A Wawa that’s been in the works in Christiana for at least three years is set to open Thursday.
The new location is off Route 273 next to University Plaza and across from the Christiana Town Center. It follows Wawa’s standard convenience store layout and has gas pumps.
Approved plans for the site also call for two retail pads — one for a fast-food or quick-service restaurant and the other for a larger restaurant. No tenants have been announced.
PREVIOUS REPORTING:Look out, Wawa. Sheetz, a top-class competitor, could soon be knocking on Delaware’s door.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held at 8 a.m. The first 100 customers will receive a free T-shirt and all customers can receive free coffee.
It’s one of two Wawas scheduled to open in Delaware this year. A Wawa on Route 113 in Georgetown is scheduled to open this summer, according to the company’s website. Last month, Wawa opened its 1,000th store in Oaklyn, New Jersey. Here’s where else Wawa could be heading in Delaware.
South College Avenue in Newark
Wawa has plans to build two stores along South College Avenue near the I-95 interchange, including the company’s first drive-thru in Delaware. Developers filed the plans with the city of Newark in February. Each plan still needs to go through the city’s entire approval process.
The drive-thru store would replace the closed Boston Market on the west side of South College Avenue at Welsh Tract Road. A second store with gas pumps would replace the former Friendly’s on the east side of the road in the parking lot of the Red Roof Inn.
Elkton Road in Newark
Wawa is proposing a location in place of Leon’s Garden World at Elkton and Otts Chapel roads. It would be on the opposite side of the street from another Wawa just over the state line.
Newark City Council voted to annex the property in November 2021 in advance of the development proposal. It now requires approval of a special-use permit under plans submitted in March.
Kirkwood Highway in Milltown
A Wawa is part of plans submitted to New Castle County in 2021 to redevelop the Astro Shopping Center next to the Newark Farmers Market and across from Western YMCA in Milltown.
The project still needs county approval. The redevelopment plan would see the entire shopping center renovated with a new facade. Wawa would take over the property east of the existing strip center formerly home to Diamond Gas and build a new convenience store and gas pumps at Meadowood Drive and Kirkwood Highway.
Naamans Road in Brandywine Hundred
DSM Commercial is advertising a Wawa as part of a new commercial and office center on Naamans Road west of Marsh Road.
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Contact Brandon Holveck at bholveck@delawareonline.com. Follow him on Twitter @holveck_brandon.
