By Logan B. Anderson

SEAFORD — Wawa is a Native American word for the Canada goose, and a large crowd gathered Friday to celebrate a new goose landing in Seaford.

State and local leaders, first responders, Wawa employees and the company’s Canada goose mascot, Wally, were on hand to officially open the long-awaited store at 8 a.m.

A grand-opening celebration, complete with a ribbon-cutting and a fierce competition, soon followed.

To continue the festivities, the shop, at 22929 Sussex Highway on the northbound side of U.S. 13, next to Grotto Pizza, is offering customers free coffee through Nov. 14.

“We’ve waited a long time to open this store. I was happy to wake up this morning and make the drive,” Mandy Wynne, Wawa’s director of store operations, said Friday.

Wawa purchased the property and contracted with Delmarva Veteran Builders to construct the 5,000-plus-square-foot operation in 2019. But construction had to be halted for some time due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This is a big day. We’ve all been waiting for this for such a long time,” Seaford Mayor David Genshaw said at the grand opening.

The mayor went on to thank the city of Seaford employees who helped move the project to completion.

Along with its longtime favorites, beverages and hoagies, the new Wawa will offer some different food options, including a dinner menu, which features hamburgers.

Embracing a post-COVID-19 model, the new establishment will also have curbside and delivery options.

The Seaford Wawa brings with it 40 new full- and part-time jobs. Cheryl McAroy, Wawa’s area manager, said employees not only earn competitive salaries and health benefits, but once eligible, they can participate in an employee stock-ownership plan.

“Wawa associates own more than 41% of Wawa through the ESOP,” Ms. McAroy said.
The company prides itself on its charitable giving and supporting the communities it serves.

On Friday, Ms. McAroy announced that the Seaford store will participate in this year’s in-store fundraising campaign for Check Out Hunger, which supports local organizations like the Food Bank of Delaware.

Upon opening its doors, the store helped local police and fire departments settle an ongoing question: which could make the fastest hoagies.

Members of each agency, donning Wawa aprons, gathered around tables in front of the store to compete. In the end, staff from the Seaford Volunteer Fire Department were awarded a trophy and bragging rights for being able to make more than 30 hoagies in three minutes.

For participating, Wawa donated $1,000 to the fire company and $1,000 to the Good Ole Boy Foundation in the name of the Seaford Police Department.

With more than 900 locations, the convenience store and gas station chain has opened in six states. The Seaford store is the first in that city but the ninth in Sussex County. It joins nearby locations in Bridgeville, Millsboro and Milford.

“I hope for that number to continue to grow,” said Ms. Wynne.