Saying Hello to the Newest (and Smallest) Wawa!

First of all, apologies for not posting at all in like the last 2 months... I've been busy and the next regular post is incredibly long and I am struggling to get over the mental hurdle of starting to write it.

HOWEVER, class this morning was cancelled and I took the opportunity to check out the grand opening of Wawa's newest store. It is the first to open this year (or should I say decade), and is a new concept they're testing the waters with. It's only 3,000 square feet (compared to their largest store at 11,000) and focuses more on the convenience side than the deli. It features a pickup window and offers pre-made hoagies, although they do still have the standard ordering screens so you can get a custom one.

 If you're thinking this doesn't look like a Wawa from the outside, that's because it actually began life in the 1950's as Quaker City Federal Savings.

(1950's photo credit MM Partners)

(Photo credit Philadelphia Inquirer)

(Photo Credit MM Partners)

I couldn't find anything on the history of Quaker City, but it's a safe assumption they've been defunct for probably close to 50 years at this point. The building more recently did a stint as an AT&T store, who kept the original façade perfectly intact. Unfortunately, Wawa found it necessary to replace it when they moved in, but thankfully designed the new one with the old in consideration. I didn't get a good picture of the entire new façade, so this rendering will have to suffice. It looks good, but I'm more than a little irritated they pulled off all that marble facing.

 This store has a larger variety of foods ready to go than most other locations, but also has a much smaller ordering counter.

 The hot foods case here was right by the kitchen instead of the checkout (where every other store has it), so it can be continuously restocked from the back. One thing I found interesting about this store was that there were no shelves in the sales floor, they were all along walls. It makes sense given the size of the store, the store doesn't feel as cramped as I expected it to. There is a smaller selection here than most Wawas, which is supposed to make the store more efficient. One of the people from corporate who spoke here said the average store has 11 refrigerated cases, while this has 6.

 The signage here is a little misleading- the counter here does coffee, soda and slushies are over by the deli counter window. Since there's no counter here, the ordering kiosks are under the TV seen in the background here.

 Wawa's mascot, Wally the Goose. I think he only shows up at grand openings, so this was the first time I actually got to see him in person.

 The mayor showed up in the back here. I think he might have come in that way to avoid people trying to get pictures with him- three different people stopped him for selfies when he walked from over there to where I'm standing for coffee. Yes, even the mayor took advantage of the grand opening free coffee. He added sugar to it too, which is ironic since he didn't have to pay his sweetened beverage tax on it. (While I may never forgive him for that tax, I have made peace with him since he shot down Drexel's plan to evict the food trucks from Market Street on campus)

 This guy is the director of the Center City-area stores, of which there are now 9. In the past few years, they've expanded a lot in the area. I think he said 4 of those opened in the past 2 years; the others have been remodeled and a few expanded.

 The mayor also spoke at the event. Normally Wawa brings in some important people for grand openings, but I was surprised he was coming.

 Here, they're preparing for the ribbon cutting. Most of the people here are managers here, but there's a few from corporate (like Wally).

 The ribbon has been cut, though I was standing far enough back you really can't tell.

 After the main ribbon cutting, they had a hoagie making race between the local police and fire stations. The police won, making 25 hoagies in 3 minutes, versus 13 from the fire department. Regardless, Wawa donated $1,000 to each, plus the hoagies they made.

 The winner did get a Wawa trophy though.

 Wally was watching the event through the pickup window.

 The police get their check...

 ...and the Fire Department gets theirs.

Finally, the ribbon on the pickup window was cut. I got a video of it but for the sake of saving space on my Google drive I have to leave you with this picture instead.

Today's song is one of 4 released by Wawa last summer to promote Hoagiefest. Despite being promotional, they sound like real songs. They played it at the Grand Opening, which is why it's on my mind.