December 06, 2024
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The Wawa store at 33 S. 16th St. is closing on Monday. The chain opened it in 2020 to test a smaller, urban store concept. The store had a pickup window, but limited selection of prepackaged foods.
Wawa is shutting down a Center City store that it used to test the viability of smaller urban stores.
The store at 16th and Ranstead streets is closing Monday. The store, which opened in 2020, measures about 3,000 square feet – lower than the company's preferred size of 4,000 to 6,000 square feet. It features a pick-up window, allowing people to grab their hoagie and sandwich orders without entering the store, but its selection of prepackaged foods is more limited than other Wawas and it does not sell tobacco products.
A Wawa spokesperson told the Philadelphia Business Journal said the store was unable to "provide the same kind of in-store experience and full Wawa offer that customers expect" due to its size. Employees have been offered jobs at nearby stores in the chain.
A sign posted at the store indicates it will close Sunday, but the Wawa spokesperson said that Monday is its last day. This is third Wawa to close in Philadelphia this year, and the ninth Center City store to shut down since 2020. Four Center City stores remain.
In October, Wawa also shut down an experimental Wawa in Falls Township, Bucks County. That location was an 1,800-square-foot store with a drive thru service that opened in 2021.
Another experimental Wawa, at 3300 Market St. in University City, contains no stocked shelves, instead requiring customers to make their orders through the Wawa app or digital kiosks in the store.
