Free hoagies for summer? Wawa is recruiting 1,500 beach town employees

Wawa has kicked off its summer hiring campaign, as it looks to staff up stores near the beach.

The company is touting a starting wage of $15 per hour, as well as a free 6-inch hoagie (Shorti, in Wawa speak) for every shift. Store employees can also buy other menu items at a discounted rate.

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The hiring blitz is focused on 60 stores along the East Coast in New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia, with a goal of bringing on 1,500 employees, primarily in seasonal jobs. That’s 500 more than they aimed for in last year’s summer hiring effort.

“Summertime is an exciting time at Wawa stores. We are looking for associates who want to be part of a company known for great food and customer service, and also one with a special culture and commitment to making days a little bit brighter,” Marc Maiolino, director of store operations, said in a statement.

While the current effort is focused on shore locations, the chain is also always seeking longer-term employees, spokesperson Lori Bruce said in an email.

“We have many associates who started with us in a ‘summer job,’ loved the role, and have gone on to have fulfilling careers at all levels within our stores,” Bruce said. “In addition, we have many associates who have worked in our highly seasonal stores during the summer who then return to their ‘local’ Wawa for continued employment.”

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Wawa is in the midst of an aggressive expansion effort to enter new states, while continuing to open stores in the counties surrounding Philadelphia — to mixed reviews — as well as other suburbs and shore towns along the East Coast.

In recruiting workers for all these locations, Wawa makes note of its health benefits, tuition reimbursement, and 401(k) matching benefits, as well as an Employee Stock Ownership Plan. The company is nearly 38% owned by employees, according to Wawa.

While the 2023 summer employment push is a bit bigger than last year’s, it hardly compares to the company’s hiring campaign launched in May 2021, when it aimed to bring on 5,000 full-time and part-time workers. At the time, the chain was offering a $300 bonus for getting a COVID-19 vaccine, and a $500 bonus for certain employees who stayed at least 90 days.