Convenience store chain Wawa will open its newest D.C. store at 1400 Irving St. NW in Columbia Heights on Thursday. To market the opening of its third store in the District, coffee of any size will be free through Sunday.
Wawa will also make a donation of $2,500 to the Capital Food Bank on Thursday; and there will be a hoagie-building contest, with winners getting a check for the charity of their choice.
The Columbia Heights Wawa, one of its gas pump-free urban format stores, is next to the Highland Park apartments at the Columbia Heights Metro station. It will employ nearly 60 new hires.
Wawa opened its first store in D.C. on 19th Street near Dupont Circle in late 2017, and it opened a second store on Wisconsin Avenue in Georgetown last year.
Two other D.C. Wawas will open soon: One on 18th Street in Adams Morgan and the other next to the Tenleytown Metro station. The Adams Morgan store opens later this year, while the Tenleytown location is scheduled to open in June 2019.
Members of the Capital Area Food Bank, the USO and a family team raising money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Light the Night event this fall are among those taking part in the Hoagies for Heroes competition.
The winning team and runner-up who build the most hoagies in three minutes will receive $1,000 for their charity.
Want to treat your office to Wawa hoagies? The Columbia Heights store has catering packages for in-store pickup.