Wake Forest, NC Wegmans Update!

The Triangle area will be welcoming its fourth Wegmans store when construction and preparations are finally complete and the highly-anticipated Wake Forest location opens its doors this May.  

 

What began as a local fruit and vegetable store in 1916 in Rochester, New York by brothers Walter and John Wegman has evolved over the past century into a successful “mega store” with amazing qualities, unique features, and an avid mass of followers.  Even though the popular grocery store developed in many ways over the years, expansion outside of New York didn’t occur until 1993.  

 

Something that sets Wegmans apart from its competitors is its immense size and variety of products.  Wegmans stores run from 75,000 to 140,000 square feet in size which is two to three times the average size of other grocery stores.  Wegmans’ largest stores offer 50,000 to 70,000 products, which is about double the average for other grocery chains. Among Wegmans products, more than 4,000 are organic.

 

Another important reason people love Wegmans so much is that it offers a variety of quality food at good prices. There are healthier, organic, and more sustainable options, but they aren’t as expensive as other places. The generic Wegmans-brand products are cheaper than mainstream products without the quality being compromised.

 

TEN Fun Facts about Wegmans:

 

  1. Wegmans has been “living large” since its early days when they opened a 20,000 square-foot store in 1930, with a cafeteria that seated 300 people. The store was considered supersized even back then.
  2. Some Wegmans stores have cheese caves that mimic the European ripening process.  The controlled climate allows “good” bacteria and mold to go to work on cheese and enhance (ripen, in cheese-speak) the flavor.  They sell hundreds of varieties of cheeses, including its own award-winning artisan cheeses like Professor’s Brie and We Be Chivin’. 
  3. Wegmans is a GREAT place to work!  The store has made Fortune magazine’s list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For every year since 1998. It even ranked No. 1 in 2005. In 2019, it landed No. 3 on the esteemed list.
  4. Wegmans spends $5 million a year on its employee scholarship program.  They have been offering this perk since 1984. Since then, the company has shelled out roughly $115 million in tuition assistance to more than 36,500 employees.
  5. To encourage lingering and further enhance the shopping experience, Wegmans has been rolling out restaurant concepts located within or adjacent to its stores. Some locations even accept reservations. They’ve included restaurant options with sushi, a burger bar, seafood, Italian cuisine, craft beers, and more…
  6. There are child-sized Wegmans stores in museums in several states. The stores are stocked with fake foods that allow children to experience through play what it is like to be a cashier or even a sushi chef.  
  7. In the 1950s, Wegmans had a television program that was titled Dollar Derby. It was a regional show and Wegmans customers were given novelty currency, followed an auction format, and allowed bidding on items for purchase.
  8. In Northborough, Massachusetts, high school students were so enthusiastic about the new Wegmans opening in town that they wrote a musical and performed it at their school. The show featured two brothers who worked for rival grocery stores. It involved rivalry, spying, and intense competition. It lasted for 90 minutes and there were even songs written about the cheese. The store loaned the school shopping carts and gave them chef’s hats and signs for the event.
  9. Years after becoming a regular date spot for a couple in the Northeast, on day four of a new, local store opening its doors in 2011, the couple got engaged in Wegmans and celebrated their big news with a cake from the bakery.
  10. Wegmans is still privately owned by the same family that started it all over a hundred years ago!

The countdown is on for the Wake Forest community!  The 104,000 sq. ft. Wake Forest store will open at 9AM on Wednesday May 19th and is located at 11051 Ligon Mill Road.  Will you be one of the many enthusiastic customers visiting that first day?