September 23, 2005
We Want Wegmans
Virginia has two. And now Maryland is going to have one. On Oct. 2, Wegmans will open in Hunt Valley, Md.—way on the north side of Baltimore.
Hunt Valley will be the largest Wegmans to date. According to Progressive Grocer (doesn't everybody read it?), the store will carry 700 varieties of produce, 400 cheeses, a 300-seat café and a 44-item Asian buffet.
DCist wants to go on the record as saying that Wegmans is the greatest food store of all time. We are willing to do what it takes to get one here. Even beg the company's spokeswoman. Here's how that went:
DCist: "Just so you know, we really want a Wegmans here."
Jo Natale, Wegmans' director of media relations: "Aw! I'll make a note of that."
Not too promising, eh? Wegmans opens two to three sites each year and requires a whopping 15 to 18 acres of land to build one of its massive emporiums, Natale told DCist. D.C. and its closer-in suburbs are not on the radar. It seems Montgomery County is out anyway, given its zoning regulations.
To mollify us, Natale spoke of plans to build in Leesburg, pending municipal approval. Last we checked Leesburg is 33 miles from the District. Sterling is only 26 miles. Fairfax is 15. Leesburg is not much of a consolation prize.
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Wegmans is an excellent grocery store, but their prices can be higher than their competitors. At the same time, so is their level of quality.
As for the DC metro area, the next Wegs is bound for Bowie or Columbia. Mark my words.
Having gone to school in central NY (birthplace of Wegs), I can say that it might be the greatest store ever. Also, they have fairly progressive employment practices.
Is it sick that I drive from my new place in Alexandria to Fairfax every weekend to go grocery shopping at Wegmans?
I'm not sure why they don't seem to want to capture the urban market--they'd make a killing...
Where would you propose putting a huge store like that?
I remember Wegmans once had a mighty sketchy store in a bruised area of Rochester, near the U of R. It was affectionately called "Ghetto Wegs" by many who lived nearby.
Big box nonsense like that doesn't belong in the city. If you can't find better food than Wegmans in the District then you're not looking very hard.
Forget about Wegman's, what about a Target or a Wal-Mart?
I come from Buffalo and it's really hard to settle for a safeway or giant, knowing what else is out there.
This is less than half of their cheese selection at a store back home: http://www.flickr.com/photos/taftbasket/25747350/
Excellent! It's actually fairly easy for us public transit types to get to Hunt Valley without a car:
To John in Alexandria,
Don't feel bad, I live in Alexandria and drive to Wegmans every two weeks. It has gotten to the point where it is hard to go to any other grocery store. They just pale in comparison.
Another former Central New Yorker weighing in on the glory that is Wegmans. My gf and I drive all the way out to the ones in Virginia every couple of weekends.
Next time you're there, pick up some Snappys (aka coneys) made by Syracuse's own Hoffmans in the deli aisle. They're these white hot dogs, and they're just fabulous.
OMG! I was telling my boyfriend last night that I cannot wait for the Weggies to open in Hunt Valley. I went to Syracuse and STILL to this day when I talk to friedns from school and ask them what they miss the most from the CNY. They ALWAYS say the Wegmans. We had a "ghetto Weg's" too!!!
They were named as Fortune's #1 place to work in the country, because of their progressive employment practices, like pay scale, access to health insurance and employee time off for vacations and maternity leave, but really: does DC need another chain store? Couldn't we have a real locally-owned market? In a town of foodies, how come I can't find organic foods at the corner store like I could in the Bay Area? Scoff.
Big box nonsense like that doesn't belong in the city. If you can't find better food than Wegmans in the District then you're not looking very hard.
No, there's difference between craving big-box convenience and succumbing to big-box development tendencies. Big-box stores don't have to sprawl, they don't have to displace local merchants, and they can anchor commercial development in under-developed areas. Does anyone think that the Columbia Heights Target will be anything but good for the neighborhood? How has the Rhode Island Avenue Home Depot hurt the city?
I don't see any reason why big-box stores can't come into the District, as long as they modify their designs, when necessary, to fit denser neighborhoods.
Can someone say "DCist SUV-pool to Wegmans" ?
Wegman's won't go to Columbia. Giant pwnz Columbia Association and besides, there's no room cept out in the county somewhere.
Wegmans can buy Roosevelt Island. It's way bigger than the minimum 15 acres they require.
I am from New York and grew up with Wegmans. I now live in the District and would give ANYTHING to be able to shop there again conveniently. The ones in VA are just too far to go for just a few items.
I did venture out there once and you can read about it here.
The problem is not that there is no market for a big store like that in DC, the problem is that they cannot run such a business in the middle of an urban area cost effectively. The rent/lease alone for such a large store would be massive. Besides, where would they put it (Roosevelt Island is not an option :P )?
I like Wegman's but I usually just go to Harris Teeter and Super H Mart (mmm, delicious kim chi) for all my groceries.
fort lincoln has the space.
and traffic.
Besides, where would they put it (Roosevelt Island is not an option :P )?
How about the (soon-to-be) old Walter Reed property?
If they can figure out a way to build an urban format store then OK, but if they insist on 15 acres then yes, it would be very harmful to the neighborhood.
I grew up in Rochester, and I have watched Wegmans grow from a small grocery store into the chain of "mega-Wegs" we know today. Hopefully I can give a little insight into their choice of building sites.
Wegmans will not, I repeat, WILL NOT build a store
on propery that it does not own. It is actually expanding in one Rochester location (East Ave.) and will build a "U" shaped building around a business which refused to sell out. Unless there is a block in Columbia Heights willing to sell out altogether, don't get your hopes up too high...
GhettoWegs indeed. There is a very good reason Wegmans closed that old U of R store, as well as a handful of other underperforming stores in urban markets. Exactly the same reason we'll never see them in DC or PG. Of course I can't say it on here, but we all know. It takes over 600 people to staff a Wegmans. Anyone who has been in a unionized urban supermarket knows what an impossible dream it would be for Wegmans to find half that many people that have what it takes to deliver Wegmans' impeccable level of service. I mean, c'mon, can you even remember the last time a retail employee in the city smiled, spoke intelligently, or even spoke English for that matter?
I live just outside of Hunt Valley in Timonium and visited the Wegmans today with a friend. Good dear god, by the time we wandered through the store, it was a miracle we were still alive what with nearly being run over by obnoxious people wheeling giant supermarket carts around. I'm sure Wegmans has a lot going for it, me? I'm sticking with Giant Food. And I don't relish the traffic this store is going to bring with it.
Wegmans is a great store to shop at. Now if they'd just live up to their image as an industry leader when it comes to animal welfare, they'd be golden. Sadly, Wegmans is lagging way behind national chains like Whole Foods and Wild Oats.
See http://urveg.org/campaigns/wegmans for more info. Very sad.
And that PR person Jo Natale cited above... you should hear what she says in the documentary about Wegmans' egg farm. Yeesh.
I went to school in Rochester, NY and now live in Northern Delaware and we really really need a Wegmans!!! I miss it soo much and it is the best store ever from Cali to Maine and I have lived in those places it beats any Albertsons, Ralphs, Vons on the West Coast or Shop Rite, Stop N Shop, Acme ect. on the East coast. WEGMANS please come to Hockessin or Pike Creek, Delaware!!!! I miss you!