Wawa Plans To Break Ground In Sussex County On Friday

SUSSEX COUNTY, NJ — Shovels will be hitting the ground on Friday for an invitation-only groundbreaking event for Wawa’s first Sussex County location.

On the site of the former Chatterbox 1950s-style drive-in restaurant, which closed in 2018 after two decades of fun and memories, the future Wawa location in Frankford Township at the intersection of Route 15 and Route 206, is going to be New Jersey’s northernmost Wawa so far.

The store is expected to open over the Summer of 2022, according to a Wawa news release.

Wawa on Route 15 in Lake Hopatcong, Mountain Avenue in Hackettstown and Route 10 in Randolph are currently the closest stores to Sussex County.

The company has longtime New Jersey roots, which have since expanded to Pennsylvania, Delaware, Florida, Maryland and Washington D.C.

Established in 1803, the former iron foundry branched out to dairy farming at the end of the 1800s, when its owner George Wood, acquired a Wawa, Pennsylvania dairy processing plant. Wood’s grandson Grahame Wood opened the first Wawa in 1964, when people began transitioning from having their milk delivered to their homes. Since then, Wawa has grown to offer fuel, fresh-prepared food items, coffee, surcharge-free ATMs and much more.

“We’re thrilled to be expanding in the state of New Jersey with this special groundbreaking ceremony showcasing just how much we value our customers and community members in Sussex County,” Director of Store Operations for Wawa, Jason Read, said in a news release about the celebration.

“We look forward to opening our first store in Sussex County and can’t wait to connect with new neighbors and have a reunion with friends who are part of the newest and most northern New Jersey communities that we serve,” he added.

During the event, Wawa officials plan to make an announcement about a donation to the Harvest Home Food Pantry program through The SCARC Foundation.

VIP guests who were invited through a social media contest of a couple hundred entries, will be able to join the “Family Reunion Photo” at the celebration with Wawa Mascot “Wally Goose,” a spokesperson for the company said. Those VIPs can warm up with hot drinks from the Wawa Community Care Truck, sample some Wawa foods and take home some giveaway items.

At the celebration, Wawa officials plan to preview renderings of the new location and speak about the company’s growth, jobs and community support Wawa offers, with it having hit 23 on Forbes’ list of American’s Largest Private Companies in 2020.

To find out more about Wawa, visit www.wawa.com.

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