Wawa representatives on Tuesday unveiled another planned State College area location as they discussed an expansion that is projected to bring 10 stores to Centre and surrounding counties in the next five years.
The convenience store chain’s planned location near the intersection of East College Avenue and Squirrel Drive in College Township — revealed publicly for the first time during a community partnership event at the Penn Stater Hotel and Conference Center — is its fourth site under contract in Centre County.
It joins previously reported plans for locations at Benner Pike and Eagle Point in Benner Township near Bellefonte; Earlystown Road and Old Fort Road in Potter Township near Centre Hall; and North Atherton Street and Aaron Drive in Ferguson Township near State College.
John Poplawski, Wawa chief real estate officer, suggested the Potter Township store would be the first to open, followed by College Township, then Benner Township and finally Ferguson Township. When exactly any of the openings for the southeastern Pennsylvania-based company’s first Centre County stores will occur is not yet clear.
“That is a tough question to answer. All of my developer partners and real estate folks here are working as hard as they can to get them open, as fast as they can,” Poplawski said. “We’re partnering with all the local officials, but things don’t happen overnight. If you’ve ever tried to get a permit to put a deck on your house, it takes time.”
What is more certain is that Wawa will have stores opening in neighboring Mifflin and Clinton counties in 2026. A location in Yeagertown is slated for a spring opening, while a Mill Hall store will launch in the fall, Poplawski said.
The company is aiming for at least four other locations for a total of 10 in Centre County and surrounding areas by 2031, and as many as 50 by 2035.
Each new store will be a $7.5 million investment, with 140 contractors per store construction and 35 Wawa employees at each location.
“We have heard for many, many years about people wanting their Wawa here in State College, and we always get the question of, ‘what took you so long?’” Poplawski said. “Well, we’re finally here. It’s finally close, and when we come, we want to make sure that we’re here… with a strong sense of community, strong roots — not just build a store, but build a number of stores and become a part of the communities we serve.”
With more than 1,100 current stores in 12 states, Wawa has been undertaking an aggressive westward expansion in Pennsylvania, often going head-to-head in markets with Keystone State rival Sheetz (the planned Potter Township and Benner Township locations are both directly across the street from Sheetz stores). The company has “begun to build a bridge” from the Harrisburg area toward the State College, Lewisburg and Williamsport areas, Poplawski said.
As it expands, Wawa has been holding community partnership events like the one on Tuesday at the Penn Stater. The 90-minute expo welcomed fans and community organizations for free coffee, pastries, iced tea and hoagies — including The Saquon, former Penn State star and current Philadelphia Eagle Saquon Barkley’s new signature turkey sandwich. Barkley was also represented by a life-sized cardboard stand-up and a new video advertisement that played during remarks from Wawa officials.
The event also highlighted organizations supported by The Wawa Foundation, the company’s charitable arm, with donations of $5,000 to $10,000 presented to the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank, the Lion’s Pantry food bank at Penn State, the American Red Cross Central Pennsylvania Chapter and the Still Strong Foundation, former Penn State football player Devon Still’s charity for assisting families whose children are battling cancer.
“We try to start early. We’ve been out in the community over the last year just recruiting, talking to local community members,” Justin Tichy, Wawa chief operations officer, said. “Community is everything to our company, and that goes way back into our roots. I’m always so proud as we’ve opened up new markets in the last year… We have deep ties already to the community well before the grand opening day. And that just gives us a big sense of pride that we’re already part of the community. We’ve seen at most of our grand openings we have anywhere from 700 people to 1,500 people just waiting outside because they’re so excited, and that just doesn’t happen by chance. That’s that relationship we start building early.”
Tichy, a 1993 Penn State graduate, said the State College area is a natural fit for Wawa’s expansion.
“When you think about transplants and all the community that sort of moved over from the Mid-Atlantic area, it just seems like a natural place that the community fits our values, fits what we stand up for, which is kind of a perfect synergy of our relationship with them already,” Tichy said. “There’s a lot of buzz and a lot of energy already, we’re starting to sense.”
President’s Hall at The Penn Stater on Tuesday was filled with Wawa devotees eager to see the company’s stores arrive in Centre County.
Among them was Bill Gartner, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service’s State College office just down the street from The Penn Stater in Innovation Park. Fresh off an overnight shift at work, Gartner was the first customer to arrive at Tuesday’s event, and he came sporting a hat covered in Wawa sandwich wrap and Wawa pin.
A native of Bucks County, Gartner graduated from Penn State and has lived in State College for the last 26 years. His trips back east often involve multiple stops at Wawa.
“I’ve lived in the State College area longer than I’ve lived anywhere else. It’s just a beautiful place to live, and nice town, but we need a Wawa,” Gartner said. “That’s why I’m here. I’ve been waiting almost 30 years for a Wawa.”
