Wawa closing Headhouse Square location as crime persists near South Street
SOCIETY HILL - Another Wawa is shutting its doors in Philadelphia, this time in Headhouse Square, amidst warnings about an increase in crime near South Street.
"It's really shocking," said Howard Wool. He’s talking about a warning some business owners say they received from the Society Hill Civic Association.
"This is a nice neighborhood. They got nice people here, but I guess it can happen anywhere in the city," he said.
The alert warns of two strong-armed robberies in the last two days at an ATM at 2nd and Lombard. It also cites two alleged incidents on the 600 block of Addison Street Wednesday night at 11:30 and another on the 300 block of Pine Street at 12:10am Thursday.
"This neighborhood is very exclusive. People see rich people here and they rob them too. It's not good for business," said Wool.
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He’s right. Big businesses are moving out. CVS in Headhouse Square is now vacant and Wawa announced Friday its closing its Headhouse Square location on July 16th.
In a statement Wawa said it:
"Constantly conducts careful and extensive evaluations of business performance and operational challenges of all stores on an ongoing basis."
Residents believe the closures may be due to crime and excessive panhandling.
"A lot of the homeless, but it's not that. It's like the kids on the bikes and the late-night people," said Dayna Sacharov who lives a few doors away from Wawa and says there all sorts of problems.
"They come in there and they steal stuff. They even hired a security guard," she said.
FOX 29 contacted Philadelphia Police about the recent incidents in the area. They say Wednesday's incident involved a 35-year-old Door Dash driver who says he was carjacked of his Toyota at gunpoint by a group of people in another car that cut him off. Police say the incident Thursday after midnight involved a 50-year-old man in a Lexus who was carjacked at gunpoint by a suspect who got out of another car.
"I think they’re not taking care of this district. It's out of control and they don't care anymore," said Sacharov.
Other Wawa locations that have closed around the city include Broad and Walnut, 12th and Market, 19th and Market and the store at 9th and South.