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Many Feel Nostalgia Over Wawa's Original Store Closing

By Mike DeNardo

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- It's a bittersweet day for devotees of Wawa, as the original store on MacDade Boulevard has closed its doors.

first wawa 1
(credit: Mike DeNardo)

The doors of Wawa number one in Folsom are closed, as a larger Super Wawa number 731 opens right up the street.

Customer Joan Mitchell will miss the original.

"The other one's going to be nicer and better from a marketing level, but this is home Wawa for us. We're going to miss it!"

new wawa
New Wawa location (credit: Mike DeNardo)

The original store opened in 1964. But Wawa CEO Chris Ghuysens says today's customers want more choices and convenience.

"We deliberated and talked about other options for store number one, and at the end of the day, it was about giving and putting our resources toward the best new store."

Ghuysens says Wawa is encouraging the original building's landlord to keep some kind of business active at that historic location.

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