Popular brand opening first two Kentucky convenience stores in Louisville and Nicholasville

NICHOLASVILLE, KY - Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman joined local officials today to break ground on one of two Wawa stores, a convenience retail chain entering the Kentucky market. The stores are projected to open late second quarter of 2025.

“Today we welcome Wawa to Team Kentucky. This groundbreaking serves as another reminder of the historic economic momentum we are experiencing in Kentucky,” said Lt. Gov. Coleman. “Since we took office in December 2019, Gov. Beshear and I have announced private-sector new location and expansion projects worth more than $30 billion in investments. This type of investment has never happened in our history. And the best part is the creation of more than 53,000 full-time jobs for Kentuckians.”

“We are excited to begin construction on our stores in Kentucky as we get closer to bringing the unique Wawa experience to new customers in more markets,” said Director of Store Operations for Wawa Joe Collins. “We look forward to continuing to spread our wings in Kentucky and can’t wait to get started serving our new friends and neighbors.”

In 2025, Wawa plans to open nine stores in Kentucky. Over the next decade, Wawa plans to build and open as many as 40 stores in the state. Wawa currently has more than 20 sites under contract across Boone, Bullitt, Campbell, Fayette, Hardin, Jefferson, Jessamine, Oldham, Scott, Shelby, Simpson and Warren counties. To build each store, Wawa will invest more than $7.5 million and employ, on average, 140 contractors and local partners. Once open, each store will employ an average of 35 associates, with Wawa expecting to create almost 1,500 long-term new jobs in Kentucky.

As part of the groundbreaking, Wawa and the Wawa Foundation announced contributions to two community partners in Kentucky. Dare to Care and God’s Pantry Food Bank each received a grant of $10,000 from the Wawa Foundation Fly Beyond Fund, a signature initiative to fight food insecurity and support programs providing good, nutritious food to build healthy habits and help kids thrive.

“The Wawa Foundation is thrilled to provide grants to our food bank partners toward programs providing consistent access to nutritious and healthy meals for kids,” said Wawa Foundation President Elizabeth Simeone. “We are very excited to begin to share our Fly Beyond mission with our newest food bank partners in the Midwest as we begin our expansion to these new markets.”

To learn more about Wawa, click here.