Wawa’s history with Center City is complicated, writes Katie Krzaczek for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

In 1981, Wawa had 240 in five states, including several in Center City.

Safety issues for city Wawa stores first surfaced in September 1989, when 10 violent incidents were reported at Center City Wawas.  It closed one store and limited the hours of another.

 “We won’t hesitate to close a store or a shift if we feel a site is too dangerous or difficult for our employees, no matter how much money we are making there,” said Donald H. Price, then the company’s executive vice president.

Wawa’s downtown presence has gone back and forth since then, with more city stores closed in the early 2000s and again between 2007 and 2008.

Then in 2012 Wawa doubled the size of its store at 17th and Arch.

The Pope’s visit in 2015 Wawa accelerated its reinvestment in Center City with a new store, the first in decades. Other stores followed in 2016 and 2017, as Wawa tied its image and its roots to Philadelphia.

But then the pandemic saw city stores closings and now security concerns are continuing that trend.

Read more about Wawa’s Center City history at The Philadelphia Inquirer.

A Philadelphia Inquirer columnist talks about crime in Philadelphia and the closing of Wawa stores.