To the uninitiated, “Wawa” might sound like a toddler’s cry for a drink of water. But to anyone living on the East Coast — and now the Midwest — the name signifies something different: a holy land of coffee, hoagies, and late-night snacks.
But knowing and loving what Wawa sells still doesn’t answer the question that plagues the rest of the country: why is Wawa called Wawa? If you’re wondering where Wawa’s name comes from, it all comes down to the chain’s hometown and the Native American word for a certain bird.
The History of Wawa
Wawa’s long-winded history is a wild goose chase that leads back to the 19th century. The first Wawa store, as we know it today, opened in 1964, but its history actually begins even earlier, in 1803, when it started as an iron factory in New Jersey. By 1902, owner George Wood pivoted to milk production, followed by a dairy delivery service in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. His grandson took over the family business, opening the first Wawa Food Market in 1964 in Folsom, Pennsylvania, before expanding to New Jersey and Delaware. Soon after, 100 more stores opened by 1972 to sell not only dairy, but foods like fried chicken, hamburgers, and eventually the coffee and hoagies that are still popular today.
Today, Wawa’s headquarters are located in Wawa, Pennsylvania, the same area where Wood started the company all those years ago…