Ed "DotEd" P.'s Profile

I only write reviews when I feel compelled.
I've visited Old Nelson dozens of times since they first opened.

If I were drunk and stumbled into Old Nelson, I bet I'd think I was in some special land of half Wawa half awesome section of a grocery store with a twist of Asian influence, and I'd drop a hundie on all types of crispy tastos and drinks and not regret it in the morning - but I would think it was leprechaun power because never in my life would I have expected this place to exist for two days in a row.

First, yes, this used to be a Wawa, but a very dirty Wawa that had a really bizarre staff that treated regular and neighborhood customers like they were some kind of invisible leper. The only thing convenient about that Wawa was that you knew what it had and the location was good. I'm a die hard Wawa fan, so I expected myself to hate whatever moved into this location and drive my car through the front gate shooting missiles, despite that this was the worst Wawa Id ever frequented.

Old Nelson moved into this location and while Old Nelson doesn't have a free ATM, ordering machines at the deli, and Wawa brand merch, they make up for it, and in my opinion surpassed the Wawa in killing power.

The easiest way to review Old Nelson is to tell you how it's different from Wawa because that's all anyone will want to hear:

- It's got a different name. Seriously, stop complaining that it's not Wawa - I hear people do this all the time, you don't look cool for whining about this anymore and Old Nelson is a MUCH more ridiculous name than Wawa, anyway. Get behind it.
- Where Wawa had like 20 types of chips, Old Nelson has like 50, obviously supporting newer companies in chip technology.
- Where Wawa had derelict bums working the deli and arithmetically challenged cashiers, Old Nelson has cute Asian people that smile and mean it. Who cares if there is a $5 credit card minimum? If you're complaining about that, you're the jerk.
- Old Nelson's refrigerated drinks selection is INSANE! Small companies, imports, 20+ chilled coffees, 20+ health drinks, Aloe drinks, organics; I spend 10 minutes looking over the drinks before getting something and always find something new. Crap you've never heard of!
- You order deli sandwiches by talking to a person WHAT!! I know, I know, make sure you did your hair today - while i prefer the neat system Wawa had, I don't have any trouble telling someone what I want. and it's not packed like a Weezer concert signing area, so you don't have to fight to get anyone's attention.  You also won't get any autographs.
- Order your sandwich, receive a ticket, use that time to pick out your drinks and snackies, pay for everything, hand in your stamped ticket and get your order. Pretty much the same as Wawa but you don't have to touch a filthy screen.
- I don't think there is anything Wawa carried, besides hot dogs and some deli changes that Old Nelson doesn't carry. In addition Old Nelson has about 3 times the overall variety of additional packaged foods than Wawa.
- The deli is well stocked with a full range of Boar's Head products. This amounts for the slight increase in price that some people don't seem to care for.
- The deli food tastes better than Wawa - I had my doubts, but it's great.
- You can get grilled paninis! WHAT!
- double the staff at all times.
- Hoagies are larger than you'd expect.
- same layout and tile as Wawa - try not to get lost.
- exotic health foods, snacks, and convenience items plus if you really wanted just a vitamin water and bag of Frito's, you can get that still.

Handicapped ramp entrance and curb.
One entrance on Chestnut St.

It harms my soul to know that there is so much merchandise in one location. If a meteor hits, pray it miss Wade's, lest our culture be hit ten fold.

Call them up or visit, no matter what you need the staff seems to always have an answer that pleases from "It's over here" to "Yeah, prolly in the basement, lemme go check" or "No, but we'll get it for you, that's not hard."

I've been going to Wade's for years and watched the regular cast of characters manning the [growing] marketplace evolve into a reliably hilarious staff that honestly care about collecting to the nth degree.

Wade will order the craziest merchandise just to have it in store, like awesome replica weapons and artifacts that cost hundreds. Stuff you'll rarely ever see. Also, if you like Captain America (or hate him) you can check out a portion of Wade's personal collection. Bring a camera.

Oh, and it's home to the largest back catalog of ...everything. And not just comics, they've got everything that goes along with them from figures and statues/busts, to shirts and rare collectables, to everything in between.

The store hosts annual field days, BBQs, 24 hour comic book days, free comic book days that tend to last weeks, and has the strongest presence of any vendor at Wizard World Philadelphia every year, where you'll see a Wade's logo shirt constantly in your field of view.

Your best bet is to visit the Madness and feel the impact of it all.

Extremely reasonable pricing and frequent store-wide sales.