Wawa closes one of its oldest stores in South Jersey
MOUNT LAUREL – Adam Dvorin, a township native who now lives in Philadelphia, returned here recently to say farewell to an old friend.
It was one of South Jersey’s earliest Wawa stores, a fixture since 1972 in the Ramblewood neighborhood — and in Dvorin’s childhood.
“A sad goodbye,” Dvorin, a public relations executive, wrote in a Facebook post that accompanied a selfie taken outside the convenience store on Church Street near Ramblewood Parkeway.
“The first Wawa I ever visited,” said Dvorin, who remembers buying baseball cards at the store as a boy.
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“I popped over to grab one last cup of coffee and raise a mug to all the memories,” he wrote.
His post drew almost 30 comments, many lamenting the vintage Wawa’s departure. One comment, like someone checking on an elderly neighbor, asked about the well-being of a legacy store in Moorestown.
Dvorin’s experience is a common one for some Wawa customers in South Jersey, where decades-old ‘legacy' stores are disappearing as the chain rolls out superstores with fueling stations.
For instance, a legacy Wawa closed in Pine Hill on Nov. 16, the same day a superstore opened a mile down the same road in Gloucester Township.
That also happened in Oaklyn, where Wawa in April opened a superstore and simultaneously shuttered a smaller site just blocks away on the White Horse Pike.
And in June, a legacy Wawa closed after 53 years in Collings Lakes, Atlantic County.
The departed stores can create a feeling of loss for long-time customers.
“To me, it was equivalent to the town corner store,” Dvorin said of Ramblewood’s Wawa, which anchored a small strip center.
“And even after moving away, I still loved the nostalgia of the Church Street Wawa,” he said in an online interview.
An online petition at Change.org drew 443 signatures in favor of the store's survival.
The appeal described the "beloved" Wawa as "more than just a convenience store to us. It's a second home and family."
"We understand that businesses must make tough decisions based on economic factors," said the appeal, launched Oct. 18 by Jenna Norton.
"However, we believe that the value this particular store brings to our community far outweighs any potential financial gain from its closure."
In a statement, Wawa expressed thanks to its customers — but the company, which this year introduced late-night pizza to its menu, also noted change is a part of any business.
The Pennsyvlania-based firm, formerly in the dairy business, opened its first Wawa Food Market in 1964. It expanded to New Jersey and Delaware by 1969, according to Wawa's website.
“Since 1972, it has been our pleasure to serve this community,” the company's statement said of the Ramblewood site. “They have embraced us not just as a store but as friends and neighbors, and for that we will always be grateful.”
At the same time, it cited “the ever-evolving needs of our customers.”
“Whenever possible, we modernize or relocate our older stores rather than close them, but this was not an option for this location. After careful evaluation, the decision was made to close the store on Nov. 20,” the statement said.
“As always, our associates from this store have been offered the opportunity to work at other nearby stores,” it said.
Signs at the now-vacant Wawa direct shoppers to existing superstores in nearby Evesham and Maple Shade.
The shutdown was not tied to Wawa’s expansion — although a new superstore opened Thursday, Nov. 30, in the Sewell section of Washington Township.
That opening was marked with an early-morning celebration at the store on the 100 block of Egg Harbor Road, along with free coffee for visitors throughout the day.
Jim Walsh is a senior reporter for the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daly Journal. Email: Jwalsh@cpsj.com.
This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Wawa customers lament loss of legacy stores across South Jersey
