Wawa, QuikTrip hit 1K stores

Dive Brief:

Wawa and QuikTrip are both set to open their 1,000th stores this week, making them the seventh and eighth convenience retailers to reach that milestone in their U.S. networks, according to announcements made earlier this week.
Wawa will open its newest location April 27 at 1006 White Horse Pike in Oaklyn, New Jersey, according to a report from CBS News. Meanwhile, QuikTrip will host a grand opening event April 29 for its store, located at 933 South Seguin Road in Converse, Texas, according to a company Facebook post.
Hitting 1,000 stores will also make Wawa and QuikTrip the first two privately owned U.S. convenience retailers to achieve the milestone. The largest privately owned retailer with a footprint in the U.S., EG Group, is based in the U.K.

Dive Insight:

Reaching the 1,000-store milestone underscores both Wawa’s and QuikTrip’s broader growth plans, which have been on display — and even brought into question — for some time.

Both companies will host grand opening events for their newest stores. Wawa’s will feature free coffee and workers will hand out T-shirts to the first 1,000 customers, while QuikTrip’s will include face painting, a balloon artist, an obstacle course, a prize wheel with QuikTrip merchandise, free samples, a live DJ and an Oscar Mayer Wienermobile. QuikTrip’s event will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. CST.

QuikTrip is also releasing 1,000 non-fungible tokens (NFTs) — its first foray into the world of digital collectibles — to commemorate opening its 1,000th store, according to an emailed company announcement.

Founded in 1958 by former classmates Chester Cadieux and Burt Holmes, QuikTrip surpassed 100 stores by 1971, 400 locations by 2002 and 800 sites by 2019. Today, QuikTrip’s stores span across locations in 17 states and employ over 24,000 people.

Wawa, based in Wawa, Pennsylvania, celebrated its 59th anniversary earlier this month, having opened its first location — known then as a Wawa Food Market — in 1964. Today, Wawa’s stores are located in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Florida and Washington, D.C., with plans to expand into North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Ohio, Indiana, Alabama and Kentucky.