The second Wawa in Leesburg is taking shape at a busy intersection in the northwest portion of the city.
The new Wawa is currently under construction at the intersection of County Road 44 and Main Street. The gas station is located on the northeast corner of the intersection, with its western property line situated along County Road 468.
Wawa purchased the property in November 2023 for $1.5 million, according to Lake County records. Before the location was purchased, it sat vacant and undeveloped for many years.
The new location is around three miles from the first Wawa that opened in Leesburg six years ago. That Wawa location is also situated at a busy intersection in the city (i.e., U.S. Highway 441 and Griffin Road), replacing a former Citizens First Bank branch and a Sonny’s BBQ location prior to that.
An opening date for the new Wawa in Leesburg has not yet been made public. When it opens, the new location will join an ever-growing offering of Wawas in the tri-county area.
The gas station chain first expanded into Lake County in 2014, with the opening of its first store in Clermont. In June 2021, Wawa opened its first location in Mount Dora. In late 2024, Wawa opened yet another location in Lake County along U.S. Highway 441 at 600 W Burleigh Boulevard. That location is the first in the city of Tavares.
Wawa opened its first store in Sumter County in Oxford at the corner of U.S. 301 and County Road 466 in November 2017. It opened its first location in Lady Lake at the intersection of U.S. Hwy 441 and CR 466 in 2019. The business opened its second location at 13535 US Hwy 441, across from The Villages Regional Hospital that same year.
In August of this year, the company opened a new location in Wildwood.
At least four Wawa locations opened in Ocala in 2019, as well as the first Wawa in Belleview. Three additional Wawa locations have opened in Ocala since then, and several others have opened in Marion County, with the brand’s eighth gas station in Ocala having celebrated its grand opening on September 12.
Wawa is a privately held company that was founded as an iron foundry in New Jersey in 1803. In 1902, owner George Wood took an interest in dairy farming and the family began a small processing plant in Wawa, Pennsylvania.
As the demand for the home delivery of milk declined, the company pivoted to the creation of the Wawa Food Market in the 1960s as an outlet for its dairy products. Over the decades, the stores have grown to offer full menus with a variety of prepared foods, as well as ATMs, beer caves, and free air for tires.