When Wawa keeps shutting down locations in Philadelphia - where it is beloved - one can't help but wonder just how bad things are getting in the city.
But that's exactly what's happening, with the chain announcing this week it would be closing yet another city location - this time at 2000 Hamilton Street, near the Spring Garden/Fairmount Whole Foods and Rodin Plaza.
This shutdown the company is blaming on its landlord, however, stating that the owner of the property reportedly "did not give the company a chance to renew its lease", according to CBS News.
Regardless it marks at least the 4th shut down in Center City for Wawa over the last couple years. The chain appears to be packing it up and calling it quits on the city of Philadelphia altogether. Back in 2023, we noted that the company was shuttering its location at Headhouse Square, located in the middle of Society Hill, an otherwise affluent neighborhood on extending north from the tourist-area of South Street.
A statement from the company at the time, reported by Fox 29, warned of two different two strong-armed robberies over the last week at the TD Bank which is adjacent to the Wawa. The CVS located across the street from the Wawa also closed down.
Wawa said in a statement that it "Constantly conducts careful and extensive evaluations of business performance and operational challenges of all stores on an ongoing basis."
Recall back in October 2022 we wrote about Wawa closing 2 other locations in Philadelphia. Locations at 12th and Market and 19th and Market in Philadelphia have both shuttered.
"We are very sorry we can’t be there for our friends and neighbors at these two locations, but we continue to serve the community from our other nearby stores and our commitment to the greater region remains strong. Philadelphia is our hometown and that’s something that will never change," the chain said last year.
We noted last month that the PA-based chain was targeting its most aggressive growth in history...by moving south. The company plans on moving to the South and Midwest, with plans to open in Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina, and Georgia.
It'll also open 160 new stores in locations like Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana, the Philadelphia Inquirer wrote in February.
Company CEO Chris Gheysens detailed the company's plans to open about 100 new stores every year, with an eye on having 2,000 stores by the year 2030. He is calling it "the most aggressive growth" in the company's history.
