We visited the Triangle’s first Wawa. Here are our 5 biggest takeaways
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Wawa opened its first Triangle store in Garner on Thursday July 24 near I-40 and Hwy 42.
- Opening deals include free hot coffee and discounted hoagies through July 27.
- More North Carolina Wawas are coming, with one confirmed in Selma off I-95.
No, you didn’t get lost on the turnpike. The very first Wawa gas station opened in the Triangle on Thursday, July 24.
This phenomenon of gas-pumping, hoagie-grabbing, coffee-swigging convenience stores has long been one of the greatest wants for Triangle transplants from the Northeast.
Wawa opened Thursday at 55 Masonboro Drive in Garner, off of Interstate 40 and Highway 42. The popular Pennsylvania-born gas station opened its first North Carolina location last year in the Outer Banks. Other Wawas have opened in Wilson, Goldsboro, Greenville and Rocky Mount.
Here are our five takeaways from Thursday’s grand opening.
1. Yes, it really is just a gas station
Despite the cult-like following, Wawa is a pretty familiar-looking gas station. At 5,900 square feet, it isn’t Buc-ee’s, the 72,000-square-foot rest stop destined for Mebane, nor does it seem like it’s trying to be.
It’s bright, it’s clean, there’s a sandwich counter in the middle, a coffee bar and soft drinks fountain to the right and packaged snacks to the left.
.jpg "Image from iOS (23).jpg")
2. Grand opening deals
Through Sunday, July 27, the new Garner Wawa is offering freebies and deals on some of the gas station’s most popular items.
All sizes, roasts and flavors of hot drip coffee are free until Sunday, according to signs in Wawa. Soft drinks, slushies, specialty coffees and iced coffees are $.99 and hoagies are $6 for 10 inch sandwiches and $4 for “shorties.”
.jpg "Image from iOS (21).jpg")
3. It’s all about the sandwiches (er, sorry, hoagies)
If Buc-ee’s is about the barbecue, Wawa is about the hoagie. The one clear and special thing about Wawa is it makes a good and affordable sandwich.
Styled after cold cut subs from the Northeast, the heart of these hoagies is really excellent bread — a roll that’s not too soft or hard, just the perfect chew. There are options like a classic Italian, a meatball sub, club sandwiches, cheesesteaks and breakfast sandwiches.
All prepared sandwiches, sides and snacks are ordered on touch-screen kiosks. The wait time for orders was around 20 minutes on opening day.
.jpg "Image from iOS (22).jpg")
4. But Wawa has other delicacies
Beyond the hoagies, Wawa is best known for its coffee. This is not the gas station Bunn coffee pot, brewed sometime in the last 24 hours. Wawa does a variety of roasts, from its “mild” regular to “dark” Cuban, plus flavors like vanilla, hazelnut and a special “churro” blend. There’s a self-service iced coffee machine in between the fountain drinks and the slushies.
As a Pennsylvania brand, soft pretzels are big at Wawa. The original soft pretzels didn’t arrive for opening day, but stuffed versions did, filled with cheddar cheese, jalapeño and cheese or cream cheese.
.jpg "Image from iOS (24).jpg")
A doughnut bar features individually wrapped pastries, with icing flavors like blueberry, strawberry and chocolate.
There are only a few Wawa-brand items in the store, but milk and ice cream are among them. This could be a nod to Wawa’s history, starting as a Pennsylvania dairy farm and milk delivery service more than a century ago.
5. More are on the way
There are more than 1,000 Wawas in the country and surely many more destined for North Carolina.
Store employees assured shoppers Thursday that Raleigh would get a Wawa in the near future. The next confirmed location is in Selma, at 25 JR Road, just off of Interstate 95.
This story was originally published July 25, 2025 at 10:20 AM.
