After 4 decades, Super Wawa to replace iconic cheesesteak spot in Southern NJ
A decades-old cheesesteak spot in South Jersey has shut down and the nearly century-old building it was in appears to be meeting a wrecking ball soon.
As for why, published reports say it's to make way for yet another Super Wawa.
Right before Christmas, I was driving along Route 30 in lower Camden County and, like I have done dozens of times, passed the very tiny and rather old building home to D&S Subs in Waterford Works, right by Waterford-Blue Anchor Road.
Little did I know that would be the last time I would pass that business.
On December 21st, D&S closed after 42 years in business.
Why? According to 42freeway.com, the folks at Wawa have been taking a good look at that corner property, and plans for one of their megastores are in the works.
Long story short, a place that served great, homemade cheesesteaks and subs/hoagies for over four decades is likely going to be replaced with a Wawa that pumps out hundreds of hoagies a day.
As for the building itself, that's an even more colorful story.
Saying D&S was in a small structure would be an understatement, but it was that way on purpose.
42freeway.com says that the building opened in the 1940s as a restaurant — its art deco design confirms that — and, quite literally, nothing has been done to it since.
Driving by at night, the red neon signs in the window and the green neon above the front door were your first clues that this place was rather unique, both the building and what was inside.
But now it's another piece of unique South Jersey history that will be fading into history. We'll add D&S to our quickly growing list of places in the area that you pass and say, "Do you remember what used to be there?"
We seem to be doing that a lot lately.
And I'm not bashing Wawa here. They're an iconic company in their own right and they continue to build on their success. It's just sad when it comes at the expense of a local landmark.
In this case, there is an existing Wawa about a half-mile up Route 30 at Pump Branch Road, but it's one of those old-school Wawas that doesn't have gas pumps. You know, the kind that you and I grew up with.
Those are, sadly, fading into history, too.
