Wawa ‘bending’ business model to get into Fairfax Co.

A woman from Wawa’s corporate division urges pedestrians to come in and check out the store and get the free coffee. (WTOP/Matt Ritter)
WAWA opened its second urban format convenience store in the District Thursday, in the former Restoration Hardware store location at 1222 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W. (WTOP/Matt Ritter)
Wawa opened its second urban format convenience store in the District Thursday, in the former Restoration Hardware store location at 1222 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W. (WTOP/Matt Ritter)
"Hoagies for Heroes" sit on the counter in WAWA's new Georgetown store. (WTOP/Matt Ritter)
“Hoagies for Heroes” boxes sit on the counter in Wawa’s new Georgetown store. (WTOP/Matt Ritter)
Customers gather inside WAWA's new Georgetown store. A new WAWA will soon open up in Tenleytown. (WTOP/Matt Ritter)
Customers gather inside Wawa’s new Georgetown store. (WTOP/Matt Ritter)
WAWA opened its second District location Thursday in Georgetown. (WTOP/Matt Ritter)
Wawa opened its second District location Thursday in Georgetown. (WTOP/Matt Ritter)
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WAWA opened its second urban format convenience store in the District Thursday, in the former Restoration Hardware store location at 1222 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W. (WTOP/Matt Ritter)
"Hoagies for Heroes" sit on the counter in WAWA's new Georgetown store. (WTOP/Matt Ritter)
Customers gather inside WAWA's new Georgetown store. A new WAWA will soon open up in Tenleytown. (WTOP/Matt Ritter)
WAWA opened its second District location Thursday in Georgetown. (WTOP/Matt Ritter)

WASHINGTON — Wawa opened its second urban format convenience store in the District Thursday, in the former Restoration Hardware store location at 1222 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W.

Northern Virginia is also on Wawa’s radar.

The Georgetown opening comes about a year after Wawa opened its first store in the District at 1111 19th Street, N.W.

The Wawa Georgetown location features what it calls a Georgetown-inspired beverage — a coffee drink called the Bulldog Double Shot, with espresso, caramel and whipped cream.

Wawa’s future D.C. stores include Tenleytown, Columbia Heights and Adams Morgan. The company confirms it is also looking across the river.

“Fairfax County and Northern Virginia is a really important market for us,” Wawa’s Chris Gheysens told WTOP.

“We are looking at strategically bending our store model to get more access to that area and plan to announce some openings in that area coming up,” he said.

Wawa, which partners with nonprofit causes at its stores, chose the Georgetown Lombardi Cancer Center for its Georgetown store’s financial support.

Its grand opening also included a hoagie making contest, “Hoagies for Heroes,” which raised funds for Lombaradi Center’s Walking Warriors breast cancer fundraising events.

Jeff Clabaugh

Jeff Clabaugh has spent 20 years covering the Washington region's economy and financial markets for WTOP as part of a partnership with the Washington Business Journal, and officially joined the WTOP newsroom staff in January 2016.

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