Wegman's Spy Pics

[dejaq]

I have seen things you people wouldn't Beleive --- attack ships on fire off the shores of Orion, I have seen sea beams glitter in the dark at the Tenhauser gates...

all of the moments are now lost in time, like tears in rain...

Given it for what it is worth, not bad, not to shabby, a bit heavy for my tastes, but I know that Wegmans Corporate had some thing to say about the Appearance, composition, price, and presentation, as we all know Herme-Paris is very, very different.

Actually Wegman's is a "good Thing" it elevates the awareness level of whats "possible" and sets a main stream gauge for expectations.

For anyone out there that is like me, that has there own "venue" or "stage" I essentially see it as a sharpener, a challenge to build it out better, cheaper, with a lower overhead, faster, more smartly,tasting better and well, for a lack of a better word --a lot Sexier, remember sex does sell, and with regrets, Americans are sold on gimmicks.

here they are in all of there glory,

I hope these contribute to your abilities, and makes you better for it.

Michael

Edited April 24, 2006 by dejaq (log)

[Sugarella]

Wow, Wegmans is a grocery chain, right? They're pretty generous with the fruit on those tarts, huh? (Not that I'm complaining....it's just so unexpected to see.)

[Ling]

The macaroons around the base of the chocolate dome is pretty classic PH, isn't it? We don't have a Wegman's up here...how are the quality of the desserts? Certainly looks fancier than most of the items in my local upscale grocery store...

[Rebecca263]

So, tell us, do androids dream of electric tarts?

Wegman's looks very nice, and their prices are pretty upscale, too. I'm just wondering at the ingredients. You see, in October I was shopping for a simple buttercream frosted cake in my new home state-NJ. Wegman's (in October, mind you) used a shortening and corn syrup based frosting, or a "whipped creme" choice, according to the nice guy there in the Freehold bakery. He was kind enough to show me the buckets, and offer me a taste, but, err, no, thank you, and thanks for sending me to the local guy who does make a genuine buttercream, for a price. Which I gladly paid. I still go to Wegman's, they're honest and friendly! And, they have a wall of candy that my nieces adore. I take my job as the spoiler of nieces very seriously. All junk is allowed, if desired. Even the bionic kind.

edited, for my own pleasure.

Edited April 24, 2006 by Rebecca263 (log)

[robert40]

I happen to live near the capital district in upstate New York and about every two weeks I drive to Syracuse and even Rochester to shop at Wegmans.

My wife and I thought we were the lone Wegman groupies to we read in USA Today just last week that we are not alone in people who travel miles to shop at Wegmans. Went yesterday and was in the store five hours. I kid you not!

[Ling]

Here's a link to the Wegman's Patisserie page.

I found it very interesting that they use French butter and dried wild strawberries in their PH-inspired items!

[dejaq]

So, tell us, do androids dream of electric tarts? 

Wegman's looks very nice, and their prices are pretty upscale, too. I'm just wondering at the ingredients.  You see, in October I was shopping for a simple buttercream frosted cake in my new home state-NJ. Wegman's (in October, mind you) used a shortening and corn syrup based frosting, or a "whipped creme" choice, according to the nice guy there in the Freehold bakery. He was kind enough to show me the buckets, and offer me a taste, but, err, no, thank you, and thanks for sending me to the local guy who does make a genuine buttercream, for a price. Which I gladly paid. I still go to Wegman's, they're honest and friendly! And, they have a wall of candy that my nieces adore. I take my job as the spoiler of nieces very seriously. All junk is allowed, if desired. Even the bionic kind.

edited, for my own pleasure.

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I know what you mean Rebecca263, the store is amazing they seem to offer a bit for everyone, including those lovely hydrogenated mono and di cakes we Americans have come to accept as standard military issue.

P.S. only Nexsus 8 models dream of electric tarts or for that matter dream of anything at all, Nexsus 6 models proved too twitchy, and have all been effectively "Retired".

Edited April 24, 2006 by dejaq (log)

[dejaq]

The macaroons around the base of the chocolate dome is pretty classic PH, isn't it? We don't have a Wegman's up here...how are the quality of the desserts? Certainly looks fancier than most of the items in my local upscale grocery store...

←

I didn't try anything Ling, but from some of the folks that I have spoken to, they rave about it, I am certain the formulas probably are in check, and yes it is a benchmark achivement for a commercial grocery chain, even Safeway is getting in to the act with an emulated "upscale" product, as for whole foods Market, they at least here in the DC area have scaled back on there in store production, and I think produce more out of a centralized facility in the Northeast.

I have to be honest, getting these pics, was kind of not exactly easy, as I pulled the Canon digital cam out and took my photo shoot, the counter clerk, not exactly politely, said " excuse me, your not really allowed to take pictures of our display cases", I remained quiet, gave her a charming smile, but with an air of coolness about it, and simply walked away.

It struck me as odd, competitor or not, what would stop someone from "expensing"

off a few hundred dollars worth of stuff taking it back to JPL and not only photographing it, reverse engineering it, if you so desired to, no one has proprietary rights to this stuff, it's all open source now, no one can uniquely call anything "their" own,the real challenge is engineer it in such a way, so that no one can figure out how it was put together.

M

[philadining]

I don't think it's about those pastries in particular, Wegman's seems to have a general no-photography rule. I don't see any reference to a policy on their website, but I've heard of people being admonished about it. And in doing a quick google, I stumbled on this odd video.

Not sure what that's all about.

I've been in lots of the stores but never got around to trying any of those pastries, I might have to make a point of it. But in general, whether it's pastries, meats, cheeses, produce, or prepared foods, they might not reach the heights of dedicated small artisan shops, but Wegman's really raises the bar for what a large-scale, popular supermarket can provide.

[dejaq]

I don't think it's about those pastries in particular, Wegman's seems to have a general no-photography rule.  I don't see any reference to a policy on their website, but I've heard of people being admonished about it. And in doing a quick google, I stumbled on this odd video.

Not sure what that's all about.

I've been in lots of the stores but never got around to trying any of those pastries, I might have to make a point of it.  But in general, whether it's pastries, meats, cheeses, produce, or prepared foods, they might not reach the heights of dedicated small artisan shops, but Wegman's really raises the bar for what a large-scale, popular supermarket can provide.

←

Yeah, there is a weird disclaimer. on the front door, saying something to the effect "if you are a competitor, and you are checking our prices, please stop in at the customer service desk", strange, downright spooky, I have been known, to post a pic or two on this forum before, and the general perception is that most people have appreciated them, all in an effort to educate and expand their horizons.

If a "grocery" store is so paranoid about intellectual property being stolen or replicated, that is simply silly. I have to be carefull of how I put this, Wegmans is good, they are very good, but there are venues out there, micro "Salons", boutiques, if you will, that wrap rings around them, blindfolded.

M

[gfron1]

I think this thread is very interesting. I own a small specialty food store in New Mexico which also has an art gallery in it. We've had people take pics of both our store and the art, and we allow both.

BUT...our local Alberton's regularly sends people into our store to document our products. They then add some of those products to their inventory (about 100 since we opened last year) and put them on sale below our price. Its business...its all fair...and I just order better, more hard to get products and let them find out how hard it is to really be attentive to customer wants. They will never be able to beat our service.

I'll tell you what, however, if I ever caught one of them doing it, I'd pull out my white glove and slap them in the face until they cried!

[Beanie]

I once traveled with friends to a trade shown near Rochester. I was looking forward to lunch in a restaurant, but they insisted on having lunch at Wegmans. I was surprised at the quality and variety of food. There was a very large food court and seating area, much nicer than what you see at a shopping mall. The emphasis on high quality graphic design, displays and store layout is far above the typical supermarket. But it's still a supermarket. My friends did their grocery shopping after eating.

[Ann_T]

Robert, you aren't the only Wegman Groupie. Wegmans was my favourite grocery store when we lived in Dunkirk, NY for a couple of years. I was about 50 miles from Buffalo, NY and Erie, PA and a little less from Jamestown, NY so I had lots of options. I would drive to one of these places at least twice a week just to shop at Wegmans. Tried to kill a a few birds with one stone and hit Preimer Liquors when in Buffalo and have lunch at a favourite Indian Restaurant.

Ann

[dejaq]

I think this thread is very interesting.  I own a small specialty food store in New Mexico which also has an art gallery in it.  We've had people take pics of both our store and the art, and we allow both. 

BUT...our local Alberton's regularly sends people into our store to document our products.  They then add some of those products to their inventory (about 100 since we opened last year) and put them on sale below our price.  Its business...its all fair...and I just order better, more hard to get products and let them find out how hard it is to really be attentive to customer wants.  They will never be able to beat our service.

I'll tell you what, however, if I ever caught one of them doing it, I'd pull out my white glove and slap them in the face until they cried!

←

I totally agree with everthing you said. I had a venue up in Baltimore several years ago, and somehow word traveled like quicksilver after I was on TV for a presentation at an affair, we had people from Virginia driving to see our wares. You can only be flattered by that. In France, where practically every street corner has a shop, even in a small town in the middle of nowhere, you will most likely find a product that puts most of what we are doing here to shame on this side of the pond. Understandingly, Europeans are better educated about food than we are, they simply have been doing it longer.

But more over, they are passionate about may other things, not just food, it's intrisic of Europe's culture, a simple yet very rich life, not the crazy lifestyle here in the states, in an effort to hold down a mortgage. The things we do to ourselves to make a greenback.

You strike me as "being in touch" in your enterprise, a strategic angle of having "unique" hard to find items in addition to a properly trained staff that has the ability to respond to what your clients are looking for, will win them over again and again. People always respond well I have found, if you treat them as a "guest" in your house, over for a dig, Emily Post hospitality all the way.

Michael

[Melanger]

I went to school in Syracuse for a few years. The grand opening of the giant Wegmans out there (1996 i think?) was the highlight of our semester. We would go late at night and wander the aisles dreaming of cooking great meals and forever ditching the dining hall. The produce section was enough to make one swoon.

[SweetSide]

I went to school in Syracuse for a few years.  The grand opening of the giant Wegmans out there (1996 i think?) was the highlight of our semester.  We would go late at night and wander the aisles dreaming of cooking great meals and forever ditching the dining hall.  The produce section was enough to make one swoon.

←

Off topic... but I went to school in Syracuse also. We only had Price Chopper and their free samples. We were filling up because we didn't have meal plans or money...

[ashfood]

I'm not knocking Wegman's -they're okay-but I have taught some of their bakery employees cake decorating. They did tell me most of the stuff comes in frozen and are"finished" with fruit and glaze on premises.

They did tell me that was also the case with their birthday sheet cakes-they come in frozen (I think they said from Sara Lee-but I couldn't exactly remember) and that they come in sheets and rounds.

So this group of employees wanted me to show them how to construct a "haunted house" (this was at halloween) out of these frozen sheets and rounds so that they can win a company sponsered contest. Mmm-yeah-I'm gonna show you how to do this -so that YOU can win the company contest and I'll be a distant memory while you're spending the bonus that you've won... Hey- I'm from New Jersey-whadda ya thinkin'-LOL!

[dejaq]

I'm not knocking Wegman's -they're okay-but I have taught some of their bakery employees cake decorating. They did tell me most of the stuff comes in frozen and are"finished" with fruit and glaze on premises.

They did tell me that was also the case with their birthday sheet cakes-they come in frozen (I think they said from Sara Lee-but I couldn't exactly remember) and that they come in sheets and rounds.

So this group of employees wanted me to show them how to construct a "haunted house" (this was at halloween) out of these frozen sheets and rounds so that they can win a company sponsered contest. Mmm-yeah-I'm gonna show you how to do this -so that YOU can win the company contest and I'll be a distant memory while you're spending the bonus that you've won... Hey- I'm from New Jersey-whadda ya thinkin'-LOL!

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Ashfood thanks for your post,

why doesn't this surprise me, of course it's a "stamped " out product cryogenically frozen in someone's 14 thousand square foot instalation, al La Madeleine Restaurant Chain. When I spoke to the first counter person, we didn't have the time to get into "all" the details of logistics. But you have to look at it this way for junior staff @$12 and "team Leader" staff approaching $16+,this barely compensates a Top Gun for beer money.They have to freeze, which may or may not effect quality depending on the product,at least I will give Wegmans this, they had enough sense to "centralize costs and production to govern quality" vs each satellite "doing their own thang, which can be a disaster... case in point, a local Diner chain here in DC, you go into one and you get this, you go into another, and you get that. no corporate PC at the helm, and it shows!inconsistancies such as these are completely unacceptable. if only consumers knew...

Michael