A gas station and convenience store chain popular on the east coast for its hoagies has announced plans to expand with locations in Indiana and Kentucky.

An Honest Start in Iron

Wawa is hugely popular on the east coast as a one-stop-shop for fuel, food, coffee, and more. Wawa got its start as an iron foundry in New Jersey before patriarch and owner George Wood took an interest in dairy farming. The family dairy farm eventually evolved into a food market opened by Wood's grandson when home delivery for milk began to slow in the 1960s.

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Photo by A n v e s h on Unsplash
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<p> </p><p>The company, which owns 970 convenience store locations employing 40,000 people, has garnered a number of accolades including being named number one in both the convenience category of Newsweek’s “America’s Best Retailers” and on Forbes’ List for America’s Best Companies for Veterans. </p>

Nearly 1,000 Stores Now

Currently, Wawa has stores in six states, and Washington DC and is perhaps most well-known for its custom-made hoagie sandwiches. The company, which owns 970 convenience store locations employing 40,000 people, has earned a number of accolades including being named number one in both the convenience category of Newsweek’s “America’s Best Retailers” and on Forbes’ List for America’s Best Companies for Veterans. It's no wonder the chain has garnered a cult-like following.

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Indiana & Kentucky Expansion

Wawa announced plans to expand with the construction of stores in both Indiana and Kentucky, as well as Ohio. This is in addition to plans announced at an earlier date to expand into Tennessee. The company says they plan to announce the number of stores for each state in 2023. As for when we can expect to see the stores in the Hoosier State and the Commonwealth, it won't be until after 2025, according to a press release.

Wawa’s new market expansion includes plans to open stores in the states of Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky, as well as the previously announced state of Tennessee. These market launches will take place sometime after 2025 with estimated timeframes and ranges for number of stores by state to be announced in 2023.

As of now, there is no word on what cities will be expecting the new Wawa locations but perhaps they will move into one of the Indiana towns with quirky, weird, and funny names from our list below.

[Source: Wawa.com]

KEEP READING: 40 Real Indiana Towns with Quirky, Weird, and Funny Names

Outside the major cities, the Hoosier state is full of tiny little towns you've probably passed through on your way to one of those cities. Most of them are likely 100 to 150 years old, or older, and have been around far longer than the large metropolitan areas such as Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, South Bend, and Evansville. Typically, they were started by early settlers who found their way to the state and decided to make it home. Eventually, others would join them, and a community was formed. Over time, as the surrounding areas grew, most of them were folded into those areas and governed by the nearest city or county's governing body officially making them "unincorporated," meaning they did not have their own formally organized municipal government.

A scroll through Wikipedia's long list of unincorporated communities in Indiana shows several of them have names that by today's standards would be considered weird, quirky, or just downright right funny. These are my 40 favorities.

 

 

 

 

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