Convenience Store to Celebrate 30th 'Wawaversary'

Wawa will be celebrating the 30th anniversary of its store at 1501-09 Gordon St. in Allentown all day Thursday by giving away free coffee and honoring longtime customers with a reunion-style celebration.

Wawa will honor "Key Extended Family Members." Wawa has identified key customers who have frequented the location since the very first day it opened in 1983.  

To honor these key family members, the store’s General Manager, Jessica Hernandez, will present each of these customers with a specially designed golden travel mug, filled with one month’s worth of free Wawa coffee coupons and specialty beverages. 

In addition, each of these customers will be presented with a ceremonial “key to the store.” Cake and coffee will be served to all, with music and dancing to follow. Each Key Extended Family Member will also be presented with a t-shirt featuring the store number and how long they’ve been part of the Wawa family. 

The ceremony will also recognize the "Key Immediate Family Members," Wawa’s longest-term associates at the store. These employees will be presented with Wawaversary GooseBumps an internal Wawa recognition program that results in Wawa gear and prizes – in acknowledgement of the important role they play in forming Wawa’s bond with customers and the community.

Wawa will also recognize the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence, with a donation of $189,514.07 all raised through in-store donations by the customers and associates during the first quarter of 2013 through an in-store coin collection.

As a highlight of the event, honored customers will be invited to take pictures with Wawa’s Mascots Wally Goose and Shorti at a special in-store photo booth. 

All pictures will be posted through online photo albums atwww.wawaversary.com.  Additionally, longtime customers can enter to be a part of the celebration and win special Wawaversary perks. Prior to the event, customers can enter to win a week’s worth of coffee by filling out an entry form. Winners will be announced at the conclusion of each Wawaversary event.

Wawa’s Allentown family reunion anniversary celebration is part of this year’s Wawaversary celebrations; in 2013, Wawa will celebrate milestone anniversaries or 25, 30, 35, 40, and 45 years for 65 of the stores throughout their chain. This will be Wawa’s final year of Wawaversary celebrations, which began in 2009.

The festivities get under way at 10 a.m.