Wawa suspends made-to-order food orders in Philly stores

Suburban stores are not impacted

ARLINGTON, VA » Lidl US is the latest grocer in the region to announce the need to increase staffing levels to help meet customer demand during the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The grocery chain has announced it will hire up to 1,000 temporary employees across its store network and distribution centers for a minimum of two months.

The company said the hiring includes openings at the company’s three Montgomery County locations — in Upper Providence, Lower Providence and Towamencin — as well as at locations in Philadelphia and Easton.

A Lidl spokesman could not specify how many employees are needed in each of the Montgomery County locations, adding in an emailed response to questions that the company will be adding openings “on a rolling basis based on need throughout the crisis.”

The majority of the openings are for store associates, as well as warehouse support.

“We are looking to bring these temporary employees on as soon as possible and will be holding interviews in our stores,” Lidl spokesman Chandler Ebeier said in the emailed response.

A listing of all the newly available positions at Lidl US can be found at careers.lidl.com

“Every day, our number one priority is the health and safety of our customers and our team, and that is our primary focus during this public health emergency,” Lidl US Chairman Roman Heini, said in a press release. “The new positions announced today will help us better meet the unprecedented needs of our customers. We are working hard to serve them and protect the health of

The region’s popular convenience store Wawa is making more changes due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The chain is suspending all made-to-order food selections at all of its Philadelphia stores after an associate tested positive for the coronavirus.

Customers will still be able to pick up their pre-made favorites such as Sizzlis and Shortis, but they will not be able to order items and wait for them in the stores. Wawa is making the change in an attempt to limit crowds and encourage social distancing.

The new policy went into effect at 5 a.m. Friday at all 42 city locations. It does not cover suburban outlets.

Wawa says they will be temporarily suspending their made-toorder food service in Philadelphia in an effort to limit crowds and encourage social distancing.

“Following recent guidance from Philadelphia City officials, beginning March 27th, we are temporarily suspending built-toorder custom food service ordering in our Philadelphia stores. To help offset this temporary change, we are expanding our express offer of both hot and cold foods to include more options,” said Wawa in a statement.

“This change in our Philadelphia City stores will enable us to move people through the store faster and keeping their interactions brief, while further encouraging the practice of social distancing. As an essential provider, we will remain open to serve our Philadelphia community with hot and cold express items and an assortment of provisioning and packaged goods, keeping the health and safety of every associates and customer in our store our top priority,” the company added.

“Wawa’s full built-to-order menu items will remain available in the City of Philadelphia through delivery service provided by our partners at Door Dash, Grub Hub and UberEats. In addition, mobile orders placed through The Wawa App will be filled through four designated Wawa stores that will be converted to delivery and mobile order fulfillment sites,” Wawa added.

Additionally, the four Philadelphia stores will be converted to serve as fulfillment sites for all delivery orders and mobile order pick-up locations where customers can place their order through the Wawa app and select one of the following locations:

· Store #8006 – 6800 Rising Sun Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19111

· Store #8064 – 3341 Grant Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19114

· Store #247 – 518-520 South 2nd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147

· Store #8013 – 2535 Aramingo Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19125

On Wednesday, Wawa officials announced an employee at the store located at 2535 Aramingo Avenue had tested positive for coronavirus. That store will be temporarily closed for a deep clean.

Last week the store said it would close its popular coffee bar and also halt sales of self-serve coffee drinks. Now store associates will pour coffee orders.

Wawa put several other measures into effect in an attempt to limit the number of customers in stores at any one time, including asking customers and associates to maintain a distance of 6 feet from each other inside the store supported through helpful in-store signage, announcements and videos. They also are placing clear, plastic shields, at check-out counters.

And in a salute to those on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic, Wawa announced that starting March 26 they would provide free coffee to all health care workers and first responders.

“We are looking to bring these temporary employees on as soon as possible and will be holding interviews in our stores.” — Chandler Ebeier, Lidl spokesman

MEDIANEWS GROUP FILE PHOTO Lidl US has announced it will hire 1,000employees across the country to respond to customer demands during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, including three stores in Montgomery County. This photo shows the Lidl grocery store on East Ridge Pike in Upper Providence, which opened Sept. 4, 2019. The company also has stores in Lower Providence and Towamencin in Montgomery County, as well as in Philadelphia and Easton.

SUBMITTED PHOTO A Lidl store team.