Since reaching the milestone of opening its 100th store in the second half of 2019, Wegmans has been charging ahead, debuting stores and entering new markets at a brisk clip.
Wegmans has added about a dozen new stores over the past six years, including its first location in New York City, and its arrival in the borough of Manhattan.
Known for its vast array of prepared foods and made-to-order stations, Wegmans steadily grew its store fleet after the COVID-19 pandemic ignited sustained consumer demand for quicker, easier and more convenient at-home meal prep options. While consumers have since returned to in-store shopping and shed many pandemic-driven behaviors, at-home dining has stuck as people continue to use their meal-prep skills and focus on reduced spending amid ongoing cost concerns.
Wegmans appears poised to continue capturing shoppers’ attention as it enters new markets.
Wegmans’ U.S. footprint
Founded in 1916, the fourth-generation-run regional grocer has 112 stores across eight states and Washington, D.C. The state of New York alone accounts for almost half of Wegmans’ store fleet, with a majority of the locations upstate and just four in the New York City metropolitan area.
Wegmans’ newest store opened in Lake Grove, New York, at the end of February, marking the grocer’s first foray onto Long Island.
Earlier this year, Wegmans announced plans to come to Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania, with what will be its first store in the Pittsburgh area. The approximately 115,000-square-foot store will occupy 13 acres adjacent to the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex, the primary practice and training facility for the Pittsburgh Penguins hockey team.
Last year, Wegmans unveiled plans for a roughly 110,000-square-foot store in Charlotte, North Carolina, — the grocer’s first location in the city — and said it had started hiring and training workers for its first store in Connecticut, which is slated to open in Norwalk at the end of July.
The grocer also lists a location in Holly Springs, North Carolina, on its “Future Store Locations” webpage, which would expand its presence in the state’s Research Triangle area.
Wegmans has announced five upcoming stores, including its first in Connecticut
Wegmans has long focused on offering restaurant-style meal options and prepared food items to help make at-home dining easier.
At the end of last year, Wegmans said the Connecticut, Long Island and Maryland stores would all feature restaurant foods like sushi, pizza, chef-made salads and sandwiches.
The grocer’s first Manhattan store, which opened in the fall of 2023, turns up the dial on its foodservice reputation with meal options commanding nearly an entire floor of the two-level location. This store includes copious amounts of made-to-order and ready-to-eat options on the street-level floor. The store is also slated to house the grocer’s second Next Door by Wegmans sushi restaurant, which will join one currently open at the grocer’s Rochester, New York, location.
