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Florida Gov. Rick Scott is a busy man, so chances are slim you'll get him to attend your business grand opening.
Scott will usually show up at high-profile corporate events if the company makes a big investment in Florida. For example, Scott was present in 2013 when car rental giant Hertz announced it would relocate its corporate headquarters from New Jersey to Estero.
So imagine everyone's surprise when Scott and his wife, Ann Scott, showed up at a recent ribbon cutting for convenience store Wawa. The convenience store chain from Pennsylvania opened three stores in Fort Myers April 23.
Scott attended the Colonial Boulevard opening, where he was in his element. It seemed like every Southwest Florida politician who wasn't in Tallahassee or Washington, D.C., was at a Wawa in Fort Myers that day. Lots of non-politicians were there, too. The chain with a cult-like following was mobbed in the opening days, with people lured by cheaper gasoline and made-to-order hoagie sandwiches.
Wawa plans to open 300 stores in Florida, and 80 of those will be on the Gulf Coast. But despite his appearance at the Fort Myers store, it might take more time for Scott to get a Wawa near his hometown of Naples. “We're still looking at sites,” says Wawa CEO Chris Gheysens.
Gheysens cites the high cost of land and restrictions in Collier County as obstacles. So when can Naples expect its own Wawa? “Sometime between tomorrow and two years,” Gheysens says.
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