As the holiday shopping season hits its stride in Philadelphia, the number of restaurants, retailers and customers in Center City is inching closer to pre-pandemic levels.
According to a new Center City District report, the volume of shoppers and visitors has reached 73% of the level from October 2019. It comes as the level of residents in the area in the area has surged to 119% of the population back then.
Officials say more than 80% of storefronts in the area are open for business – which is a 25% jump from this summer – and fast-approaching the occupancy levels from the fall of 2019.
Since 2020, more than 175 new retail, restaurants and service-oriented businesses have opened in Center City, with nearly 50 more coming soon.
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The report comes on the heels of two major food chains pulling back on their Center City footprint.
Earlier this year, Starbucks and Wawa closed Center City stores citing safety concerns.
Last month, Wawa announced the closure of two of their downtown Philadelphia stores as the Delaware County-based chain said they continue "to be focused on doing everything we can to monitor and work with local authorities to address challenges impacting operations in any other stores.”
Business
The convenience store chain closed the Wawas at 12th and Market streets and 19th and Market streets. It came after early closures of other city stores in September after young people were caught on camera ransacking a Wawa in the Northeast.
Starbucks closed their 10th and Chestnut street store over the summer as part of the company’s planned closings due to unsafe or challenging incidents, according to reports.
