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Wegmans (1916-), a Rochester-Based Grocery Store with Several DC-Area Locations - In Business for over 100 Years


Escoffier

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My wonderful +1 and I decided we'd skip our usual trip to Super H and go to Wegmans because a co-worker had told her how wonderful it was and what a marvelous shopping experience...etc, etc, ad infinitum..first, it took 20 minutes to find a parking space within a short cab ride to the door. Secondly, we had to dodge a huge number of flying Loudon valley cart drivers who were obviously getting ready for the Monday morning commute and demolition derby and then we went looking for food we like to eat. Ever try to find tofu in Wegmans? It's in the organic food section...why is it in the organic food section? It's the only tofu they have. Now, I don't know about you, but we're used to being able to select from 5 different types of tofu from 10 different tofu makers. We're not vegans but tofu is very important in our (Asian) diet. Next we went looking for tomato sauce...needless to say, things were placed in totally non-related areas, and the layout of the aisles left a tad to be desired. Maybe Wegmans is the greatest thing since sliced bread, but it was the first, last and only time we have gone there.

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My wonderful +1 and I decided we'd skip our usual trip to Super H... Loudon valley...

Not that it sounds like you have plans to go back... but it sounds like the trip wasn't recent, since there's now a Wegmans 10 minutes up the street from Super H.

I have to agree that their store organization leaves much to be desired - and it's not as though I've only ever shopped at Giant. I've been to grocery stores up and down the East Coast, and have never had similar problems finding basic items at, say, a Publix or a Genuardi's. Harris Teeter, though, has some of the same product-location problems - not to mention the almost-four-bucks-a-gallon milk.

It also sounds like you probably went there on a weekend which, as I mentioned upthread, is a suicide mission. I almost had to brain a few dozen people when the +1 and I hit the Dulles one on the Sunday of its opening weekend: according to the employees we've asked, the level of weekend nutsitude has never really decreased from that point, which is why we only go there during the week.

P.S. Super H = love. I wish I could get the +1 to head out there more often!

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I thought I was the only person in the greater DC metro area who felt that way.  Escoffier, I'd like to shake your hand someday...  Wegman's is a waste of time and space.

And you shop for your groceries at...? I assume you must have better options near you, then.

Edited by Principia
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And you shop for your groceries at...?

Much smaller stores, generally. And specialty shops.

I'm just generally irritated by the whole "bigger is better" thing, so I'm not inclined to like Wegman's. I couldn't buy a quart of milk there. Gallons, yes. But no quarts. I found the cheese counter to be much worse than WF - and yes, I know about how WF treats their cheeses. The store layout is irritating. It's just too damn big. And illogical. I found the bakery items to be utterly boring - reminded me of grocery-store baked goods from my childhood, all shortening and sugar and no taste. I haven't found a prepared food there yet that I like (I do occasionally go for lunch, for reasons that are irrelevant to this discussion). I guess I did pick up some nice steaks once, to be fair.

Overall, most importantly, in several trips I found the quality of their goods no better than any other place, but they were much harder to find and it took me a long time to get out, so there's no reason for me to shop there.

Are their prices significantly better? They'd have to be one hell of a lot better for me to put up with the inconvenience (assuming I lived near one, which I don't).

Wegman's has its demographic, and I don't begrudge anyone that. If I had five kids who brought home their soccer teams once a week, I might very well get a Chevy Suburban Subdivision and load up at Wegman's. But I don't.

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If I had five kids who brought home their soccer teams once a week, I might very well get a Chevy Suburban Subdivision and load up at Wegman's.

Nah, you'd go to Costco for that. :lol:

I don't shop at Wegman's mostly because it's a 60-mile round trip from my house to the Sterling location, and I don't even know where the Fairfax one is. I don't have time for that.

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Oh Wegmans... a few weeks ago I trekked out to the Fairfax Wegmans. The store is very pleasant to visit but I have to be honest I was not pleased with the produce when I got home... the apples I bought had an undertone of cherries, fine for a wine to have undertones but I want my apples to taste like apples. The cereal I bought also had a faint taste of something else until I let it air overnight but the real kicker just happened.... my Goya black beans were fermented in the can. I have been eating Goya black beans for YEARS and have never had such a problem.

Just because a grocery store looks good doesn't mean it is good. I'll not trek to Wegmans again.

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Oh Wegmans... a few weeks ago I trekked out to the Fairfax Wegmans.  The store is very pleasant to visit but I have to be honest I was not pleased with the produce when I got home... the apples I bought had an undertone of cherries, fine for a wine to have undertones but I want my apples to taste like apples.  The cereal I bought also had a faint taste of something else until I let it air overnight but the real kicker just happened.... my Goya black beans were fermented in the can.  I have been eating Goya black beans for YEARS and have never had such a problem. 

Just because a grocery store looks good doesn't mean it is good.  I'll not trek to Wegmans again.

You are certainly entitled to your opinion, but your logic is a bit difficult to follow. The apples and cereal aside ("undertones of cherries" in my apples sounds fine to me; what sort of cereal was it, Wegman's brand or a regular brand?), but to blame the store for a problem with branded beans seems, at a minimum, a stretch. How is it that a bad can of Goya beans says anything about the store where it was purchased? Are you proposing that markets should open all canned goods and inspect them before placing them on the shelves?

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I don't know if this is good news, but Wegmans has announced it's going to open a 140,000 sf store in Anne Arundel County in...2009. (For the benefit of the three people who read this who know where Anne Arundel County is, the exact location is in the Village at Waugh Chapel on the west side of the Rt. 3 corridor north of Crofton.)

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VERY stoked to have Vegman's within a decent driving distance. Especially since it's not Monkey County and they'll probably sell wine.

Hope you're right, but the Wegmans in Hunt Valley (north of Baltimore) doesn't have a wine department - it might be a Maryland thing...
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Hope you're right, but the Wegmans in Hunt Valley (north of Baltimore) doesn't have a wine department - it might be a Maryland thing...

No wine in Maryland grocery stores - the only exceptions I know of are a couple of grandfathered drug stores in downtown Baltimore (the RiteAid on Baltimore St. near St. Paul comes to mind - great in a pinch for office happy hours, but being only a block from "the Block" you can imagine the general selection.)
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The Fairfax Wegman's has really been ramping up their meat selection. In the past month they've consistently had foie, quail, pheasant, duck, beef tongue, veal sweetbreads, veal breast, rabbit... it's a regular meatatarian's paradise.

As I recall, that Wegman's carries pretty much the entire D'Artagnan line of products. Were all of the most unusual items D'Artagnan products, was there another branded line, or were these packaged in-store? Beef tongue and veal breast can be found in an old-fashioned butcher shop or gotten from a meat wholesaler. Maybe sweetbreads, too. But not foie gras, pheasant or quail.

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VERY stoked to have Vegman's within a decent driving distance.
In last Friday's Washington Business Journal, an article by Missy Frederick notes expansion into, gasp, Montgomery County.
The supermarket chain, which is based in Rochester, N.Y., has signed a deal to occupy 140,000 square feet in Springfield near Fort Belvoir and is eyeing Germantown for its first store in Montgomery County.

Wegmans' Springfield store will be in the Kingstowne neighborhood at the northeast corner of Beulah Street and Telegraph Road.

The deal was signed in late December, said Sam Hodges of KLNB Retail, who brokered the lease. Terms were not disclosed.

Wegmans also has signed a letter of intent to open a Germantown store in a new mixed-use center within Seneca Meadows Corporate Center at Father Hurley Boulevard, said spokeswoman Jo Natale.

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Didn't they get run out of MoCo before by the anti-WalMart law? Or did that not ever actually go into effect?
Yes, in November 2004.
"This amendment is in the public interest," said Councilmember George Leventhal. "It doesn't ban any retailer. It does, however, require a project to go through a higher level of review, with an opportunity for public input. It's entirely appropriate to try to concentrate business expansion into 'smart growth' areas."

"This is an initiative in favor of small business, in favor of the little guy," said Councilmember Tom Perez. "All too often, 'big box' chain stores roll into town, put small locally-owned firms out of business, and then take off for greener pastures – leaving acres of concrete parking lot and a huge unrentable property behind."

It's not like Wegman's is Circuit City. Perhaps Wegman's or the landlords have done the math and it's worth the effort to get into this part of MoCo.
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Yes, of course Mr. Perez is right, the big box stores are only in business to screw the little guy... Once they have salted the earth they simply move on. That has to be the dumbest quote I have ever read from a Montgomery County councilman, and that is quite a high bar.

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Wegmans appears ready to start construction of its Columbia supermarket -- at least according to the building permit that Wegmans applied for on June 30, 2009.

An employee of Wegmans Construction in Rochester applied to build a temporary construction trailer at 8895 McGaw Road. That is the site across from Apple Ford where Wegmans has been talking about a new store since at least 2006. A county employee appears to have done a "building review" on July 1, 2009, but there isn't a permit issued yet.

This confirms comments by Wordbones -- who is the source for Wegmans construction news -- on the Tales of Two Cities blog. In June, Wordbones wrote that their local attorney said the company had prevailed against legal challenges. The attorney did not have a date for a Columbia opening then, and the Wegmans Web site still said "TBD" today and listed it behind two stores to open in 2010. About five months ago, Wordbones heard that Wegmans was aiming for early 2011. See this link (which I can't attach in HTML for some reason): http://writing-the-wrongs.blogspot.com/2009/06/wegmans-saga-part-eleven.html?showComment=1246889554439

You can check application B09001570 yourself at the Howard County Web site. Just search for all permits on McGaw Road in June 2009. Again a link: https://accela1.howardcountymd.gov/citizenaccess/

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The Fairfax Wegman's is having an event.

Sushi Fest & Seafood Fest

Dates: Fri. Feb 26 and Sat. Feb 27; 2010

Place: Wegmans Food Market- 11620 Monument Drive, Fairfax, VA 22030

Uoriki Fresh Inc, the US division of Tokyo's famous Tsukiji Market fishmonger Uoriki Co Ltd, is working together with top US supermarket Wegmans to bring you a special fish market. The event is designed to introduce great fresh fish directly from Tsukiji Market to the American customer. Featured specialties from Japan will include flying fish (tobiuo), yellowtail (hamachi), red seabream (tai), horse mackerel (aji), scallops (hotate), high grade frozen tuna (maguro), and high grade miso blackcod (saikyo miso gindara). Please contact Wegmans Food Market at 703-653-1600 for more information.

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The Fairfax Wegman's is having an event.

Sushi Fest & Seafood Fest

Dates: Fri. Feb 26 and Sat. Feb 27; 2010

Place: Wegmans Food Market- 11620 Monument Drive, Fairfax, VA 22030

Uoriki Fresh Inc, the US division of Tokyo's famous Tsukiji Market fishmonger Uoriki Co Ltd, is working together with top US supermarket Wegmans to bring you a special fish market. The event is designed to introduce great fresh fish directly from Tsukiji Market to the American customer. Featured specialties from Japan will include flying fish (tobiuo), yellowtail (hamachi), red seabream (tai), horse mackerel (aji), scallops (hotate), high grade frozen tuna (maguro), and high grade miso blackcod (saikyo miso gindara). Please contact Wegmans Food Market at 703-653-1600 for more information.

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Cousins of J's from Boston, who have a summer house on Martha's Vineyard, were in Japan a few years ago. They were served some delicious tuna sashimi and when they asked where it had come from, they were told: the fish was caught near Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts...

What are the chances that the "high grade frozen tuna" from Tsukiji Market was caught in the Atlantic, shipped to Japan and then sent back here frozen. What kind of carbon footprint would fish like that have? ;)

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Cousins of J's from Boston, who have a summer house on Martha's Vineyard, were in Japan a few years ago. They were served some delicious tuna sashimi and when they asked where it had come from, they were told: the fish was caught near Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts...

What are the chances that the "high grade frozen tuna" from Tsukiji Market was caught in the Atlantic, shipped to Japan and then sent back here frozen. What kind of carbon footprint would fish like that have? ;)

Depending on the time of year, chances are relatively good. I spend summers off the coast of Maine and you can tell when Tuna are running because you'll see lobster boats further offshore looking for "giants" - most of which are sold and shipped to Japan. I know that's all pretty general, but I'm sure someone on here knows more/better than me...
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Cousins of J's from Boston, who have a summer house on Martha's Vineyard, were in Japan a few years ago. They were served some delicious tuna sashimi and when they asked where it had come from, they were told: the fish was caught near Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts...

What are the chances that the "high grade frozen tuna" from Tsukiji Market was caught in the Atlantic, shipped to Japan and then sent back here frozen. What kind of carbon footprint would fish like that have? ;)

Way back when I was in college I had a friend that spent his summers fishing for tuna off the coast of MA in a small boat with dad in a plane scouting for fish. They were worth a fortune and shipped back to Japan ASAP. You are probably right about the nasty carbon footprint...

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Wegmans Fairfax was an absolute zoo today, given the large number of Japanese embassy staff who were crowding the sushi bar area along with the regular Saturday afternoon shopping crowd, but it was worth every bit of the wait. The sushi I got was stunning (maguro, unagi and hamachi); they were handing out samples of nabe that I hope they're going to have again at some point, and I managed to score the last decent package of miso black cod, which will be tonight's dinner. ;)

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A pint of Wegman's ice cream was only $1.99 on Friday with your shopper's card, so I decided to try one. The Jamocha Almond Fudge flavor reminded me a lot of an Arby's Jamocha milkshake, which is one of my favorite milkshakes, so a small bowl of it really hit the spot this weekend.

Extra bonus is that they carry the Grown up Soda line.

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wtop reported today that the new Wegmans carries over 100 different kinds of cola. I guess that means a road trip is in order.

It's been four years, five months since the original Press Release announcing the new Wegmans in Landover's Woodmoore Towne Center.

The store opened yesterday with the kind assistance of the Prince George's and City of Glenarden Police. The traffic was similar to a major Post Office collecting April 15th Tax Returns on the street curbs [back in the day].

How do I know? I was there in the afternoon hoping that Redskins fans would be at home during the away game. No, there aren't enough Redskins fans to limit the traffic. Fox 5's interview with Jack Johnson, the Prince George's County Executive, included his statement that this Wegmans opening was bigger than the Redskins winning the Super Bowl.

My experience: Exited the 495 inner loop at 17A and got in the left lane. Turned left at the traffic light after passing over the Beltway [with serious police assistance]. Followed the traffic into the development and gasped in horror realizing there's also a new COSTCO with a contiguous parking lot. Sighed a litle because the COSTCO's gas station is open [$2.639/Regular & $2.889/Premium], but the actual COSTCO doesn't open until Tuesday the 26th.

The store was overrun, but the staff was uniformly pleasant and helpful. Special shout out to the senior staffer distributing the complimentary Meat Cooking Guide. I will keep it in my kitchen forever too.

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I was at the new one in Landover about a week or so ago. I was there midday, so I lucked out in that it was not utterly overrun. But everyone there -- staff and shoppers alike -- were in such good moods, it was so infectious. While I wished it was closer to Laurel, I am happy I have this option much closer to home than NoVa or Hunt Valley. This place, just like any other grocery store, is not perfect, but it is really, really nice. I mean, where else can you buy black truffles ($399.99 a pound!)?!

My only real complaint is that the design of the shopping complex is pretty awful. The flow of traffic is going to be pretty horrible when the whole place is finished -- the streets/lanes are pretty narrow. And I am not sure why every shopping center designer out there insists on prodding cars to the front of the lot and thus where all pedestrians are, but it's just gonna be a mell of a hess as this place will likely to be perpetually busy. It's probably best to plan trips at off peak times to avoid the crowds.

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My only real complaint is that the design of the shopping complex is pretty awful. The flow of traffic is going to be pretty horrible when the whole place is finished -- the streets/lanes are pretty narrow.

Don't forget the endless number of roundabouts. My sense of direction can take one or two, but this development with its undeveloped land surrounding the roundabouts (so no landmarks) is just confusing.

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I was in the Fairfax Wegmans on December 23rd and it was insanely busy. Now, I shop there every week, so I know what their normal busy is, and what their super busy is. This was insanely busy.

When I was checking out, I asked the cashier, who I recognize and has been there since they opened, if it had been this busy all day. She replied that today (Dec 23rd) is their busiest day of the year "by far. Way more transactions, with people spending a lot more money."

How much could their top line revenue be on a day like that? It took me 15 minutes to park at 2:00pm. Each of the 30+ registers were lined 3 deep the whole time, not to mention the food court and wine store registers. Plus catering. Standing rib roasts were selling at the meat counter like McNuggets.I can't even venture a guess, but I am sure the $ figure would be staggering.

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Don't forget the endless number of roundabouts. My sense of direction can take one or two, but this development with its undeveloped land surrounding the roundabouts (so no landmarks) is just confusing.

I hate traffic circles and got totally turned around today trying to get into the shopping center :). It's certainly much closer than the other area locations, so I'm sure I'll be shopping more at Wegman's than in the past, but I'd hate to be there at a non-offpeak time.

And, while I found many things I wanted (including things I've had trouble finding elsewhere), I couldn't find everything. It's just so overwhelmingly big in one of these stores that I get a bit lost. It's like shopping at Central Market in Texas, though I think I like Central Market a bit more.

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Wegman's is opening in Frederick this Spring...Building looks just about done from the outside. It will be in "Clemson Corner" which is on Rt 26 just off of 15 North.

Lots of buzz around here about the opening!

SO excited for this...although to me June is really spring (that is that date that they are currently using). I am not holding my breath for the one in MoCo, so i will be trekking up to Frederick for Wegman's, just like I do for Costco. I hate MoCo, right down to its rotten liquor laws.

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My guess would be $400,000 to $500,000 on 30 registers. I was in a WF store with 12 and we did $275,000.

The Fairfax Wegmans is the highest dollar volume grocery store of any in the U. S. It is somewhere north of $100 million a year. At one point I knew the exact figure but have forgotten it. ($120?) The Fairfax store also carries a number of items that no other store Wegmans has in the greater Baltimore Washington area (i.e. their cheese department).

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The Fairfax Wegmans is the highest dollar volume grocery store of any in the U. S. It is somewhere north of $100 million a year. At one point I knew the exact figure but have forgotten it. ($120?) The Fairfax store also carries a number of items that no other store Wegmans has in the greater Baltimore Washington area (i.e. their cheese department).

I think we also have the highest volume Lowe's Hardware (the one off 28 and 50).

Fairfax $pend$!

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Th Fairfax Wegman's is selling live Diver scallops for $8 a piece today. I had them shuck one for me and just ate it raw. It was great. Each scallop seems to weigh between 3-4 oz.

Never seen live scallops in a grocery store before.

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I was at the new one in Landover about a week or so ago. I was there midday, so I lucked out in that it was not utterly overrun. But everyone there -- staff and shoppers alike -- were in such good moods, it was so infectious. While I wished it was closer to Laurel, I am happy I have this option much closer to home than NoVa or Hunt Valley. This place, just like any other grocery store, is not perfect, but it is really, really nice. I mean, where else can you buy black truffles ($399.99 a pound!)?!

My only real complaint is that the design of the shopping complex is pretty awful. The flow of traffic is going to be pretty horrible when the whole place is finished -- the streets/lanes are pretty narrow. And I am not sure why every shopping center designer out there insists on prodding cars to the front of the lot and thus where all pedestrians are, but it's just gonna be a mell of a hess as this place will likely to be perpetually busy. It's probably best to plan trips at off peak times to avoid the crowds.

Somehow they made the entry into the Columbia store even worse.

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