Wawa Inc. will open its newest Jacksonville store at 8 a.m. Thursday at 13363 Beach Blvd., west of Hodges Boulevard.
It appears to be at least the 11th location that the Wawa gas station and convenience store chain opened in Northeast Florida in two years.
Pennsylvania-based Wawa opened its first area stores in December 2017 and plans for at least 30 in Northeast Florida. Several more are planned or under construction.
Wawa will offer free coffee to all customers at the newest location through Sunday.
The first 100 customers will receive free T-shirts. As usual with Wawa grand openings, it will include a 9 a.m. ribbon-cutting ceremony and a hoagie-building competition.
This time, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and the Jacksonville Association of Firefighters will compete to make hoagies in 3 minutes. Wawa will give $1,000 checks to each for charities of their choice.
“At Wawa we recognize that our customers lives move at a rapid pace, and whenever we open new stores, it is our goal to deliver our unique brand of convenience in a way that fits our customers busy lives and is attuned to their specific tastes,” said Todd Souders, senior director of Florida store operations.