Wawa opens in Fairhope with a dance party, confetti, and a hoagie-building competition

FAIRHOPE, Ala. ( WKRG ) — It was a grand opening unlike any other. The opening of Wawa in Fairhope was a full-on celebration complete with a dance party, and a hoagie-making competition that turned into something of a food fight.

All before the ribbon was cut on the first Wawa store in Fairhope and in Alabama .

“The next one is going to have to do a whole lot more to try and top this,” said Wawa Area Manager Charlene Harrell.

Wawa is not just a convenience store for Erica Shaw.

“We are both from New Jersey, grew up with Wawa, love Wawa,” Shaw said. “We waited eight years to be this close to a Wawa.”

She and her friends drove three hours from Enterprise, Alabama, for the opening.

“When we were born there were Wawas everywhere,” says Heather Salmon. “So this is the first time we’ve got to experience it, and I was like, ‘I’m going to take off work, we will take a road trip, we’re going to not sleep and get here.'”

But Jordan Callaway was the first customer, spending $3.40 on a pack of cookies.

“They said, ‘Who is going to be the first sale,’ and I grabbed those cookies and ran to the register,” Callaway said.

Wawa is celebrating 60 years with more than a thousand convenience stores, now in seven states.

“I’m always proud when we open a business in Fairhope, but Wawa has come in since the groundbreaking and really engrained themselves as part of our community,” says Fairhope Mayor Sherry Sullivan.

The Wawa party will continue later this summer when two more stores open: one in Robertsdale and another in Mobile.

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