Wawa Opens Three Miami-Dade Stores This Week

Wawa is finally opening its doors in Miami-Dade this week.

After months of anticipation, fans of the Philadelphia-based convenience-store chain can look forward to the official grand opening this Thursday of the area's first three stores.

Each store will launch with ribbon cuttings, giveaways, and prizes in a staggered fashion:

• May 9 at 9 a.m., store #5260, located at 6971 SW 24th St., Miami.
• May 9 at 1 p.m., store #5245, located at 11990 SW 137th Ave., Miami.
• May 9 at 4 p.m., store #5243, located at 11101 SW 184th St., Cutler Bay.

In 2017, Wawa announced plans to bring over 50 stores to South Florida. It's a big deal because Wawa is probably one of the only convenience stores on the planet with a cult following. According to Forbes, the company brings in an estimated $9 billion in revenue from fewer than 800 stores in six states. Wawa has more than 1.4 million fans on its official Facebook account, nearly 130,000 Instagram followers, and more than 346,000 Twitter followers.

Founded in 1964, the company is best known for its freshly prepared foods, coffee station, and branded food and drink selections. The new 5,000-square-foot Miami-Dade stores will offer the same items found at other Florida locations, including food-ordering kiosks for customizable hoagies and other items, a coffee station, and Wawa-brand snacks and beverages.

Never been? Here are five things you can't miss:
Customizable hoagies. Move over, Publix sub. Wawa makes hoagies. The full menu of hoagie sandwiches is, without a doubt, Wawa's most popular item. Wawa's hoagie rolls are baked fresh in-store daily using dough from Philadelphia's Amoroso's Baking Company. There are cute names for different sizes, from the four-inch "junior" and six-inch "shorti" to the ten-inch "classic." You can make most any type of sandwich with seemingly endless combinations of meats, toppings, sauces, and specialty add-ons you select using cool touchscreen menus at the deli counter. Choose from 32 combinations, including Buffalo breaded chicken, pepperoni pizza, and oven-roasted turkey.
Customizable coffee station. Ten types of lattes? Seven hot chocolates? Four kinds of chai? There's a magical machine that does it all. If you prefer regular coffee, every store has an overwhelming number of roasts and brews to choose from — plus a full refrigerated creamer and sweetener bar. Wawa even does this amazing thing every now and then, selling coffee for $1 (any size) or just giving it away. The coffee is so good Wawa packages it in bags for you to take home, in case you can't make it to the store that morning (or night). And like Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts, Wawa releases limited-time, seasonal flavors such as pumpkin spice.
Breakfast Sizzli. Really, you haven't lived until you've had a bacon croissant Sizzli, the name of Wawa's branded breakfast sandwiches. Order them a dozen ways, on a bagel, croissant, biscuit, or French toast, with toppings like applewood-smoked bacon; regular, turkey, or chorizo sausage; several types of cheese; and, of course, egg. Craving breakfast late at night? Most stores are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. There's also a selection of doughnuts, bagels, and muffins baked onsite daily. And don't forget the hash browns.
Half-and-Half. No, not the dairy version. Wawa's Half & Half is an iced tea and lemonade mix (also called an Arnold Palmer) that's out of this world. Wawa also has fruit and cream smoothies, including mango, peach, bananas Foster, mint cookies and cream, chocolate-chocolate chip, and caramel cream.
Tastykake pies. Tastykake isn't Wawa's brand, but it might as well be. For Northeastern-based Wawa fans, the brand name is especially familiar. The line of snack foods is manufactured by the Tasty Baking Company, headquartered at the Philadelphia Naval Business Center in Pennsylvania, making it a natural choice for Philadelphia-based Wawa to stock in its stores. Try everything from cupcakes (available in chocolate, red velvet, and cream, filled with chocolate or buttercream icing) and Krimpets (sponge cake with butterscotch icing or jelly filling) to pies, available in mini (handheld), full size (nine inches), and extra large (24 inches).

Wawa. 6971 SW 24th St., Miami; 11990 SW 137th Ave., Miami; and 11101 SW 184th St., Cutler Bay; wawa.com.