CLARKSVILLE, In. (WDRB) -- The wait is over: Wawa is now open on Veterans Parkway in Clarksville.
The convenience store and gas station started welcoming guests Friday at its Clarksville location on Veterans Parkway. Doors opened at 8 a.m., followed by a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 9 a.m.
The first 250 customers received free limited-edition t-shirts. Customers will also receive free coffee through June 1. Wawa also hosted "Hoagies for Heroes" -- a hoagie-building competition between local first responders. The $1,000 prize will be donated to charity.
The area around the new Wawa has long been a traffic trouble spot, especially for delivery drivers and commuters.
"It’s horrible," Wesley Jeffrey said in an earlier WDRB report about a week before the grand opening. He said he has to navigate the busy corridor in a semi. "Sometimes it takes 30 minutes just to get to the interstate."
The Clarksville Wawa will employ about 35 associates, according to a news release. Construction on the location began in early 2024 at the site of the former Red Robin restaurant.
Wawa is expanding from the east coast, where it is known for its cheap eats, hoagies, smoothies, coffee and friendly staff.
The southern Indiana store is one of three Wawa stores opening in the state this month. The other two stores are located north of Indianapolis, and the first Indiana location opened on May 15 in Daleville.
The company also plans to open a location in Sellersburg at the intersection of State Road 60 and Appleleaf Lane.
The family-owned company is also building at least five locations in the Louisville area. Crews broke ground on the first Kentucky location last June on Preston Crossing Boulevard, just south of the Gene Snyder Freeway near Okolona.
Additional locations planned for the Louisville area include:
- 5229 Dixie Highway, near Kurz Way in Pleasure Ridge Park
- 7203 Apple Mill Drive, near the intersection with Outer Loop and Vaughn Mill
- 4213 Bardstown Road, near Fegenbush Lane
- 12415 Taylorsville Road, near the intersection with Sweeney Lane
In September 2023, the chain announced several future locations in the Kentuckiana region. It said last year it plans to open about 40 stores across the Kentucky region over the next 8-10 years.
To learn more about Wawa and take a look at what it provides, click here. The chain is also hiring for the new locations. Job opportunities and applications can be found by clicking here.
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