Tampa Bay has made an impression on Wawa CEO Chris Gheysens, and for that matter, Florida has, too.
I checked in with the Pennsylvania-based convenience store chain to see if the company reached its goals in Florida and the area in 2013, the year it came on the scene here. It has opened 10 stores in the Tampa area and shows no signs of slowing. Twelve of 25 next year will be in the greater Tampa area.
The goal was 50 stores this year corporately, Gheysens said, “the most in our company’s history.”
As a “critical and important part” of Wawa’s growth, Florida had 33 stores open — more than half of that in the Orlando area.
“We’ve made progress more quickly than we thought,” he said.
Heading into 2014, Gheysens said look for the most Tampa Bay activity to be along the U.S. Route 301 corridor.
