Wawa Hosting Three Grand Openings For First Locations In Miami

MIAMI (CBSMiami) - The wait is over Miami, Wawa, the popular convenience store and gas station found across the United States, will officially introduce its first Miami-Dade locations on Thursday, May 9.

The stores are located on 6971 SW 24th Street, 11990 SW 137th Avenue and 11101 SW 184th Street.

Doors open at 8 a.m., with special ceremonies beginning at 9 a.m., 1 p.m. and 4 p.m., respectively.

Wawa is celebrating the milestone with special giveaways, activities, and events at each location.

At each new store, customers can expect a ribbon cutting ceremony, free Wawa T-shirts for the first 200 customers, award presentations for the first-ever Miami Local Hero Awards, a "Hoagies for Heroes" hoagie-building competition that includes local law enforcement and first responders and a special message from Wawa's President Chris Gheysens.

Each first responder and law enforcement officer participating in the hoagie-building competitions can pick a local charity to receive $1,000 from Wawa.

A portion of hoagie sales from each store will be donated to Feeding South Florida.

Visitors can also enjoy performances from local high school bands and dance teams.

Wawa has customized each store with unique features designed specifically to the tastes of Miami. This includes the company's first walk-up windows serving popular Hispanic espresso drinks like cafecitos, coladas, cortaditos, and cafe con leche.

Look out for Wawa's mascot, Wally Goose, who'll be in attendance as well.

Wawa said the three stores will create more than 100 jobs and they plan to open as many as 50 stores in Miami.

If you can't make the grand openings, don't worry, each new store will be handing out free coffee, any size, for the first 10 days of business as well.