PHILADELPHIA is now one Wawa short, as the big red light has been turned off for good. On Monday, Wawa announced that their Broad and Walnut location will be closing due to the coronavirus pandemic. This closure comes after a series of thefts at Northeast Philadelphia locations, and other stores in Philadelphia and Bucks County will now close at 11 pm. The news of the closure has been met with a range of emotions, but the dominant theme is relief in some form.
Wawa had been aggressively expanding into the city center with several new locations within walking distance of each other. The store on Ninth and South Streets closed in the fall, and 1300-14 East Erie Avenue in North Philadelphia recently closed as well. The flagship store at Broad and Walnut Streets had been occupied by the original Philadelphia I Goldberg Army & Navy, a family-owned clothing and surplus store that had been in business for 100 years before Wawa took over the location. The opening of this particular Wawa was truly auspicious, but it is now closing its doors due to operational challenges.
At midnight Tuesday, Wawa will cease 24-hour operations at another of its downtown locations, with doors now closing at its 20th Street and Hamilton location in Franklintown at 11 pm. Residents and neighbors near Wawa on 19th and Market said that the store was a nighttime nuisance before it ended overnight. Wawa operates virtual stores in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Florida and Washington D. C., but it is not known if or when stores will be open 24 hours a day again.
It will be difficult to explain one day how a team never won with Albert Pujols, Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani, but it is now clear that Wawa is leaving Philadelphia for good.
