RIDLEY TOWNSHIP – Wawa celebrated its 50th anniversary as a convenience store corporation back in 2014, but it had another golden anniversary to commemorate Thursday morning.
For 50 years the Wawa at 510 Fairview Road in Ridley, known as store #35, has been serving generations of families in the tight-knit Woodlyn and Swarthmorewood communities from its opening days where deli meats could be ordered along with the bread and milk. And while the store has stayed put in the same location this whole time, it has been remodeled over the decades and its menu has changed to include the iconic Wawa hoagies and coffee that have become a staple of the Philadelphia diet.
To mark #35’s success, Wawa had a “Family Reunion” Wawaversary with customers, company officials and store associates on hand to celebrate the occasion. People got pictures with the Wawa mascot, Wally Goose, as they stopped in for their favorites – and a free cup of coffee to boot.
Woodlyn resident Margaret McKniff remembers the store building from the time it was just a hole in the ground.
“I watched it being built when I was 15,” she said. McKniff lives just around the corner from the store and likes to go in for a hot chocolate and a breakfast sandwich. She said it is her favorite store.
“It’s always clean and the people who work here are so nice,” said McKniff, who is commonly referred to as Mum-Mum within the Wawa family.
Tiffany Powell is the general manager of this Woodlyn store and is proud to have been with the company for 15 years.
“I love this company, this is a family,” she said. “When you’re part of the team, you’re part of a family and that’s everything to me.”
Wawa opened its first store not far way in Folsom in April 1964. Back in 1969, with a secure foothold in its home base of Delaware County, Wawa opened its first store in Delaware and started to offer foods like hamburgers and fried chicken. That’s also the year Store #35 opened in Woodlyn. The hamburgers and fried chicken may not be around anymore, but its growth as a go-to place for coffee, gas, cigarettes or a sandwich has grown exponentially. The Wawa family Powell is happy to be a part of has expanded to include over 30,000 associates throughout its locations up and down the East Coast.
“As we mark 50 years in our Woodlyn store, we are reminded of the incredible bonds that make our associates, customers, and community partners part of one big extended Wawa family,” said Jim Magee, area manager for Wawa. “This celebration gives us a chance to say thank you to everyone who continues to make Wawa a place that not only simplifies lives, but feels like home!”