Wawa closes for renovations

An estimated six-week construction project at the Wawa on 38th and Spruce streets began on May 29.

The project will be a “complete renovation of the store,” according to Bala Consulting Engineers employee Michael Barr, who is the project manager in charge of redesigning the Wawa on Penn’s campus.

Penn’s store will be “starting fresh” with new equipment, furniture and engineering systems — which include plumbing, heating and air conditioning, Barr added. He also noted that the new store would have a “brand new food service layout.”

“The new store is going to reflect Wawa’s current design standards [of] efficiency and benefit [for the] customers,” Barr said.

Students have had mixed reactions about Wawa’s temporary closure.

Since he is currently living on Spruce Street, not having the Wawa right by his house “is going to be a bit of an inconvenience,” rising College sophomore Spencer Jaffe said.

“I tried to go there this morning and saw to my dismay that they had torn up the entire inside,” he said. “It will be sad not to have it there … for as long as it’s closed.”

Rising College and Wharton sophomore Mitchell Tang asked whether this means that they are getting a bathroom for the store.

Tang added that he will not be going to the Wawa on 36th and Chestnut streets because it would be inconvenient for him, despite the fact that it will remain open during this time.

“It’s not really going to affect me,” rising College junior Joshua Chilcote said. “Where I live, the Wawa by the Sheraton would be easier for me to get to anyways.”

However, Barr thinks that the new store will be sure to please future Wawa customers.

It will be a “fresh new look” that continue to serve Wawa’s reputation to “focus on [its] customers,” he said.

Staff reporters Will Marble and Lucy Chen contributed reporting.

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