WASHINGTON — Look out 7-Eleven, Starbucks and sandwich shops: Wawa’s journey into the District is taking hold.
Wawa will open its first store in the District at 1111 19th St. NW in December, and it will be big.
The store will be 9,200 square feet — its biggest interior space to date — and feature what it calls an “upscale urban feel,” with indoor and outdoor seating. It will also offer a wide range of food and drink options, including custom salads and nitro cold-brew coffee.
It will also include an expanded cold beverage area and fresh ready-to-go food.
There will be a bar, but no plans for alcohol, though Wawa emphasizes the coffee, smoothies and milkshakes.
Wawa — favored by its fans as much for its prepared foods, hoagies and coffee bars as it is for its cheap gas — officially unveiled plans for its first urban stores within the District at a Tuesday evening Newseum event for the real estate and developer community, local officials and the media.
There will be no gas pumps at the Dupont Circle Wawa.
“While we currently have stores throughout Virginia and Maryland, we look forward to bringing our unique mix of quality and convenience to residents of our nation’s capital by providing a unique restaurant-style location created specifically for the D.C. customer,” said Wawa CEO Chris Gheysens.
“We’ve been overwhelmed by the enthusiasm and support from our D.C.-area fans who are already eagerly anticipating Wawa opening in their city, and we can’t wait to open our doors to our D.C. friends and neighbors for the first time this December.”
Wawa said it will open between five and 10 stores in the District in the next two to three years.
Pennsylvania-based Wawa has more than a dozen locations around D.C. and Baltimore. Its newest D.C.-area location in Sterling at Virginia Route 606 and Oakgrove Road opens June 23, the first Wawa in Loudoun County.
The company has gas stations and convenience stores throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Florida as well.
