Wawa is ditching their drive-thru experiment in favor of a “fly thru.”
The cult-favorite gas station and convenience store chain has plans to swap their drive-thrus with a mobile pickup window call Fly Thrus, according to the Philadelphia Business Journal.
The mobile pickup windows will allow customers to order from Wawa’s mobile app and pick up their order in as little as 30 seconds — without ever leaving their cars.
“We think the mobile pickup window is really where the future is,” Wawa President Brian Schaller said during the company’s annual Wawa Day on Thursday.
Wawa has already added a Fly Thru to three existing stores in the Midwest and plans to introduce them at select stores in the area — six years after opening its first drive-thru locations in 2020.
As of now, Wawa also offers the Fly Thru option at two stores in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Schaller told the Philadelphia Business Journal that the company will try to add the mobile order pickup windows to existing stores where possible, but it will likely take time and depend on permits for each location.
Customers have reportedly been favoring mobile ordering in recent years, and the Fly Tru experiment is meant to be an extension of that preference and adapt to consumer demand.
Wawa tested drive-thrus at some locations, which Schaller said was a “great experiment,” but proved too difficult.
The chain found it was too hard to have the fast pace of a drive-thru withWawa’s highly customizable and expansive menu featuring made-to-order subs, sandwiches and drinks. The chain has more than 3,000 items available in its stores.
“We said we’re not going to be able to meet the world-class standard of what a drive-thru four-minute turnover needs to be if you can basically shop the whole store,” Schaller said.
Wawa has also been expanding into travel centers, which have been described as “Wawa on steroids” by CEO Chris Gheysens.
The travel center prototype features an 8,000-square-foot store, six high-speed diesel fuel lanes for truckers, 20 fuel spots for passenger vehicles, free parking for tractor-trailers, a CAT weigh station and a pet relief area.
