the new Wegman's in Cherry Hill

[etalanian]

I just returned from a special pre-opening event at the Cherry Hill Wegman's. I had never been to a Wegman's before. For those of you who live near one of the existing Wegman's stores in the area, this will be redundant, but for you others, it's worth a trip in the next couple of weeks to see this place.

The store is 140,000 square feet, with over 600 employees.

They served us a buffet dinner, and every item served will be available in their prepared foods section, which is quite large. The food was quite good. Fresh sushi, 90% lump crabmeat crabcakes, well-seasoned stir-fries, and much more. We chatted with the management staff, including the regional executive chef and the executive chef for the CH store. These people are obviously dedicated and their pride in their jobs is apparent and impressive.

It's two floors; a mezzanine holds tables, chairs, sofas, and armchairs where customers can enjoy the foods and beverages they purchase in the store. The mezzanine overlooks a really beautifully designed store.

There is a well-merchandised "shop" filled with kitchen gadgets, tableware, linens, le Creuset, pots and pans and a lot more. A cookbook area. A lovely floral department. Of course an in-store bakery. The requisite coffee shop. An extensive organic department. It seemed as if they carry every variety of every brand of quality food out there.

Opens Sunday.

Eileen

[brucedelta]

And for those who can not wait, visit the already open Wegmans in Mt. Laurel, about 15 min away from the cherry hill location. Up Rt. 38 in the Costco Shopping centre.

Same description applies

[rockhopper]

And for those who can not wait, visit the already open Wegmans in Mt. Laurel, about 15 min away from the cherry hill location.    Up Rt. 38 in the Costco Shopping centre.

Same description applies

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This was the first time I've ever seen corn fungus in a mainstream store.

I really like their bulk food sections - a separate one for bulk grains.

[shacke]

I have been eyeing that Cherry Hill store daily as it's on my way to work. I will likely wait a little while before going. The Moorestown store was apparently mega mega crowded for a while after it's recent opening.

Lucky you Eileen.

Evan

[john b]

I have been eyeing that Cherry Hill store daily as it's on my way to work.  I will likely wait a little while before going.  The Moorestown store was apparently mega mega crowded for a while after it's recent opening.

Lucky you Eileen.

Evan

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I don't know if the Moorestown crowds have dwindled yet. I've only gone on weekends, but it's always been packed. What's great is that they have so many registers open that despite the crowds I've never waited to check out.

The Cherry Hill store is a few minutes from work, so it might make a nice addition to the "where to go for lunch" rotation.

[etalanian]

I don't know if the Moorestown crowds have dwindled yet. I've only gone on weekends, but it's always been packed. What's great is that they have so many registers open that despite the crowds I've never waited to check out.

There were 24 check-out counters at the Cherry Hill store. No self check-out.

My son said he read somewhere that the Wegman corp believes in customer-employee interaction so they don't use self check-outs.

I have been eyeing that Cherry Hill store daily as it's on my way to work. I will likely wait a little while before going. The Moorestown store was apparently mega mega crowded for a while after it's recent opening.

My son, who accompanied me to the event Thursday night, is trying to talk me into going to the opening day.

Lucky you Eileen.

I agree, Evan.

Did I mention that the prepared foods section employs 120 people?

Can't wait to shop there. Hope they never sell out. It's a family operation.

Eileen

[jmbrightman]

I stop in the Moorestown store for lunch most Fridays. The parking lot is packed, but the store is easily navigated and there is always plenty of space in the upstairs dining area. There is more than enough staff on hand to deal with shoppers.

[phungi]

I work off City Avenue, but now consider Wegman's the new "outer marker" on my travel radius for lunch!

[mrbigjas]

i stopped over at the new wegmans on sunday, because i was in cherry hill anyway.

it was, of course, a total mob scene. but the prepared food section is giant, and the food is pretty damn good (although the sauteed bean/escarole thing i had and the soup my wife had were both super salty).

the produce area is big and nice, with many more of everything but not as many things as at, say, iovine's or really even whole foods. for instance, there were mountains of red and green bell peppers, and long hots, and jalapenos. but no poblanos, no serranos, no habaneros, no thai chilis. they had a big section of ripe organic avocados, which were a little pricey at $1.50 each, but when was the last time you saw a ripe avocado in the store?

they had a big goya section, which is awesome. they have a big ol' organic section, which sells all kinds of stuff, from foodstuff to environmentally friendly cleaning products to organic nicey-nice pet food.

there's a whole separate little tea section in the back, which is cool.

their meat (and especially the... prepared meat? like their house-cured ham, sausages, cured fish, etc) section is good, both in price and selection.

the place is pretty impressive, but is it worth a trip to cherry hill? not in my book. if you can make it to the terminal, the whole foods, and the pathmark on grey's ferry ave, you can replicate most of the experience. and personally i prefer to run around town rather than going over the bridge.

but if you're in the neighborhood and need stuff--and especially if you want to make only one trip--it's a good option, assuming the the hordes and hordes of shoppers die down. you could barely move in there on sunday.

Edited June 12, 2006 by mrbigjas (log)

[marinade]

They had some of the finest specimens of soft shells I’ve seen. in a while. These bruisers were Blue Claw Maryland males that were packed with back fin meat. The claws were the size miniature pop-sickles. Since I like “cleaning” right up to the last minute before cooking them, I wanted them live. The fish guys didn’t smother them in a wrapper but placed in a paper tray and then into a large grocery bag and put the scanning label on that. Class, in spite of the mobs.

Jim

Edited June 12, 2006 by marinade (log)

[rlibkind]

the produce area is big and nice, with many more of everything but not as many things as at, say, iovine's or really even whole foods.  for instance, there were mountains of red and green bell peppers, and long hots, and jalapenos.  but no poblanos, no serranos, no habaneros, no thai chilis.  they had a big section of ripe organic avocados, which were a little pricey at $1.50 each, but when was the last time you saw a ripe avocado in the store?

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Surprised they didn't have the pepper varieties you sought. When I've shopped Wegmans in Ithaca, Woodbridge, and Bridgewater I'm pretty sure I remember seeing them. You are, of course, right about Iovine's superiority in variety. But if you don't have a Reading Terminal Market handy, Wegmans is the choice (I like it better than Whole Foods).

I've got to figure the Cherry Hill and Moorestown Wegmans (and, I suspect, the Downingtown as well) will do what the Ithaca store does in corn season: get several deliveries a day right from a close by farm, and have a time sign showing when the next delivery will arrive!

When I was shopping at the Ithaca Wegmans (which was 5-8 years ago) I did find items there that I couldn't at the RTM. The primary example then is dry scallops. At the time, no RTM fishmonger ever had it, though today Golden Seafood offers it regularly. In fact, a couple of years back Wegmans announced they would not even carry "wet" scallops any more, because they were such poor value and quality. Way to go, Danny!

Since I make one or two trips a month over the bridge for the Cherry Hill Shop Rite and (ahem) other items at nearby stores which cannot usually be purchased as inexpensively in PA as in NJ, I'm sure I'll occasionally get to Wegmans, even though my primary allegiance will remain the RTM.

Re: avocados. Actually, the only time I see ripe avocados is when Iovines has a surplus and they've been ripening in storage, or they cut a deal from a supplier on ripe ones that would otherwise be tossed in a few days. And when Iovines has the ripe ones, it's usually at a very good price. Lately they've been selling Hasses in need of a few days on the shelf for $1 apiece; but even Wegman's $1.50 is way cheaper than what Whole Foods usually gets.

I'm not as fond of Wegmans prepared foods as my wife is (but then, I like to cook and she doesn't), but they are certainly better than average. And although I prefer to buy my cheese from a cheesemonger and fish from a fishmonger, Wegmans does the best job I know of any supermarket in these categories.

[etalanian]

Sidenote - Hey Jim! Val told me your Marinades, Rubs, Brines, Cures, & Glazes book is out. Congrats! I'll be picking one up soon - just in time for our summer bbq's. Glad you did that one.

Back on topic:

I was at the new Wegman's on Sunday, also. Really crowded, but plenty of employees from their other stores brought in to help out.

mrbigjas - I bought some of the white bean and escarole saute to have with dinner, and both my husband and I loved it, and we don't put a lot of salt in our foods, or even keep a salt shaker on the table. Matter of personal taste, I guess.

I didn't look for chiles, but they had an abundance of fresh mushroom varieties. Maybe they will be adding the chiles. It does seem really strange that that such a popular produce item would be omitted. Did you ask if they had any?

My take on the store is that I will go when I feel self-indulgent, but will still head into town for the RTM. When they open the Wegman's in Warrington, which is a little closer to my home, with no city traffic to go through, I'm sure it will become my replacement for Whole Foods. My routine will be RTM and Wegman's as well as the Glenside Farmer's Market (in season).

Eileen

[mrbigjas]

mrbigjas - I bought some of the white bean and escarole saute to have with dinner, and both my husband and I loved it, and we don't put a lot of salt in our foods, or even keep a salt shaker on the table. Matter of personal taste, I guess.

oh don't get the wrong impression--it was damn good. just kinda salty for my tastes. salt preferences vary so much among people that it doesn't even count as a problem in my book, just something to note.

I didn't look for chiles, but they had an abundance of fresh mushroom varieties. Maybe they will be adding the chiles. It does seem really strange that that such a popular produce item would be omitted. Did you ask if they had any?

nah the place was such a madhouse that i just moved on. i scoured the produce section pretty well though, i thought.

My take on the store is that I will go when I feel self-indulgent, but will still head into town for the RTM. When they open the Wegman's in Warrington, which is a little closer to my home, with no city traffic to go through, I'm sure it will become my replacement for Whole Foods. My routine will be RTM and Wegman's as well as the Glenside Farmer's Market (in season).

yeah rereading my post from just a couple of hours ago it appears more negative than i thought it was. don't get the wrong impression, it's a great big coolio supermarket, with tons of good stuff. but i don't know that it's worth to me, as a non-car-oriented city person, to jet out to the suburbs just to go to a supermarket.

[etalanian]

If I lived in the city, which I hope to do in the next few years, a store like Wegman's wouldn't be such a draw for me. But out here in the nearby 'burbs, well...it can be a challenge.

Eileen

[dagordon]

Huge Wegmans fan. We've been eagerly awaiting the opening of the Cherry Hill store. I'm in Princeton quite a bit and routinely fill up the car with stuff from Wegmans and bring it back to Philly.

Yes, it's certainly possible to get most of what you can get at Wegmans around Philly. I think there are actually a couple of things that Wegmans has that are actually better than elsewhere. For example, they have Australian lamb racks for about $13 each that are really excellent, substantially better than what's available at Whole Foods. Lamb tenderloins too. Both of these are vacuum packed, and last quite a while.

Also, Wegmans has dry aged Prime beef that's excellent. Whole Foods has dry aged Choice beef that varies in quality. I tried Harry Ochs' dry aged prime, which was very disappointing. They only age for two weeks. Wegmans and Whole Foods age for three, which still isn't nearly enough, imho.

Also: Wegmans in Princeton, at least, has sashimi grade yellowfin that is excellent. I didn't see it at the Cherry Hill store, but maybe it will make an appearance. Haven't been able to find anything in Philly approaching this quality.

(Wegmans in Princeton also sells apple cider from Terhune orchards in Princeton, which is the best apple cider you can get outside of the Cold Hollow Cider Mill in Vermont. Here's hoping that it makes its way down to the Cherry Hill store.)

Also, we got veal chops at the Cherry Hill store on Sunday that looked really good (we weren't intending to get veal, but couldn't pass these up) and were, indeed, very good. Haven't seen veal looking like this around Philly.

But the main point is that Wegmans has all of this stuff AND normal supermarket stuff. You can't get a box of Cheerios at RTM, nor can you get one at Whole Foods. Nor can you load up on household stuff like (normal) dish soap, sponges, etc., at these places. You might be able to get most of what you can get at Wegmans by schlepping around various places in Philly. Or you can just drive to Wegmans.

Oh, and I think that the produce is at least as good as what you can get at iovine's, even if there are things that iovine's has that wegman's doesn't. My experience is that iovine's is pretty hit or miss.

Also: D'Artagnan duck at Wegmans. Awesome. And Meredith Dairy 34 degrees Marinated Feta, in the cheese section, in little tubs. (If you haven't tried this stuff, you haven't truly lived.) And Gustosella buffalo mozarella (they were sampling this stuff on Sunday -- smart move). Of course, the non-pre-packaged cheese offerings don't compare to DiBruno's.

Edited June 14, 2006 by dagordon (log)

[mrbigjas]

Also, Wegmans has dry aged Prime beef that's excellent.

i totally looked for this on sunday but didn't see it. i gotta get back there when it's not such a madhouse.

[rlibkind]

I, too, am a big Wegmans fan and have been since 1998, when She Who Must Be Obeyed began a three-year stint running a small company in Ithaca. Upon visits to Ithaca during our weekend marriage I was a regular at both the Ithaca Wegmans and, in season, the Ithaca Farmers Market.

Overall, I continued to be bowled over by the depth and quality of their offerings across the board. Wegman will not alter this Fairmount resident's once or twice a week trips to the Reading Terminal Market, but since I head to Cherry Hill Shop Rite at least once or twice a month for supermarket staples, I'll add the Wegmans to my rotation.

I got to the Cherry Hill Wegman's today, and here are some thoughts:

Market Cafe. If I worked in the area, I'd stop by for lunch at least every week or so. While nothing is exceptional, almost every item is very, very good, even the Asian buffet. I'm not an acolyte, however, of Wegman's pizza or hoagies.

Prepared Foods and Bakery. The prepared foods department outshines Whole Foods, imho. I'm not as enamored with the various bread products, although the patisserie is quite nice.

Fish & Seafood. What Wegmans offers -- fish for people who don't like fish and a nice selection of shellfish -- is of very good quality. But you won't find fish for a fish lover. No mackeral here, nor porgies nor butterfish. Unless I missed it, I didn't even see that denizen of New Jersey shores, the bluefish. And what fish they have can be terribly expensive: the same halibut Wegmans sells for $22 can be obtained at the Reading Terminal Market for less than half that.

Meats & Poultry. Excellent quality and variety. I concur with dagordon's enthusiastic comments on the cryovac lamb; I picked up the boneless loin and intend to make it this weekend. I disagree (mildly), however, on the comparisons to Whole Foods and Harry Ochs. When it's in season, I prefer the Icelandic lamb at Whole Foods to Australian lamb. Harry Ochs does, indeed, carry prime beef that's aged only two weeks; but he also carries prime beef aged for longer than that. It's very expensive, and you've got to ask for it (which, of course, is not the way it should be).

Cheese. DiBruno's, Downtown Cheese and Claudio's need not worry, but any other establishment that sells cheese (including Whole Foods) should tremble in their boots. Excellent, wide selection grouped intelligently. They even make fresh mozzarella on premises! That will be a real boon when Jersey tomatoes arrive in a month's time. The cheese section also is an excellent showcase for how Wegmans adds value (and profits). Adorning the cheese counterop were small four-inch square plastic plates upon which were arranged a single serving of good cheese with a preserved fruit accompaniment; the attractive plate was loosely wrapped in plastic, ready-to-go and be served as a cheese course with dinner tonight.

Produce. In my view, Wegmans has even greater variety that Iovines, and I find the quality superior to Whole Foods. Wegmans proudly displays the names of local farmers supplying produce as you enter the building; this will be particularly welcome when corn and summer fruits and vegetables start to arrive in force. This puts Wegmans in the same class as Iovines. But what sets Iovines apart is their buying saavy. More than any supermarket I've seen and most other greengrocers, the Iovines know how to be opportunistic, that is, they take advantage of their suppliers' misfortunes to the benefit of the consumer. An example of this would be the five-for-a-buck cucumbers last week. As a general rule (though there are always exceptions) Iovines is superior in price for the same quality. (Note to dagordon: the reason Iovines is hit or miss is because they are much more seasonal; other than non-seasonal items that folks insist on buying, like winer tomatoes, etc., Iovines only goes with what's in season or, if out of season, what is of decent quality and/or exceptionally priced.)

Kosher. Wegman's is a distant second to the Cherry Hill Shop Rite's Kosher Corner, and I think this will be one of the things that saves the local Shop Rite. Wegman's, however, excels in the smoked fish department: they will handcut your lox to order, where Shop Rite is strictly pre-packaged. If you don't have easy access to The Famous or another good appy/deli, this is next best.

Groceries and staples. When I first started shopping Wegman's in Ithaca, prices for canned and dry goods, frozen, etc., were considerably above other local supermarkets. Wegman's realized this was a problem and adjusted their pricing policies, so today you don't pay (much) of a premium on staples. Plus many of the store-brand items are quite good.

Miscellaneous. Where else under the same roof can you buy two world class newspapers: The Times of London and the Star-Ledger of Newark. In the dairy aisle you will find both ultra-pasteurized and plain pasteurized heavy cream; I don't know of any other supermarket (other than Whole Foods) which offers the non-ultra product. If you like Upstate NY style pork hot dogs (I do) you'll find them at Wegman's which, after all, is headquartered in Rochester.

[MarketStEl]

But the main point is that Wegmans has all of this stuff AND normal supermarket stuff. You can't get a box of Cheerios at RTM, nor can you get one at Whole Foods. Nor can you load up on household stuff like (normal) dish soap, sponges, etc., at these places. You might be able to get most of what you can get at Wegmans by schlepping around various places in Philly. Or you can just drive to Wegmans.

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As I happen to live in the only neighborhood in the entire Greater Philadelphia region where you can find a Whole Foods Market and a conventional supermarket right next to each other--10th Street separates the Whole Paycheck from a Super Fresh--that's not really an issue for me. And, of course, I can walk to the Reading Terminal Market.

All this gushing about Wegmans leads me to wonder how folks around here feel about a local supermarket operator whose stores may not be on Wegmans' level, but are conceptually quite similar--and are by and large located in neighborhoods where most operators (Pathmark aside) wouldn't think of opening even a plain-vanilla supermarket. Watch for a thread to be started on this local chain.

[percyn]

i stopped over at the new wegmans on sunday, because i was in cherry hill anyway.

it was, of course, a total mob scene.  but the prepared food section is giant, and the food is pretty damn good (although the sauteed bean/escarole thing i had and the soup my wife had were both super salty). 

the produce area is big and nice, with many more of everything but not as many things as at, say, iovine's or really even whole foods.  for instance, there were mountains of red and green bell peppers, and long hots, and jalapenos.  but no poblanos, no serranos, no habaneros, no thai chilis.  they had a big section of ripe organic avocados, which were a little pricey at $1.50 each, but when was the last time you saw a ripe avocado in the store?

they had a big goya section, which is awesome.  they have a big ol' organic section, which sells all kinds of stuff, from foodstuff to environmentally friendly cleaning products to organic nicey-nice pet food.

there's a whole separate little tea section in the back, which is cool.

their meat (and especially the... prepared meat?  like their house-cured ham, sausages, cured fish, etc) section is good, both in price and selection.

the place is pretty impressive, but is it worth a trip to cherry hill?  not in my book.  if you can make it to the terminal, the whole foods, and the pathmark on grey's ferry ave, you can replicate most of the experience.  and personally i prefer to run around town rather than going over the bridge.

but if you're in the neighborhood and need stuff--and especially if you want to make only one trip--it's a good option, assuming the the hordes and hordes of shoppers die down.  you could barely move in there on sunday.

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MrBigJas, for the past 6-7 yrs, I have been shopping at the Princeton and Downingtown Wegmans, ever since they opened. In my experience, Wegmans does not carry all items when they initially open a store and will "experiment" with the market by introducing a few different items over the next few months and see how they sell before adding it to their permanent list. They are also very open to customer feedback, so I would suggest asking the product manager for the peppers or whatever else you want.

They also run some decent sale events (like specials on dry prime aged beef) to attract new customers and build loyalty. Don't worry about the crowds, they will settle down (but not too much) in about a month or so.

I love Wegmans and am there at least once a week, if not twice.

Try their bakery, chocolatier, seafood, aged prime meats, D'Artagnan counter and the International isle... it blows the competition away.

[Holly Moore]

Greetings all,

If you have any questions concerning geographical rational for a post please contact Katie or myself by PM. It is off topic for this thread.

Thanks for your understanding.

[Carlson1105]

As for the Cherry Hill Wegman's, I went on Saturday to shop for my Father's Day Bbq. Funny how I had to do all the shopping and cooking for "My" day. Anyway, I got there at 1:00 and left around 3:15. Not because of the crowds, but I couldn't bring myself to leave. So much better than the local Acme or SuperFresh. I was also stuffed when I left from the massive amounts of food samples they were giving out. You could really just go there for lunch without spending a dime. Some of my favorites were the "wet aged" steaks, very tasty Italian Sausage, and you can get those New England hot dog rolls that are split on the top instead of on the side. Prices are reasonable and there is no wait to checkout. The cashiers were waiting for me at the front of the aisle. A very enjoyable shopping experience.

[shacke]

Got to stop by after an evening meeting and it was not crowded at 9:00. Anyway, the place is like the louvre. If you are going to look around and see it all, you need more than one trip. 125,000 sqft - holy cow.

[philadining]

Evan, I think you might have been misled by that big crystal pyramid of Dasani bottles out front, and the enigmatic smile of that girl Mona at the cheese counter. It's a great store, but...

[shacke]

Evan, I think you might have been misled by that big crystal pyramid of Dasani bottles out front, and the enigmatic smile of that girl Mona at the cheese counter. It's a great store, but...

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O DEVILED EGG!

O LAME SAINT MAUR!

[LindaJ]

I made the pilgrimage to the Wegman's in Allentown PA which is a 1/2 hour drive for me (e.g., eternity with a screaming 20 month old who hates her car seat). They had ground beef club pack on sale for $1.99/lb and chicken breast for $1.79/lb. Sign up for their email newsletter online - it makes it worth the trip if you can get a good deal on the loss leader staples.