The Georgetown Wawa is set to close by the end of the month. This is according to employees at the store that have told me and others that the last day of business for the store is December 16th. I was told that “financial reasons” drove the closure. Another resident was told that the landlord was jacking up the rent.
Employees have stated that the company is reassigning them to other stores. However the employee I spoke with lamented the timing for the change, with it being right in the middle of the holiday season.
The store opened only six years ago. If a rent increase is truly the reason, I would be surprised. You would think a tenant like Wawa would have secured a longer lease term, or at least would have negotiated a favorable option to renew the lease if it is actually nearing the end of its term. I don’t go there too often, but when I do it seems fairly busy, which also makes the decision to close hard to fathom.
I was hardly in favor of the store opening when it was first announced. It seemed like a step backward for the neighborhood. But after it actually opened, I quickly grew to see its merits and realized I was wrong to lament its arrival. It offered relatively cheap food and snacks in a neighborhood increasingly lacking in options for that. It was particularly popular with construction workers and other laborers who are in abundance around Georgetown, especially during the day. It was kept clean and in good order and was certainly a step above the 7-Eleven, which closed shortly after the Wawa opened. Six years ago I’d be surprised to hear myself say this: but it will be greatly missed.
Before the Wawa this building hosted a Restoration Hardware for many years. But before that it was the location of the Key movie theater and a Roy Rogers:
No word yet on what will replace the Wawa.
The Georgetown Metropolitan 
This part of town sorely needs a grocery store, a real one. Let’s just hope the next tenant is not yer another bank.
Either bring back the Roy Rogers or tear down the building entirely.