Wawa celebrates grand opening in Ocoee

Ocoee's Janelle Ramos had been waiting for a Wawa to open in Ocoee. 

The day finally came Thursday, May 1, and she was thrilled.

Ramos, a self-described obsessed Wawa fan, put on her Wawa headband, T-shirt and socks and waited in the growing line outside the gas station and convenient store's new location on the corner of Clarke Road and West Colonial Drive.

The Ocoee Wawa celebrated its grand opening Thursday, May 1, giving free coffee and a free T-shirt to the first 100 people who entered the store. 

"If I didn't have mother responsibilities, I would have been the first in line," Ramos said with a laugh. "My husband joked and asked if I was going to campout."

Ramos said she's been Wawa's biggest fan for at least seven years when she walked into a Wawa for the first time and fell in love with it. She said it was the food, service, gas, deals and overall atmosphere that started her obsession. 

"What is there not to love about Wawa?" Ramos said. 

Her love for the gas station and convenience store chain runs so deep she helped her daughter get a job at the Wawa in Winter Garden. 

By 7:45 a.m. Ramos, among dozens of other eager customers, were waiting in a line that started to wrap along the side of the store. They used the noisemakers they were given to make noise on beat as the Ocoee High School band brought an electric energy to the grand opening with its performance. 

At 8 a.m., Ocoee's Don Bedwell was the first to enter the store and receive his T-shirt and cup of coffee. 

Bedwell was at Wawa by 7:10 a.m. and was the first in line. 

"I've been waiting for this to open for months," Bedwell said. "It's clean, bright, the food tastes good, and it's convenient."

The store quickly filled as customers went straight to the coffee bar for their free cup or to the self-service stations to order their hot breakfast items. Others walked around to check out the rest of the convenience store. 

Once the barriers were taken down and the gas prices were lit on the signs outside, the gas pumps constantly busy as people went to fill their tanks. 

Back outside, people who showed proof they had the Wawa app were able to spin a wheel to receive swag such as T-shirts, a Wally Goose stuffie and more. 

Wally Goose, Wawa's mascot, had a constant presence at the grand opening, taking photos with customers, Wawa employees, Ocoee High students and individuals with the Ocoee Fire and Police departments. 

Sparky with the Ocoee Fire Department joined Wally. 

Jamal Page, public relations and community care for Wawa, said it felt great to open the new location in Ocoee. 

"We're glad to be in this community that we haven't been in yet," Page said. "We're excited for the residents. (Seeing all these people) means we have committed customers to our company. We hope to provide a safe space filled with love, family and convenience with quality food."

Addressing the more than 100 people who attended the grand opening, Ocoee Mayor Rusty Johnson shared a few words.

"We've been waiting a long time for Wawa to come to our city," he said. "Maybe some day you'll put another one out here."

Wawa brought out the spirit of competition between the Ocoee Fire Department and Ocoee Police Department with its hoagie building competition. 

The smack talk and banter between the two departments began as soon as the instructions on how to make a Wawa hoagie were given. 

Four representatives from each department came together in a hoagie building competition. 

In two minutes, the teams had to make as many hoagies as possible, with the team making the most claiming victory. 

Ocoee Fire Department's Battalion Chief Ken Henderson, Lt. Matt Jones, engineer Chris Atalski and firefighter AJ Horan were a well oiled machine as were Ocoee Police Department's traffic officer Joshua Bode, patrol officers Sara Vicente and Sara Swarthout and Chief of Police Vincent Ogburn. 

It was a constant back-and-forth as each team finished a hoagie. 

Cheese was sticking together, lettuce was flying, and the crowd was invested. While some were chanting for the fire department, others were cheering for the police department. 

It was a nail biter. 

After two minutes, the winner was announced. 

The Ocoee Fire Department received a trophy, slimly claiming victory with 15 completed hoagies compared to Ocoee Police Department's 14. 

"I demand a recount," one police department member said from the crowd with a laugh.

"The cops just couldn't keep up with us," Henderson said. 

"When dealing with the fire department, we're no strangers to winning," Jones added. 

The grand opening finished with a ribbon cutting.