Dive Brief:
- Wawa will open its first convenience store in Tennessee on June 18, the retailer announced on LinkedIn this week.
- The store will debut in Clarksville, a city about 50 miles northwest of Nashville. Wawa revealed last August that it had begun construction on that site as well as one in Murfreesboro.
- Tennessee will mark Wawa’s 14th state of operation as the popular Pennsylvania-based convenience retailer continues to expand across the U.S.
Dive Insight:
Opening the doors to Wawa’s Clarksville c-store will mark the retailer’s long-awaited debut in Tennessee, which the company first announced back in June 2022. Wawa said back then it intended to open up to 40 sites in the state, all of which would be in the surrounding Nashville area. Wawa also said its first Tennessee store would debut in 2025.
Although the reason for the delay is not clear, the company is now ready to open its first location in The Volunteer State. Wawa will face off with both national chains and regional competitors in Clarksville, including Circle K and Speedway as well as Twice Daily. Wawa said late last year that the Murfreesboro location would open in the second half of 2026.
Last summer, Wawa increased its Tennessee expansion plans to about 50 stores in the state within the next 10 years. It also said that it would open six locations in Tennessee in 2026 as it worked on “finding and finalizing details for sites under contract.” Wawa is investing about $7.5 million into each Tennessee store, each of which will employ about 35 associates.
“Once fully permitted and ready to go under construction, details will be shared along with timelines for construction and openings,” Wawa said last August.
Tennessee is the next step in Wawa’s sweeping expansion strategy, which has seen the retailer reach the Midwest and Southeast in rapid succession. Wawa opened its first store in Alabama in April 2024, and North Carolina followed shortly after. Its Georgia debut came in November of that year, and in early 2025, both Ohio and Indiana welcomed their first Wawas. Wawa’s first Kentucky site opened last July. Most recently, it added a site in West Virginia in September.
