LAFAYETTE, IN — Wally the Goose is finally landing at 3790 South St. on June 24 to bring the city its first Wawa gas station and convenience store.
This location is the first to introduce an electric vehicle canopy co-branded with the EV recharge company Ionna, which Wawa public relations specialist Alyson Mucha said is “designed to help offer shelter from the elements” and create “a welcoming environment for EV drivers.”
Grand-opening festivities will begin bright and early at 8 a.m., when the first 100 people will receive a free “Wawa Grand Opening Tour in the USA” T-shirt, according to a news release.
All customers will be awarded a free coffee of any size until June 28.
While customers wait to enter the store, Wally the Goose — the chain’s mascot — will dance to upbeat music in the store as he takes photos with attendees.
At 8:30 a.m., the ceremony will kick off with messages from the Wawa director of store operations, Joseph Collins, and some words from the store’s managers.
Local fire and police responders will follow with a “Hoagies for Heroes” competition, the release said, and they will attempt to make their own versions of the famous sandwiches sold at Wawas since 1970.
The celebration will conclude with a ribbon-cutting ceremony that will officially open the store.
This grand opening marks just one new store in Wawa’s 2026 Grand Opening Tour; the company plans to open eight to 13 new locations per year in Indiana over the next five to eight years, with the goal to open 70 new stores by 2034.
Known for its freshly baked hoagies and roasted coffee with more than 100 flavors, Wawa began as a quaint dairy store owned by George Wood in 1902 called Wawa Dairy, according to its website.
This Philadelphia business continued to grow in the 1960s as the Wawa Food Market and again in the 1990s, when it transformed into not just a nationwide convenience store, but also a gas station.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Lafayette welcomes 1st Wawa store on June 24 with free coffee, T-shirts
Reporting by Ava Westendorf, Lafayette Journal & Courier / Lafayette Journal & Courier
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Ava Westendorf, Lafayette Journal & Courier | USA TODAY Network
