Wawa shutters South Street Philadelphia location amid rise in crime

A Wawa in Philadelphia’s Headhouse Square has announced it will be closing its doors for good after local neighborhood associations reported problems with crime, drugs, and other public issues.

Lori Bruce, a spokesperson for Wawa, explained, “While closing a store is always a difficult decision to make, Wawa constantly conducts careful and extensive evaluations of business performance and operational challenges of all stores on an ongoing basis.”

Earlier in October 2022, Wawa closed down two other shops in the city with similar crime concerns.

One resident, Dayna Sachrov, who lives just down the street, said there has been crime at the store front itself. "They come in there and they steal stuff. They even hired a security guard," she said.

The convenience store, Wawa, has over 950 locations across areas in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Florida, and Washington, D.C. With a selection of different fresh food services and drinks, the convenience retail chain has had much success in its growth.

This is the sixth Wawa in City Center Philadelphia to close since 2020.

Howard Wool said even though it is a nice neighborhood, crime still occurs. "This is a nice neighborhood. They got nice people here, but I guess it can happen anywhere in the city," he said.

"This neighborhood is very exclusive. People see rich people here and they rob them too. It's not good for business," Wool continued.

Business owners have received multiple warnings about recent criminal activity from the Society Hill Civic Association, an organization dedicated to "[m]aintaining the beauty, cleanliness and safety of [the] streets" in Philadelphia.

Larger convenience chains, such as 7-Eleven locations, have also closed. A report from last year caught masked suspects on video stealing merchandise and threatening the clerks.

Crime is up in the city and has increased significantly in the last few years, including retail theft. In 2021, there were 9,371 reported incidents. In 2022, that number increased to 14,533. This is an all-time high since 2015.