mehmeh82

(gas is $3+/gallon what do they think we are europeans?!?!)

What are your thoughts now that 2 Wegmans are open in VA? I drive past at least half a dozen grocery stores from Alexandria to get to the Fairfax Wegs. I don't buy groceries anywhere else! Just wondering I suppose . . .

Yeah, that's Wegmans' most obvious drawback - too crowded! I don't really think anything in their chef's case (the regular, everyday stuff - not the special items) is really spectacular. The Waldorf salad is sort of tasty, I guess. Also, even though the store's atmosphere impresses upon you that the choices are seemingly endless, the Fairax weggies doesn't have the large-size (not the medium size!) extra crunchy peter pan peanut butter. My friend was leaving the next day to return to Strasbourg and she needed to stock up! I'm sure though that if we took the time to fill out a comment card, our freakin peanut butter would appear in the store eventually - having been basically indoctrinated by wegmans growing up in rural ny, i would bet my mortgage they would at least make an effort to stock the peter pan. On that note, I wonder if Wegmans will become the institution in VA it has become in many places for many people in upstate (and pa).

The Fairfax store is just beautiful! Weggies sure has come such a long way. I can't believe how the Corning store was at one time a flagship store - it had the very first market cafe, wokery, and all that - truly outrageous. Now, it pales (obvi). One thing I liked versus the Dulles store is how they went back to the tile floors in the foodhall side of the Fairfax store. The terrazzo floors in Dulles, however expensive, looked cheap and plain to me. Also, the Fairfax planners apparently spent ridiculous amounts of time with their landscape architects. I really wish they'd build a full service restaurant near one of these stores down here below mason-dixon (like in Pittsford), but I guess its too crowded and such (and plus, we all know the Pittsford store will always be Danny's baby). One thing I didn't like about Fairfax versus the Dulles store (having been to Fairfax only once but Dulles countless times) is how all the wine is all by itself on the lower level. I guess I'm just used to the tried-and-true 2 level layout. But the three-storey staircase, exposed-wood cathedral ceilings, and extensive windowing on that cupola thingie are really fine touches. Does anyone like the Wegmans basting oil in particular?

I don't know any numbers, but I know for a fact that the Wegmans people up in Rochester are (still) ridiculously thrilled by the success of that Dulles store. If you ask someone in charge there (a department head or someone) nicely and carefully, they often let slip tidbits like "This is the biggest store so far" or "The company took a gamble and won" or "The numbers are astounding" or things like that. No one has given me any actual numbers yet but, then again, I haven't found a way to ask that question in a way that doesn't sound overly nosey. Another sign is that they are STILL hiring new employees at Dulles (and at the same time recruiting for Faifax). There was a big signboard out in the parking lot for a Wegmans job fair next week. Who ever heard of a job fair for grocery store positions? I haven't. (I know this could also mean they are having trouble keeping positions filled, but, if they were having real financial problems, wouldn't they stop hiring altogether?) Also, there were a bunch of articles in the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle a few weeks ago in which Mr. Wegman himself, facing opposition to new stores in his hometown, talks about the wonderful reception these new stores have had down south and how disheartening it is to have Rochesterians against him. (But, then again, WNYers are used to spacious, clean, full-service grocery stores up there anyway.) I was at the Dulles store for nearly three hours yesterday, and from up there on the mezzanine, you can still notice the awe on a person's face every now and then (less so than when it first opened, obviously) when he walks in the door. At the checkout yesterday, a woman commented that she didn't even know places like Wegmans existed. It's a great, fun store, I think!

Well, anyway, Wegmans is based in NYS and they can't sell any alcohol but beer there. Only liquor stores can sell wine and spirits. In PA, where Wegmans opened its first out-of-state stores, there exist even tougher restrictions. Selling wine and spirits at Wegmans was new to them when they first opened in NJ a few years ago. Their biggest-volume stores (besides Dulles, now) are in NY and they have no problems making lotsa profits there without wine and spirit sales (and prices for things in general are lower upstate to boot).

An update... Well, I hope they are coming to their senses....

I found an interesting article concerning the possibility of a Wegmans on the Maryland side of the vast reaches of DC-Metro suburbia. Apparently, the Montgomery Co government, citing excessive sprawl, is making it harder for Wegmans to open stores there. I know the company has been trying for quite some time to get a store on this side of the Potomac ... and I guess no one gets too excited anymore about ever more WalMarts, but I think Wegmans is quite different from WalMart. Wegmans does draw a whole lot of traffic, but Ive been to many Costcos and there are always tons of cars around that place too. *sigh* maybe someday.... Anyway, just FYI: Gazette Article

Oh, my source is the Wintranet (www.iamamerchant.com), which is an internal employee website. I could tell you a login, but *they* would find you and then things wouldn't be very nice for the both of us. hehe. But the release said "Wegmans announces blablabla" so I figured no one would mind if I let the New Jersey people know....

I was just browsing through a Wegmans website, and apparently they just announced the plans for a new New Jersey store in Morristown: A lease has been signed, subject to zoning approvals, for a site located on Route 10 near Morristown, New Jersey. In addition to a 130,000 sq. ft. Wegmans, the site will include two free-standing retail buildings and condominiums. The project is a redevelopment of a former industrial site and is about 20 miles from both Woodbridge and Bridgewater. Zoning approvals may take up to a year. A construction schedule and opening date have not yet been set. The site is located in East Hanover Township but will be referred to internally as “Morristown” which is a larger town near the site in Morris County. I don't know if this is new or not, so sorry if you all already know about it.... I dont know how long it will take to open, but the Cherry Hill store just passed the approvals phase and is expected to open in the first half of 2006.

Wegmans homegrown season is the best! A farm near my house in NY supplies corn to the local wegmans in summer. This is a good article that says how they're already looking for local suppliers in NoVa. article

I just logged on to the Wintranet this morning and apparently Wegmans is delaying the opening of their Fairfax store until 2005. This is the full text: Monday March 22, 2004 Fairfax and Ocean Township Opening Dates Change It was recently announced that the opening of the Fairfax, Virginia store would be delayed until the first quarter of 2005, while the opening of Ocean Township in New Jersey will be moved up to November, 2004. The success of the Dulles opening, in addition to some construction delays at Fairfax, prompted the decision to delay the opening.

Wegmans posted this article in the Washington Business Journal this morning on the Wintranet. Quite interesting. So exciting. Also, they say Fairfax is opening in November. Wegmans Opening

I have some updated Under Construction Photos fresh from the Wintranet! Click Dulles Construction! Also, it says Fairfax will be opening 4Q 2004. No specific date yet. See you at the Dulles Grand Opening. If any pictures are released I will try to load those, too.

There is no formal employee discount, but if you get to work in fun departments like produce or bakery, youre always allowed (encouraged!) to sample for quality and tastes (first-hand experience helps when trying to explain differences to a customer). more than once weve picked a few apples from each of the 15 or so varieties on display and taste tested. also, a banana every now and then to keep ya going doesnt really matter either. blueberries and grapes are great for grazing too. Sunday's sales numbers for Woodbridge were spectacular: nearly $400,000 with produce contribution at about 10%. This is good news considering the largest Wegmans (Pittsford) averages around 2 or 3 million per week (Princeton is about a million and a half per week). Of course these numbers will fall off after the opening, but I hope not too much! finally, i got some fun pictures from the woodbridge grand opening loaded on to my silly little website. maybe one of you is in a photo! (ive never seen those cool reindeer decorations before. are they new?) Wegmans fun!