WHITEHALL, Pa. – Just a couple of weeks after Wawa opened its first new store of 2026 in Allentown, another new Wawa location will welcome customers with free coffee and T-shirts in Lehigh County.
Wawa, Inc. has announced its newest Lehigh Valley location will hold a grand opening on Thursday, March 12, at 1519 Whitehall Mall in Whitehall Township.
The new location, at MacArthur and Mickley roads, is the 13th of nearly 100 stores that Wawa expects to open in 14 states in 2026, according to a news release.
WFMZ-TV | Kevin Fitzsimmons
The grand opening party will begin at 7:55 a.m. with Wawa general manager Michael Chisholm counting down to the moment when the doors open for the very first time at 8 a.m.
Free “Wawa Grand Opening Tour in the USA” T-shirts will be given to the first 100 customers, as supplies last, and free any size hot coffee will be available through Sunday, March 15.
After the doors open, the grand opening party will continue with customers invited to participate in an 8:30 a.m. ceremony highlighting Wawa’s 200-plus-year history in American business and celebrating the new store team.
Additionally, a “Hoagies for Heroes” hoagie-building competition between first responders will honor the community’s everyday heroes while raising funds for local charities.
Wawa’s mascot, Wally Goose, will be on hand for photos, and America250PA T-shirts also will be given away to the first 100 customers, while supplies last.
Customers interested in attending the grand opening party can learn more and RSVP on Wawa’s Facebook events page.
“As our nation celebrates its 250th birthday in 2026, we’re proud to be a company with more than 200 years in American business, now across thirteen states in the Mid-Atlantic, Southeast and Midwest markets,” Wawa president Brian Schaller said in the release.
“We are excited to celebrate by opening nearly one hundred stores this year as we spread our wings to reach even more new communities across the country. Our ongoing growth and expansion allow us to invest in more communities, create new jobs and opportunities for our associates to soar in their careers, and provide meaningful support to more communities.”
Delaware County-based Wawa, Inc., a privately held company with more than 1,190 gas station and convenience store locations in more than a dozen states and Washington D.C., began in 1803 as an iron foundry in New Jersey.
Toward the end of the 19th century, Owner George Wood took an interest in dairy farming, and the family began a small processing plant in Wawa, Delaware County in 1902.
The milk business was a huge success, and as home delivery of milk declined in the early 1960s, Grahame Wood, George’s grandson, opened the first Wawa Food Market in 1964 in Pennsylvania as an outlet for dairy products.
Today, Wawa locations offer freshly prepared foods, beverages, coffee, fuel services, convenience items and surcharge-free ATMs in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Florida, North Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and Washington, D.C.
Popular food offerings include Sizzli breakfast sandwiches, signature hoagies, wraps, quesadillas, burgers, pizzas, salads, soups and sides.
Wawa’s new Whitehall location will supplement about two dozen other Lehigh Valley area Wawa locations, including a location that opened on Feb. 26 at 3015 Lehigh St. in Allentown, at the former site of The Brass Rail restaurant.
A new Wawa location is pictured at 3015 Lehigh St. in Allentown.
Ryan Kneller
The Brass Rail’s new iteration, a fast-casual eatery, opened in 2024 at the Allentown Fairgrounds Farmers Market.
In recent years, Wawa’s Lehigh Valley footprint has continued to expand, with a location that opened in 2024 at 3608 Nazareth Pike in Bethlehem Township; a location that opened in 2023 at 770 Hellertown Road in south Bethlehem; and 2022 additions at 4089 Jandy Blvd. in Lower Nazareth Township, 364 Susquehanna St. in Allentown and 6680 Route 309 in Upper Saucon Township.
Several other Lehigh Valley Wawa locations are under development or have been proposed, including those at Highland Avenue and Route 512 in Hanover Township, Northampton County; 62 N. Broadway in Wind Gap; 4457 Easton Ave. in Bethlehem Township; 1810 Route 309 in South Whitehall Township; and near Routes 309 and 873 in North Whitehall Township.