Wawa is cutting overnight hours for at least seven Bucks County stores due to safety concerns
Two Northeast Wawas are also on the list
For Wawa fans, the woes continue. This time in the suburbs.
The chain will end overnight service — running midnight to 5 a.m. — until further notice at several stores.
Seven of the nine stores for which The Inquirer was able to confirm schedule changes are in Bucks County, including two stores that experienced armed robberies Monday and Tuesday. Authorities believe the stores were robbed by the same person and are offering $10,000 for information leading to an arrest.
Wawa spokesperson Lori Bruce would not confirm how many stores would be affected, citing ongoing law enforcement investigations.
“What we can say is at times we may temporarily close or limit hours due to external challenges or recommendations by local authorities for the safety and security of our associates and customers,” wrote Bruce in an email.
The Wawas that reported robberies this week were in Feasterville, on Bustleton Pike and Street Road, and in Holland along Holland Pike.
Bensalem Police did not immediately respond to inquiries regarding safety conversations with the chain and the Lower Southampton Township Police Department, which serves Feasterville, declined to comment during an active investigation.
» READ MORE: Wawa has gotten ‘so big they don’t need Philly.’ But its suburban sprawl is getting pushback from residents, too.
A spokesperson for the Bucks County commissioners said they learned of the schedule changes through news reports.
At least nine stores began cutting their overnight hours this week, including two in Northeast Philly:
10901 Bustleton Ave., Philadelphia
12004 E. Roosevelt Blvd., Philadelphia
2250 Lincoln Highway, Feasterville-Trevose
676 Rosewood Ave., Feasterville-Trevose
601 Street Rd. E, Feasterville-Trevose
929 Bustleton Pike, Feasterville-Trevose
3338 Bristol Rd., Bensalem
3620 Street Rd., Bensalem
236 Holland Pike, Holland
The schedule changes come at a time of growth for the chain, with 20 new stores opening this fall across New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Florida, Maryland, and Virginia, according to the company’s website.
» READ MORE: A history of Wawa’s on-again, off-again relationship with Center City
Still, Wawa is making cuts. Last week, it announced plans to close two stores in Center City because of safety concerns. But both shuttered stores reported just a fraction of criminal incidents seen at other locations in Center City — or elsewhere in the city — that have remained open, according to Philadelphia Police data.
While criminal incidents did rise dramatically across most Wawa locations in Philadelphia over the past two years, the increase was overwhelmingly driven by increased reports of thefts.