There have been some high-profile Wawa store closings in the city of Philadelphia but that doesn’t mean Wawa still doesn’t have a presence there, says CEO Chris Gheysens.

Wawa’s landmark location at Broad and Walnut streets closed, along with an outpost at 9^th and South Streets, writes Laura Smythe for Philadelphia Business Journal.

 “We have closed some stores and I think it’s a reflection of, in some cases, bad site location. Others [it’s] just the business, the environment there wasn’t for us,” Gheysens said. “It has, to be clear, gotten more challenging to operate a business in the city. That’s no surprise.”

Now they’re looking at opening stores with gas pumps on the outskirts of Center City.

Wawa success stories in the city include 1602-04 S. Delaware Ave., a “stadium” store at 2600 Penrose Ave, and two flagship stores at 12^th and Market streets and 6^th and Chestnut streets.

Stores around the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel campuses have also done well. Pre-pandemic, the Drexel store had the highest food service in the chain, he said.

Wawa also likes its smallest store with the walk-up window at 16th and Randstead.

Read more at Philadelphia Business Journal about Wawa’s ongoing expansion in to Center City