June 08, 2015
Chinatown residents, workers and commuters lost their local Wawa this past weekend.
The company's store at 11th and Arch streets officially closed on Saturday. Wawa said in a statement that it doesn't own the property that housed the store, and "due to circumstances beyond our control," it wouldn't be able to continue operating there.
Not all is lost for frequent customers of the defunct shop just a block away from Jefferson Station, as the company says it is looking for a new location in the area. In the meantime, Wawa stressed that Center City folks could use the recently remodeled stores at 9th and Walnut streets and 17th and Arch streets.
That is, of course, in addition to the flagship store opening at Broad and Walnut - a Wawa that will be the first to have indoor seating once it's finished (which will happen before the papal visit in September, the company hopes).
Despite these new options, several mourned the loss of the Chinatown staple that served the community for 20 years. The Trocadero concert venue, which sits on the same block as the now-defunct location, expressed sadness over the closure:
Saddest. Day. Ever. RIP #chinatownwawa which closes its doors for good tonight at midnight. @Wawa #sayitaintso pic.twitter.com/uwn9oMBciN
— Trocadero Theatre (@thetrocadero) June 8, 2015
chinatown @wawa RIP
— ah shit (@illbeintheair) June 8, 2015
WTF?! CHINATOWN WAWA CLOSED DOWN?!?!!!!!!!
— KRILLIN (@chyfizza) June 8, 2015
Noo, Chinatown(Philly) Wawa is closing.It's one of many, but that particular one is where I had tons of after-gig coffee and pre-gig subs
— Azaael (@ElFenrir13) June 8, 2015
The company did say that the employees of the Chinatown location had been offered the opportunity to work at other stores.
