Wawa is (once again) moving out of Center City Philadelphia.
Joining other retailers like Target, Wawa has not been shy about its exodus from Philadelphia. The company has closed nine different locations in Center City Philadelphia since 2020, according to the Inquirer.
Lori Bruce, a spokesperson with Wawa, confirmed to the Philadelphia Inquirer this week that the company's location at 16th and Ranstead in downtown Philadelphia is going to be closing.
The company line is: “Our 16th and Ranstead store initially opened in 2020 as a pilot test of a smaller urban store concept, which also included a walk-up window.”
Bruce continued: “However, due to its limited size, we have determined that we are not able to provide the same kind of in-store experience and full Wawa offer that customers expect.”
Workers “have been offered the opportunity to work at other nearby Wawa stores," she said.
In 2022, Wawa attributed several city closures to crime and homelessness, though the 16th and Ranstead store had the city's highest incident reports.
Since then, the company has shifted focus to larger suburban stores with gas stations. Recent city closures include locations in Port Richmond and the Art Museum District, where leases were not renewed.
MM Partners, the building owner, expressed surprise at Wawa’s decision but remained confident in finding a new tenant. David Waxman, founder, commented: “There’s been a lot of new leasing activity on Chestnut and Walnut over the last couple years. There’s interesting tenants coming into the city who weren’t here before. It seems like food uses are what we are seeing the most openings of, and that would be a logical tenant.”
