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Is It Time for Philadelphia to Break Up With Wawa?

Plus, a New Jersey official blames Camden's crime on "the thugs and criminals and gun-bearing freaks in Philadelphia."

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A Wawa display at Philadelphia's Fourth of July celebration on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway

A Wawa display at Philadelphia’s Fourth of July celebration on the Ben Franklin Parkway (Getty Images)

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Is it Time for Philadelphia to Break Up with Wawa?

In 2018, I was still pretty excited about Wawa, which had been a staple in Philadelphia for decades. I was so excited about Wawa that I dedicated an entire week of coverage to Wawa on the occasion of the company opening the world’s largest location, right here in Philadelphia.

In honor of Wawa Week, as I dubbed it, local musicians penned songs about Wawa. Alex Holley, Cecily Tynan and other local celebrities told us what they like to eat at Wawa. Our restaurant critic ranked all Wawa sandwiches, and an anonymous Wawa employee told all.

Five years later, it’s hard to imagine ever doing Wawa Week again.

Wawa’s food has continued its downslide, from the newish Wawa burgers to those soft pretzels to the oft-underwhelming hoagies.

I could go on and on about the food at Wawa. But more important is the fact that Wawa has been closing up shop in Philadelphia while continuing its massive expansion elsewhere. According to my latest count, Wawa actually has more stores in our enemy state of Florida than it does in Pennsylvania. And yet we allow Wawa to pay us to put their name on the 16-day celebration that culminates in a continuously underwhelming Fourth of July concert on the Ben Franklin Parkway.

I’ve been thinking about Philadelphia’s relationship with Wawa for a while now, as the company continues to announce closures of Philadelphia stores. I’ve been thinking it might be time to break up with Wawa. And then I read former Philly Mag contributor Josh Kruger’s July 4th op-ed about Wawa in the Inquirer. Kruger points to all of the above — the food, the closings — while also questioning the ethics of the company’s leadership team and calling bullshit on Wawa blaming Philly’s crime wave for its decision to shutter Philly shops.

Sorry, Wawa, but I’m now convinced it’s time to end this affair. Which leaves me wondering: What’s Sheetz up to these days?

Jim Kenney vs. Guns

On Wednesday, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney announced that the city is suing Polymer80 Inc. and JSD Supply, the companies behind many of the ghost guns confiscated in Philadelphia. The companies, which aren’t from the Philadelphia area, get around gun laws by selling not actual working firearms, but kits that a 12-year-old could easily use to assemble actual working firearms using standard household tools. No background checks. No red tape at all. Kind of like if a company sold everything you needed to build a car and then those cars blew up and killed a bunch of people every time they went out on the street. Nothing to see here.

Philly vs. Camden

A Democratic commissioner in Camden County recently blamed much of the city of Camden’s crime on “the thugs and criminals and gun-bearing freaks in Philadelphia.” Woah! Them’s fighting words! Philadelphia City Councilmember Katherine Gilmore Richardson has rightfully asked for an apology.

Local Talent

If you’re a fan of comedian-turned-actor-turned-guy-in-every-commercial-known-to-man Kevin Hart, you’ll want to know that the Philadelphia native’s latest comedy special comes out today. You can watch Kevin Hart: Reality Check exclusively on Peacock. The streaming service simultaneously releases the newest season of his interview series Hart to Heart.

And Philly rock-and-rollers Low Cut Connie just announced that they’ll release their eighth album, Art Dealers, on September 8th. That’s the same month they play WXPN’s 30th annual XPoNential Festival in Camden. The band describes the album as “a love letter to Lou Reed and Patti Smith’s New York” that’s “about anyone truly dedicating their life to art, laid against a gritty, decaying American backdrop.” That’s all well and good. But a Philly band paying tribute to New York?! Better be a good album.

By the Numbers

36: Criminal counts the man charged in Monday’s reportedly random shooting in Kingsessing is facing. The tragic case is big national news.

$45.5 billion: Spending plan Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro just managed to get legislators in Harrisburg to approve, but don’t expect the budget drama to end there.

$274: Lowest price for resale tickets to next week’s Beyoncé show at the Linc, a real bargain compared to what Taylor Swift tickets were going for. Beyoncé just canceled her Pittsburgh show due to scheduling and production issues, but it sounds like the Philly show is still a go.

And from the Lookin’-Fine Sports Desk …

In steamy Tampa Bay last night, we had Taijuan Walker facing off against Zach Littell. Walker got things started by giving up a, um, walk, a single, and a double on a pop-up by Brandon Lowe that fell between three fielders. Damn: 2-0. But the Phils instantly got them back, on successive singles by J.T. Realmuto, Bryson Stott, Alec Bohm and Darick Hall. Yay!

Not so fast. Another walk, a stolen base and a single off Walker in the second made it 3-2. For the top of the third, the Rays brought in pitcher Yonny Chirinos, and the Phils matched again, on a single by Trea Turner, a double by Bryce Harper, and a J.T. single. A Stott double put J.T. on third, but our guys couldn’t take the lead. Oops, a Luke Raley solo homer put the Rays up one again! Man, it was gonna be that kind of night.

Wait, though — both pitchers had 1-2-3 innings in the fourth. And Turner started off the fifth with … a solo homer. Tied once more. The Phils took the lead on a J.T. double and a Stott single — what was with all the doubles? Bohm then singled, and Jake Diekman came in for Chirinos and walked Hall to load the bases, whereupon Marsh struck out. The Phils tacked on one more with a solo Castellanos homer in the sixth, and Luis Patino came in for Rays reliever Robert Stephenson in the seventh. Stott singled off him and stole second.

Bohm walked, a Hall ground-out advanced the runners, and a Marsh single scored two more.

Walker came out in the bottom of the eighth for Gregory Soto, who got ’er done. Yet another new pitcher for the Rays in the ninth, Colin Poche, let Bohm single but nothing more. Jeff Hoffman finished it off, giving Craig Kimbrel a much-deserved rest. Eleven road wins in a row! They’ll play one more tonight, once again at 6:40.

Oh my goodness, look at the Sixers: Another local’s coming home!

All Philly Today Sports Desk coverage is provided by Sandy Hingston.

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