Wawa, Inc. is hosting a grand opening of its new Chantilly store, located at 4350 Historic Sully Way, Chantilly. The store is Wawa’s first location in Fairfax County and one of three new Wawa locations opening in Virginia on Dec. 18, with others located in Suffolk and Hampton.
The Chantilly celebration will include a parade of Wawa history, fanfare, and a charitable hoagie-building competition between members of the Frying Pan Fire Department and the Fair Oaks Police Department, as well as the announcement of a donation from The Wawa Foundation to the Special Olympics. In addition, the store will offer free coffee through Dec. 20.
The new store will open to the public at 8 a.m. with the official ribbon-cutting and grand opening ceremony. The festivities will include local officials and members of the community; members of the Frying Pan Fire Department and Fair Oaks Police Department; Michelle Rupert, director of operations for Virginia; Ben Dutton, Wawa area manager; Maliwa Casseus, Wawa general manager; Wawa associates and customers; and Wawa’s mascot, Wally Goose, who will all join together for a ceremonial ribbon cutting. In addition, the event will include a donation of $30,000 from The Wawa Foundation to the Special Olympics, honoring Wawa’s partnership with the Special Olympics and the organization’s importance as national and regional partner.
The grand opening event will conclude with a Hoagies for Heroes hoagie building competition, as the Frying Pan Fire Department and Fair Oaks Police Department face off in a battle of bravery, skill, and sandwich-making expertise. Each team will be challenged to see who can build the most hoagies in three minutes in the traditional Wawa way. Wawa will conclude the Hoagies for Heroes competitions by presenting checks on behalf of the winning and runner up teams for $1,000 to the charities of their choice.