In early 2006, Wegmans, which originated in central New York, opened a branch in Cherry Hill, NJ. According to an article on Philadelphia City Paper by Carolyn Wyman, 800 people stood outside on line at 7 a.m. to be among the first to enter the store, some camped out over night.
It seems this is a trend.
According to town blogger Kathy Gatas, a 40 year resident of Greece, NY, who was there on July 27, 2007 "bright and early...along with a few hundred Greece residents," to welcome the "new" Wegmans to their community.
Click here to watch the news coverage of the opening of Wegmans in Greece, NY. 13WHAM is a local Rochester news station associated with the ABC television network. Includes an interview with Danny Wegman, CEO of the family owned store.
Gatas continues, "It was very exciting at Wegmans just to see all the faces of the employees I haven't seen since they closed the old Wegmans. They were all just as excited and many said that they had a hard time sleeping last night because of today's Grand Opening."
So, why are people losing sleep over Wegmans?
According to Becky Suchin, a Wegmans costumer who lives just a mile from a store, believes the store is "like a dream come true." In her interview with columnist Carolyn Wyman of The Philadelphia City Paper, Suchin states, 'It's really like two markets--one with excellent fresh vegetables, meats, gourmet and kosher foods--attached to a regular store where you can get toilet paper.'"
Also according to this article, "industry studies say that people are typically only willing to drive about five miles to do their supermarket shopping."
"But Tome Cirino, general manager for the Mid-Atlantic edition of trade newspaper Food Industry Advisor, says Wegmans if not your typical supermarket destination. 'With their size and in-store chefs, they're more of an attraction, an extravaganza,' he noted.
Indeed, Mt. Laurel customer Stuart Chaifetz echoed McNully's comments about Wegmans probably not being worth the travel time and $3 toll for Philadelphians with so many other food shopping options but then admitted one reason he shops there is because
his preschooler loves to watch the model train that clickety-clacks about the dairy case."
Ironically, a major source of Wegmans' popularity can be attributed to how maintains its small-town feel with its local
employees. Gatas exclaims, "What a great company Wegmans is...they're doing something right to have so many local employees."
1 comment:
i don't get it. it's a grocery store, not a rock concert. how would someone benefit from sitting outside waiting for a supermarket to open? they want to get to the strawberries before anyone else? i could understand trying to get to a sale the day after thanksgiving, because they might run out of that appliance, but what are they going to run out of that you couldn't get at a regular market? it must be because i don't have a wegmans. i just don't understand. cool article, regardless. that'll be great to show how communities are effected by wegmans.
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