The first eight Wawa stores will open in 2024 in North Carolina, with up to 80 stores planned over the next decade, writes Jeff Ward for WFMZ.

“As we get closer to our grand openings in 2024, we will be sharing even more details on our growth in North Carolina,” Kim Dowgielewicz, director of store operations, said in a statement.

The North Carolina expansion coincides with an increased presence of 160 stores in the Midwest, specifically Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio.

Wawa is planning 60 stores alone in Indiana over the next eight to 10 years, reports WGNTV.

It currently has 15 sites throughout Indiana already under contract that are working their way through the permitting and approval process.

Groundbreakings for those first 15 stores are expected to begin in mid-2024, with openings by mid-2025.

Wawa plans to open 10 Indiana locations in 2025, 10 in 2026, and five locations each year thereafter.

Each new store costs about $7 million to build.

The Delaware County chain opened its first store in 1964.  There are now more than 1,000 stores across Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Florida, and Washington, D.C.

Find out more about pans to put Wawa in North Carolina at WGNTV and WFMZ