Wawa held the grand opening for its new travel center on Breese Road at I-75 on March 19. Hundreds turned out to check out the low gas prices, travel store, free t-shirts and fun. The event included Hoagies For Heroes, where the Shawnee Township Police and Fire Departments competed to see who could build the most hoagies in two minutes. The competition resulted in a tie which the fire department won by building a single hoagie faster than the police department. Wawa donated $1,000 to Allen County Children Services in honor of the fire department. Wawa is also donating a portion of the first week’s hoagie sales up to $2,500 to the West Ohio Food Bank.

George Wood founded the Wawa Dairy in 1902 in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, to bottle fresh milk products from Guernsey cows. The first Wawa Food Market opened on April 16, 1964, in Folsom, PA. “Wawa” is an Ojibwe Native American word for the Canada goose.