Mendy Meriwether
Grocery, Convenience, & Specialty Retail Category
Mendy Meriwether is Director of Fresh Food and Beverage for Wawa, Inc., a chain of more than 980 convenience stores located in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Washington, DC, and Florida. The stores are known for fresh food and beverages, competitive fuel offer and legendary customer service.
Mendy joined Wawa in 2004 and has contributed to several milestones during her career including developing new product launches and platforms and driving innovation to across all fresh food and beverage categories. Mendy leads teams focused on creating and launch new concepts to continue to drive and support growth.
Mendy is a true servant leader and throughout her career, she has been committed to helping Wawa make a true positive impact on the communities the company serves.
In Her Own Words
How did you get your start in the foodservice industry?
I started at Wawa in 2004 and that was my first official entry into Foodservice. My interest peaked while working at Aramark for seven years prior to arriving at Wawa. While my focus was in retail, I was enamored with their foodservice operation and knew I wanted to learn a bit more in that industry. Being born and raised in Philadelphia, my dream was to work for Wawa and in 2004 that dream came true!
What do you enjoy most about your career in foodservice?
I love the people and the partners you develop in this industry. Every day is something different and I appreciate the commitment that everyone I encounter shares in your success – albeit a new product/advertising campaign or process simplification the teamwork and buy in to help is always consistent.
Tell us about a proud moment you’ve had along the way.
Being selected to be a founding member of The Wawa Foundation was a very proud moment for me. To represent and drive the mission to “build stronger communities through supporting causes making a difference in health, hunger and everyday heroes” along with the impact this group could help deliver well outweighs the success of anything professionally I have been a part of.
How would your team describe you as a leader?
Passionate, caring and fair.
What advice do you have for someone new to the foodservice industry?
Focus on listening and learning. Seek out partners both internally and externally to help provide advice and input. Don’t settle on a program because competitors are ahead of you – focus on doing it well!
What does being an IFMA Silver Plate recipient mean to you?
It is an honor to be included in this group both from myself and Wawa. I hope to be able to utilize this recognition to learn and grow both personally and professionally.
What is your favorite meal?
Pizza
For 69 years, the IFMA Gold & Silver Plate Awards have acknowledged the most outstanding operator talents in our foodservice industry. Since its inception, the Gold & Silver Plate program has followed the tradition of “recognizing excellence to encourage excellence.”
The 69th Gold & Silver Plate Awards Celebration will take place at Union Station in Chicago, IL on May 20, 2023.