April holds big potential for Wawa in Lee County

FORT MYERS — The rapid growth of Wawa across Florida will hit a milestone April 23: The chain will open its first locations south of the Sarasota-Bradenton market that day, all in Lee County.

The three stores, two in Fort Myers and one Cape Coral, will have grand openings April 23, according to a report in Convenience Store News. The Wawa at 2730 Colonial Blvd. in Fort Myers will open with an event at 10 a.m. That will be followed by a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the store at 12701 S. Cleveland Ave., scheduled for 12:30 p.m. The final ceremony of the day will be held at the Cape Coral location, 1622 NE Pine Island Road, at 3 p.m.

Wawa, founded in 1964 outside Philadelphia, opened its first Florida location near SeaWorld in Orlando in 2012. Known for its loyal customer base, the company now has nearly 60 Florida locations, and plans to open 100 stores in the state by 2018. It has 650 stores in total.