Old Nelson Food Company

This is what Wawa would be if it wasn’t run by corporate soul suckers who seem hell bent on expanding super wawas to everywhere in the Delaware valley.
This place is more eclectic, more upscale, more health conscious. I love that they have a great selection of beer (the Wawa near me will be carrying beer soon but I can’t imagine they will offer the choices old nelsons does)
We wanted a fast bite and there was no way we would be dining at the place we were going to watch the rock show (named after a popular FM radio program) after reading about all their health code violations. Mouse droppings anyone? I felt it was my duty to announce these citations to the folks eating dinner as we walked by and looked at them in the window but didn’t.
For dinner I had the Italian hoagie and my lady had the grilled chicken Asian sesame wrap. My lady loved it. It was mostly salad with red onions, chicken, mandarin oranges, lettuce. The wrap was huge.
I like the boars head meats in my hoagie but the roll was as weak as Wawas. How can you NOT have a hard roll for a great hoagie in this area with so many wonderful bakeries around? Points deducted.
We ate right inside at one of the 7 or so tables. I drank a diet dr pepper and my lady had an iced tea.
If we lived by here, we’d definitely be regulars.

I’ve visited other Old Nelson locations in Philly, but this is the 30^th Street Station location on the south side of the station, basically behind Saxby’s. I’ve found their deli counter staff to be very helpful and polite. Most recent visit I ordered the cheese sandwich (pictured), and it took only about 1 minute. After the sandwich came, I realized I forgot to order hot peppers, and the counter guy ran back, got a condiment container full of them for me, no extra charge. Pricing on sandwiches is very reasonable, particularly for the location. Great place to stop for a quick snack before catching a train.

To me this place is like a gourmet 7 – 11. You’ll find basic American snack favorites but you’ll also find yummy gems that aren’t on American shelves such as mars bars mmm
They have a deli counter where you can order anything from a brekky sandwich to a hoagie. Shelves of chips, quinoa crisp, amazing chocolate and candy selections
There’s a few refrigerators of prepared foods and snacks such as sushi, cold soba noodles and even yogurt parfaits. There’s also a fridge that has blocks of cheese and a small selection of salami and such.

That this Old Nelson serves the best sushi for it’s price has me hooked. There are two locations within the 30^th St Station. I like the one by SEPTA’s Regional Rail.
I love their coffee here and and the refills are reasonable. Their staff is pretty friendly with one or to that are really perfunctory in the service that they give but the other associates make up for their noncooperation in polite customer service. When I get the taste for it, I’ll order a cornbeef hoagie with the works except hot peppers (I like sweet peppers) and in the morning a bacon egg and cheese on a croissant. The store is clean and well stocked with a variety of various, tasty beverages from soda to gourmet drinks up to $ 4.99. I’ll pass on those and get the alternatives at a lower price. They don’t give you receipts post transaction so if you want to bookeep, I suggest you ask for it or you won’t get it.

I’d give zero stars if possible. They wanted to charge me $ 1.50 to add hot water to the cup of tea I purchased from them that they half filled!!! Ridiculous!

These people are idiots. Ordered a Reuben panini. After 10mins, and a little too close to my train’s departure time, I asked about the sandwich. «We just opened, it’ll be a while longer.» Let a bitch know if you can’t make a sandwich in under 10mins, when you have NO other orders on the line. The dude at the counter actually said, «Oh, are you trying to catch a train?» To which I replied, «No. I came here just for the sandwich.» 5mins later, I got my Reuben panini. On a ciabatta roll. Motherfuckers.

I like most things about this store but be careful, many of the products are at or past expiration. Pay particular attention to the yogurt!

If you’re at the Philly train station looking for a quick bite this is probably your best bet. The coffee is top end and the sandwiches are great and it’s all reasonably priced. I got the chicken breast sandwich with avocado and honey mustard and it was delicious and the bread was soft and fresh. Good service too! Will be my go to stop at the Phili train station to come.

My friend, Jess, partner, Kate and I were going to head to a concert at the World Café Live but wanted to grab a quick bite to eat before going. I decided to look for somewhere near the World Café Live since parking in that area is a nightmare and I figured it would be easiest to park in one spot for dinner and the show. Based on positive reviews on Unilocal we decided to try out Old Nelson Food Company and man it was awesome! They have a little deli, grocery items, and beer. We got hoagies and a beer (which we were allowed to drink there although we had a hilarious adventure opening it because it had a cork and they had no bottle opener so we opened it with a pen and a lot of determination…) I got a ham hoagie with cheese, peppers, honey mustard, and onions and it was truly delicious. Every ingredient was exceptional from the hoagie roll to the meat to the cheese to the mustard. It was the best hoagie I have had in a very long time! And it was very reasonably priced – a whole 12 inch hoagie for about $ 6. You couldn’t get a deal like that even at Subway. I can’t wait to go back this place was just so good!

I concur with other reviews. The staff hate waiting on customers. They hate giving change. They hate that we breath.

The people who work here hate everyone and it shows. I have come here several times over the past few weeks and its snarly bad looks every day. Go to Bön Pain in the main lobby. Its impersonal but they aren’t offended by their customers like this place.

Wow. I’m shocked that this place has some fairly good reviews. I find the staff at this location to be incredibly rude and in need of a serious lesson in customer service. In fact, my boyfriend and I have coined the nickname «the rude store». I have gone in for breakfast on several occasions and never has any member if staff greeted me with a «hello» or even «how can I help you». Instead it is usually just a blank, impatient stare as if to say «well, what is it?». I have never seen anyone smile at this location. I’m giving 2 stars because the food is alright and I like the selection of snacks and beverages.

This place is awesome. I work across the street from here. Unfortunately 30^th street station is lacking in the food dept and what they do offer is overpriced. Luckily I have old nelsons which offers some amazing sandwiches. Their breakfast options are good too. When I’m not getting a sandwich (my fav is the maple honey turkey on rye w/​cream cheese, tomatoes and cucumbers) I’m browsing their great selection of snacks. A lot of the items are «organic» (ok I may be making that up but they’re fancy and good). The best thing here is the candy selection (hazlenut cream kit kats anyone??) And the asian candy that I love but can rarely find. Oh and they have beer which is always a plus. I love wawa but old nelsons is a great option to have.

Stopped in on a DEAD Sunday night at 30^th Street Station and needed good coffee. Old Nelson Hooked me up with a REAL La Colombe Latte for under $ 2.00. SCORE!!!

great quality of everything they sell there.
the best sandwiches in philly! they use only boars head meats and the sandwiches use whole leaf lettuce and freshly cut tomatoes.
great selection of snacks and to top it all off, GREAT coffee (la columbe!)

Old Nelson’s has to be my favorite place to get a sandwich or panini in the entire city, hands down. Living right next door in the awesome Left Bank apartments, we used to come down to this particular location quite a bit in order to get some lunch or just buy ingredients or whatnot for anything we needed, since they’ve got a full supply store here as well. Actually, let’s go into that a bit more, shall we?
There’s one entire section of the store that’s entirely specialty foods, international items, and other awesome goodies that they’ve brought together. From coconut water with the bits of coconut in it to fine Italian pasta, you can get it all at Old Nelson. Do note, however, that it comes a bit pricey, so be sure to be watching the labels to avoid a shock at the register.
They’ve also got a huge beer selection for anyone who’s interested in that, but my favorite part has to be the deli. The bread is fresh, the meats and cheeses are all Boar’s Head (which I love), and the veggies are awesome. I know some people think Boar’s Head is overrated, etc., but I think that they make a mean provolone, and have friends who attest to the meats as well.
One of the best paninis is the P14 — lettuce, tomatoes, red onion, avocado, cucumber, roasted pepper, and alfalfa sprouts. I get it without the sprouts, but that’s just me. The gooiness and richness of the avocado with the cheese and everything else comes together in a divine fashion.
TLDR — great specialty foods place, awesome deli

Easily the best place to get lunch in the Drexel University area.
I’ve tried numerous sandwiches, and I’ve liked the vast majority of them. A few highlights below:
Old Nelson Special Club: A towering sandwich including bacon, avocado, chicken, and lettuce. A lot of food for the money, and it tastes really good. The sandwich can become a bit unwieldy, since the avocado makes the chicken slippery and it tends to try to shoot out of the sandwich, but it still tastes great. I’ve ordered this a lot.
Italian Hoagie: A delicious blend of meats, cheeses, and lettuce. The only issue I had was that, when ordered without making any changes, the hoagie roll is big enough that there’s a little too much bread for the filling. I found out, however, that you can get this on a kaiser roll, and then the bread to filling ratio is pretty much perfect. My other favorite item on the menu.
American Hoagie: Also good, with the same caveat that it works better on a kaiser roll than a hoagie roll. I like it a little less than the Italian, but it’s still a good sandwich.
Salami Sandwich: A simple salami, cheese, lettuce, and mustard mix on marble rye. Only $ 6, but it’s a huge quantity of meat and delicious besides. Very good deal.
Corned Beef Reuben: A standard reuben sandwich. Also big for the price, filling, and tasty.
Overall: Very good lunch option. A few of the sandwiches aren’t quite perfect, but by and large it’s a very reliable and satisfying restaurant. Highly recommended.

Love this place! Their sandwiches are made with Boars Head and there are tons of interesting combinations. Everything is very fresh. Their snack selection is awesome as well as their beer. Who knew?

I must have passed by this place hundreds of times and never noticed it was there. We stopped here to get some snacks for the road and we were shocked by the variety of international goodies they had. We didn’t get any of the sandwiches but my gut tell me its 4-​star worthy. This place gets my high rating just for being awesome.

I haven’t been here, but I had someone bring me some food back from this location and it was the best hoagie I’ve had in a while. Buffalo chicken, lettuce, onions, mayo, and provolone. Sounds like pretty standard stuff right? I guess it’s all in the execution. It’s all in the wrist. The spice from the chicken and punch from the provolone was more than I could ask for. I can’t wait to try it again. There are several Old Nelsons downtown… I wonder how consistent they are.

Delicious sandwiches! If you’re in 30^th Street Station for whatever reason and feel like stepping it up a notch from Subway, Old Nelson is your best bet. They tend to get super crowded during the lunch hours as half of us workers at the Cira Centre seem to head there en masse. Some of their other things are overpriced (it’s a train station, though, and I just paid $ 8 for a bottle of Visine from the book store there), but the sandwiches and coffee are reasonably priced. Give it a try if you’re Amtrak is delayed (which it OBVIOUSLY will be).

I’m happier browsing in Old Nelson before my train comes than Marge Simpson in Toronto!
Old Nelson was a must add for 30^th Street Station. They are like Noah’s Ark: its all there.
I love that I can get great candy (many European brands), fruit and pop-​chips in one spot. And they have random cool things such as agave nectar. My usual is a cup of grapes and a bag of salt and pepper pop chips.
If you haven’t had a chance to browse their plentiful selection, go ahead and so it. But be very, very careful if you have a sweet tooth.

This review is solely for the La Colombe coffee — at $ 1.50 for a 16-​oz, it’s the best deal around! They even have two types of lids, which I appreciated. I have never gotten anything else from this Old Nelson, but it looks like they have a great selection and would definitely stop in for a sandwich or snack if I were hungry in 30^th St Station.

Somewhere, I hope the geniuses responsible for Old Nelson are enjoying the considerable fruits of combining hoagies, convenience snacks, tampons, and a surprisingly robust array of hot sauces.
It’s weird, but it works. Great variety of grab and go snacks, many gluten free, vegan, vegetarian options. I’m particularly fond of of the chili lime spiced chick peas and the individual nutella pouches.
You’re going to pay more than you would elsewhere for snacks. Prices seem to be slightly above even convenience store markup. (Really, ON? 3.99 for a solo cup of grapes?)
If you’ve got more than a few minutes, better to venture outside of the station, to any number of great Philly restaurants. But, in a pinch, healthier options for travelers and a welcome addition to 30^th street.
Bit concerned as it isn’t crowded even during peak times. I hope they are able to sustain the model.

Old Nelson’s definitely fills a culinary void at 30^th Street Station. They offer traditional deli fare, of course, but also a broad selection of dry and canned goods. Also available are individually packaged nuts, dried fruit, chocolate covered raisins and so forth. The other day I had an everything bagel with vegetable cream cheese that was very much worthy of the $ 2.50 I paid for it.
Why only 4 stars? This coffee snob doesn’t care for the La Columbe coffee available at this otherwise noteworthy establishment.