[PHLtoNYC]

Good news for 1 former Wawa location.

Wawa CEO reveals plans for shuttered Center City stores, including launch of a tech hub
https://www.bizjournals.com/philadel...Pos=1#cxrecs_s

Gheysens made the announcement during a panel discussion at the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia's 2023 Economic Outlook event. He told the Business Journal that the Delaware County convenience store chain's space at 19th and Market streets, which shuttered last fall, will potentially serve as a venue to bring startups together in a "Wawa real-life environment" to provide tech solutions for the company.

The hub could also provide training for young workers to help meet the growing demand for tech talent in the region, Gheysens added. It could be Wawa-specific, or could serve as a more regional, multi-partner venue.
Overall, the chain wants the location to become a "beacon" for the health of the tech industry in the region.

"That is a great location, and hopefully a visible sign that tech is alive and well, and the ecosystem that we create around it for the Philly area is alive and well," Gheysens said.
The planned venue is part of Wawa's partnership with the Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia to support its efforts to grow the region's brand and market it as a tech hub. Philadelphia's potential in the tech industry, Gheysens said, is "undersold."

Gheysens also shed some light on the fate of two other recently closed Wawa stores at 12th and Market streets and 13th and Chestnut streets.

The chain is negotiating an end to its lease at the 12th and Market location and will not reopen. At the 13th and Chestnut outpost, which closed in December 2021, Wawa is working with an undisclosed nonprofit partner to transform the location into "something that could really do good" for the Philadelphia community. The space has a catering facility in the basement, which Gheysens said the company wants to make use of.