If you've been wondering why Wawa has not been a bigger force in the push to expand sales of beer and wine in Pennsylvania, your're not alone.
I've been thinking the same thing for awhile now.
When they changed Pa.'s archaic laws and cleared the path for the sale of some booze in convenience stores and supermarkets, I figured Wawa would lead the charge. They already sell booze in their stores in Virginia and Florida.
And yet, a couple of years later, there remains only one Wawa in Pennsylvania where you can snag a six-pack or have a beer with your Shorti. That would be the store out in Concord where Naamans Creek Road meets Route 202.
That may be about to change - at least a little.
Wawa managed to snag two more liquor licenses put up for bid by the Liquor Control Board. The Delco icon plunked down $186,000 for a license in Philadelphia and another $160,000 for one here on their home turf in Delco.
There actually is a very good reason - at least in my humble opinion - why Wawa has not been a bigger player in the booze biz. And it has everything to do with the Byzantine, archaic way the Keystone State handles the sale of booze.
When the law was changed to expand sales to some supermarkets and convenience stores, it came with some string attached.
These are restaurant licenses, so in order to be eligible for a license, the applicant has to build a separate part of the store to handle those sales. And since it's supposed to be for a restaurant, they also have to show they have seating for 30 people.
That automatically rules out a lot of the existing Wawas. The Concord store was being renovated and was created specifically to allow for beer sales.
Then they have to get a license. The one they snagged for Delco is for Middletown Township. Ironically, currently there are no Wawas actually in Middletown. But there has been conjecture that a super Wawa could wind up on the site of the old Riddle Ale House at the old Granite Run Mall. The new store would fit into the new Promenade at Granite Run plans that are well underway at the site.
As usual, Wawa is saying very little about their plans.
We'll keep tabs on the story and bring you any updates.
I guess you could call that the long and 'shorti' of it.
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