Wawa Targets South Carolina in 1,800-Store Expansion Push

A 3.14-acre rezoning approval in Little River, South Carolina, may have just delivered Wawa its first foothold in the state. The Horry County Planning Commission approved the rezoning last week, clearing the way for fuel pumps and a car wash at Water Grande Boulevard and Highway 9 East, plus a proposed 6,372-square-foot convenience store, according to documents submitted to the commission.

A representative for the development, speaking at the commission meeting, said Wawa is looking to add South Carolina to its list of expansion targets, according to a report on the proceedings.

What does this change for the retailer?

For starters, it plugs a notable hole. Wawa's East Coast footprint otherwise runs from New Jersey to Florida, and South Carolina sat conspicuously in the middle of that map without a single store. Franklin Daniels, an attorney with Maynard Nexsen speaking for the project, said the Little River site would be the first or second Wawa in South Carolina. That phrasing suggests more than one site is in motion.

The move fits a bigger arithmetic. The Pennsylvania-based retailer aims for at least 1,800 locations in the next few years, part of a multiyear, multistate expansion plan.

How fast has the chain been growing?

Quite fast, by c-store standards. In 2023, Wawa operated in only six states — Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and Florida — plus the District of Columbia.

Since then, it has opened stores in:

• Ohio
• Indiana
• Kentucky
• Tennessee
• Alabama
• Georgia
• West Virginia
• North Carolina

That's eight new states in roughly two years. The company has shared plans to open dozens of stores in each of those states over the next few years. For a chain that spent decades concentrated in the Mid-Atlantic, the pace is notable.

Wawa isn't neglecting its home turf either. The retailer has laid out a 60-store roadmap for western Virginia and plans 40 locations for central Pennsylvania. Growth, in other words, runs on two tracks: new states and deeper penetration in old ones.

South Carolina sits at the intersection of both strategies. It's a new state, but it borders North Carolina and Georgia, where Wawa has already landed — meaning the Little River store would connect existing clusters rather than extend into isolated territory. Little River itself sits near the North Carolina line in the Myrtle Beach area, a corridor with heavy tourist traffic and, presumably, a fair number of hungry drivers.

If the commission's paperwork is any guide, the format is familiar: fuel, a car wash and a mid-sized store. The 6,372-square-foot footprint tracks with what Wawa has built elsewhere. What remains unclear is the timeline — neither the development representative nor the submitted documents specified when construction might start or when the store would open.

For competitors already operating along the Grand Strand, the signal is straightforward. A chain chasing 1,800 stores has now formally turned its attention to their market, and it rarely stops at one location.