Wawa Starts Selling Suds in Pennsylvania

WAWA, Pa. — Wawa Inc. will begin selling beer in Pennsylvania this week with the reopening of a renovated store in Concord, Pa.

The store, located at the intersection of Naamans Creek Road and Concord Pike, is the convenience store retailer’s first foray into the sale of suds in Pennsylvania. The store reopens Thursday, Feb. 16, after being closed for renovations since January, reported Daily Times News.

To satisfy state law restrictions, Wawa built a new section of the store, so beer sales are separate from the rest of the c-store. Customers are limited to buying two, six-packs at a time. However, they can also consume a single beer with their food in the restaurant section of the store.

This location is the first for Wawa to offer both restaurant-style, in-store seating and beer sales.

To celebrate the store’s opening, Wawa is planning special events like beer tastings with local Delco, Pa., brewer 2SP Brewing Co., as well as regional brewers including Victory Brewing Co., Yuengling and Dogfish Head Brewery. Local brewers will suggest a list of "favorite" Wawa foods customers can pair with their favorite brew, according to the news outlet.

Wawa will also offer tours of the newly redesigned tour, which features: indoor seating, a stone façade, upscale cabinetry and lighting, and a walk-in beer cooler.

The Pennsylvania-based retailer has not stated if it will push for beer sales in other stores. This is because it isn’t easy for Wawa to find the space to satisfy state requirements in most of its existing stores, Daily Time News reported.

The Concord renovation was undertaken in part to meet requirements that stores with restaurant-style beer sale licenses create a separate space within the store, measuring at least 400 square feet, and include its own entrance and separate cash register, as well as seating for at least 30 people.

Wawa Spokeswoman Lori Bruce has referred to the Concord store beer sales as "a single-store product expansion" and that the chain has "no specific plans to expand this further."

"As we do with all additions and innovations, we will monitor its success and continue to assess its potential," she said.

Wawa filed a request with Concord Township officials to add six-packs of beer to its convenience store on Naamans Creek Road in the township. Wawa already sells beer in its stores in Florida and Virginia, CSNews Online previously reported.

Headquartered in Pennsylvania, Wawa operates more than 740 convenience stores in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and Florida.

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