Wawa to Open Second North Carolina Travel Center

Its first-ever travel center opened in North Carolina in August 2025.

In late August of 2025, Wawa announced the grand opening of its first travel stop location in Hope Hills, N.C. The site features over 8,000 square feet of space and offers the chain’s signature food and beverages, fuel for passenger vehicles and a high-speed diesel fuel court for the needs of professional tractor trailer drivers.

The store also has interior and exterior seating areas and a large open design for the fresh food and beverage area.

Now, Wawa is looking to further expand its travel stop footprint: it plans to open another large-format site in Sanford, N.C. The site will be located on the intersection of NC 87 and Broadway Road, according to local outlet The Sanford Herald.

The property, the Herald wrote, was facing bids from chains like 7-Eleven, Sunoco and Buc-ee’s, with Wawa ultimately getting the green light. The site can handle a traffic flow of 33,000 vehicles per day.

The move comes as Wawa continues to build out its store network, with North Carolina being a key state in its growth plans.

Over the next 8-10 years, Wawa plans to build and open 6-8 stores per year reaching a total of 90 stores in North Carolina.

As of late 2023 — when the chain announced its North Carolina plans — it had more than 30 sites under contract. Fifteen of the sites opened in 2025.

Details on Wawa’s growth plans for North Carolina were announced during double-header community partnership events on Oct. 25, 2023, at the Greenville Convention Center and Casita Brewing Co. in Wilson, N.C.

“We were thrilled to share our ‘flight plan’ for North Carolina and reveal, for the very first time, our exciting expansion plans, renderings and more with our newest soon-to-be neighbors,” said Kim Dowgielewicz at the time of the move, director of store operations for Wawa. “Our community partnership events also gave us the opportunity to meet new community members and talk a little bit about our history and what makes Wawa such an ideal fit for communities in this region. We can’t wait to open our doors to the community next year.”

And the chain’s growth isn’t slowing down — in May alone, Wawa is opening three new c-stores in Wilmington, N.C., Pensacola, Fla., and Louisville, Ky., respectively. The Wilmington store is expected to open next week. It also has four sites planned to open in June, situated in Lafayette, Ind., Kissimmee, Fla., Sun City Center, Fla., and Northampton, Pa.