operations Kim Dowgielewicz said the convenience store chain, which is headquartered in Wawa, Pennsylvania, is excited to be in Middletown.
"Every new store that we build is an investment in the community that we serve, and our growth impacts local suppliers, builders, contractors, and vendors who help make our stores a reality," Dowgielewicz said.
Middletown Mayor Charles Harbaugh IV said he was grateful that Wawa went above and beyond on some of the town's requests, such as doubling the number of trees that it planted.
"So we're obviously very, very excited... and so thankful for what [Wawa] can do for the community. This is gonna change this interchange here. It's gonna be wonderful," Harbaugh said.
When building each new store, Wawa invests around $7.5 million and employs an average of 140 contractors and local partners. When the stores open, they employ an average of 35 people.
Most of Wawa's 137 locations in Virginia are on the eastern side of the state. But in 2024 the company announced it would start opening locations to the west.
In addition to the Middletown store, the Winchester-Frederick County area now has Wawa locations at 1544 Martinsburg Pike, 200 Crossover Boulevard, and 119 Prince Frederick Drive.
Dowgielewicz said that the continued expansion of Wawa stores in the area is due to years of customers in Virginia asking the business to expand west of I-81.
While she couldn't comment on whether a fifth location could be in the cards for Winchester-Frederick County, she noted that Wawa does expect to expand further in the state.
"The I-81 corridor for us, over the next five years, we expect 30 stores in this kind of western stretch. And over the next 10 years we expect 60 stores, so expansion will continue," Dowgielewicz said.
The grand opening culminated with a hoagie assembling competition between the Middletown Volunteer Fire & Rescue Department and the Middletown Police Department. It was a messy competition, with some hoagie construction happening before the official start time. It came down to the wire, but the firefighters took home the trophy, making 19 hoagies compared to 16 made by the police.
At the end of the day, each side got a win, with Wawa donating $1,000 to a charity of each department's choice. Since 2014, Wawa and the Wawa Foundation have donated more than $200 million to thousands of nonprofits across the nation.