More than 100 people lined the perimeter of the building early in the morning June 4 to welcome Wawa to Allen Township. Wawa opened its store at 10 Stonegate Drive, near the intersection of Nor-Bath Boulevard and Savage Road, with a grand opening and ribbon-cutting celebration.

The first 100 people received free T-shirts when the doors opened 8 a.m., following an official countdown.

Some customers began arriving hours before the 8 a.m. time to make sure they were at the front of the line.

“I got here at 4:30 a.m.,” said Shannon Lozier, who works in Northampton. “I didn’t think I was going to be first in line. I’m really excited because now I don’t have to go to the one on MacArthur Road to get food before work.”

Lozier’s coworker, Julianna Lopiccolo, joined her at the front of the line.

“I am so excited,” Lopiccolo said. “I love Wawa.”

Following the initial wave of customers, store officials held a grand-opening ceremony to celebrate the opening and recognize the store’s team members.

“We are beyond excited with this location,” said Jim McGee, Wawa director of store operations. “This one has been a little bit of a long time coming for us, but we are so excited to be here and in the community. We had a great turnout today.”

As part of the opening celebration, members of the Allen Township Volunteer Fire Department and Pennsylvania State Police — with assistance from Wawa team members — competed in a Hoagies for Heroes hoagie- making competition.

The PSP team won, making more hoagies than the fire department team in a two-minute race. Both organizations received a $1,000 donation from Wawa to go to a charity of their choice.

After the competition, Wawa officials cut the ribbon on the store and continued to welcome customers inside.

The Allen Township location is the 33rd of nearly 100 stores Wawa plans to open across 14 states this year.

To build each store, Wawa will invest more than $7.5 million and employ, on average, 140 contractors and local partners. Once open, each store will employ an average of 35 associates.

“As our nation celebrates its 250th birthday in 2026, we’re proud to be a company with more than 200 years in American business, now across 13 states in the Mid-Atlantic, Southeast and Midwest markets. We are excited to celebrate by opening nearly 100 stores this year as we spread our wings to reach even more new communities across the country,” said Brian Schaller, Wawa president, in a news release. “Our ongoing growth and expansion allow us to invest in and provide meaningful support to more communities and create new jobs and opportunities for our associates to soar in their careers.”

Wawa Inc., a family- and associate-owned, privately held company, began in 1803 as an iron foundry in New Jersey before moving into dairy farming just after the turn of the century.

In 1964, the first Wawa Food Market opened in Pennsylvania as an outlet for dairy products. Today, Wawa stores are located in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Florida, North Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia and Washington, D.C., with more than 1,190 locations to date.