Wawa bids $300,000 in Delco and $170,000 in Bucks County to win liquor licenses

Wawa is ready to sell more beer.

This week, the convenience-store chain emerged as the winning bidder for two expired restaurant liquor licenses auctioned by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board. In bidding that opened Sept. 27, Wawa plopped down $300,000 — more than double the average winning bid — for an expired Delaware County license, and paid $170,000 for another license in Bucks County.

Wawa currently has 24 stores in Pennsylvania that sell beer, said Lori Bruce, a company spokesperson, including four in Delaware County.

“We have at least one additional store projected to open with beer in Delaware County this year as we strive to provide additional convenience to our customers,” Bruce said.

Bruce did not provide the location of the new store.

In recent years, Wawa has begun to add alcohol sales to its stores as it faces new competition, like delivery services. Convenience stores in Pennsylvania may sell beer to-go provided they have the right license from the PLCB. Wine sales require an expanded permit and allow a customer to buy up to three liters of wine at a time.

In 2021, Wawa opened its sole store in Philly to sell beer. Dubbed the “Stadium Store,” and about two miles from the South Philly sports complex, the location features a walk-in beer cooler called the “Beer Cave.” (A Wawa at 38th and Spruce Streets in University City once sold beer, but discontinued alcohol sales in the 1990s.)

Two Wawa stores in Bucks County sell beer.

The licenses were among twenty auctioned by the PLCB. Wawa must submit the payment within two weeks following the auction. It then has six-months to file a license application with the state.