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Wawa at Broad & Walnut Closed for Good

August 3, 2020 by HughE Dillon 2 Comments

8/3/20 at 1102AM – A few weeks ago I passed the Wawa at Broad & Walnut, and posted this message to my Instastories saying I would love if this Wawa didn’t open again. Today my wish came true. Although I loved this location, and the enormous selection, over time this Wawa has been a source of trouble, with an uptick of crime happening inside and outside of the store. Eventually they removed the chairs in the cafe area, and finally limited the hours. Then the Pandemic came, and limited folks walking on the street except for the folks you don’t want to meet, then the protests came, and it was boarded up. After awhile the other Wawa’s around Center City started to open, but I noticed not this one did not.
And here’s what happened today:

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I was driving by this morning and saw a worker carting a “W” up the street. I immediately realized what was happening as I had been doing weekly walks around Center City and doing blog posts about my findings, and I noticed this Wawa was still boarded recently.

They even blacked out the words Wawa before they wrapped up the dismantling of the brand.

Wawa Broad and Chestnut Closes
Wawa officials were inside the store at Broad & Walnut Sts this morning. As you can see from this photo the store was preparing to open as they had socially distancing signs in place.

Don’t threat there are plenty of Wawa’s nearby at 12th and Chestnut, 33 S. 16th Street and 1190 Market Street. Tomorrow I will have an update on Center City, a few of our favorite stores closed, but a new eatery with an odd name is opening in the fall. See you then!! Check out the Philly Voice for info on the crime and change of hours back in 2018.

UPDATE AT NOON:
Wawa put out a statement: Blaming the Pandemic…. but we know better.

August 1, 2020 Over the last few months, we have worked to navigate the challenges of COVID-19 and
serve our communities through our role as an essential provider. Now, due to the unique circumstances that continue to impact our customers’ daily lives and our own store operations, we are saddened to say
that we will not be reopening our Broad and Walnut store.
This decision was a difficult one. But due to the impact from the pandemic coupled with some operational uncertainties of today, our long-term plans for this store are no longer viable.

Final comment: I can see why Wawa came out with that statement and not what was really happening. The crime at that corner, wasn’t symbolic of how safe or dangerous it was through out Center City. That was just a nuisance Wawa, next to the subway and several dorms. That’s the story. This Wawa was bad news since it opened. It was quite a surprise as we were all so excited for this super Wawa and shorti hoagies.