Pennsylvania celebrated its first day of selling beer in Wawa Thursday morning with a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by the company's CEO Chris Gheysens, Wawa staff and fans.
The recently remodeled convenience store-- located on Naaman's Creek Road in Chadds Ford -- includes a walk-in beer cooler to keep alcoholic beverages cold and 30 restaurant-style seats.
Wawa renovated the Delaware County store by adding the new features to comply with Pennsylvania's unconventional beer laws. However, Wawa implemented beer laws of their own.
"Internally, we are allowing one beer per person when they sit and consume [in the dining area]," said Gheysens, the "lead goose" of the company.[[413963133, C]]
Customers are only allowed to buy two 6-packs or one 12-pack from a wide variety of brew. The store provides a separate register for buyers to check-out-- where each person will get asked to show identification.
Additionally, Wawa has rules about what time customers can purchase alcoholic beverages; on Mondays through Saturdays, beer can be bought from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. and from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Sundays.
Wawa fans hoping for beers to hit the racks at their local stores are out of luck. The Delaware County store will be the only Wawa in the state to sell beer because of its size.
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"This is the largest store we have in our entire fleet of 750 Wawas," Gheysens said. "This was the only [Wawa in Pennsylvania] that allowed us to ... meet the license requirements."
Beer sales aren't a new feature for Wawa; stores in Florida and Virginia already sell beer.
