Wegmans now open

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The anticipation was building for years and the day finally arrived. Wegmans Food Market is now open in Concord Township.

The store, located at 100 Applied bank Boulevard, officially opened at 7 a.m., Sunday, Nov. 8 after store manager Todd Strassner Jr, led the employees in a chant of “Give me W…”

A crowd of hundreds began forming a line by 6:15 a.m. and they poured into the store as soon as a makeshift stage, which Strassner and others used for the chant, was removed from the entrance.

Rena Cuno of Chadds Ford checks out the Wegmans store circular on opening day.
Rena Cuno of Chadds Ford checks out the Wegmans store circular on opening day.

Chadds Ford’s Rena Cuno was one of the early morning shoppers. “I couldn’t wait until this store opened. I actually wrote Wegmans a letter saying they should come to Chadds Ford because I had shopped at the one in Cherry Hill and I just loved it.”

For Cuno, the attraction is the wide variety of foods and specialty areas. For others, it was a taste of home.

“I’m originally from Buffalo, New York and Rochester,” said Lisa Pratt, from West Chester. “That’s where Wegmans started. It’s been a part of my life all my life. I’ve missed it for the three years I’ve been here. I felt deprived. I know it sounds silly but I did.”

And shopping at 7 a.m. on opening day was part of the fun and excitement for John Guth, of Downingtown, who has shopped at the Downingtown Wegmans.

“Getting up, getting all the excitement when the store first opens, and still beat the crowds and then get out at a good time,” was his reason for standing in line so early on a Sunday morning.

Guth, who was wearing a Philadelphia Eagles sweatshirt, also predicted an Eagles win over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night football.

The produce section carries 700items, with 150 being organic.
The produce section carries 700 items, with 150 being organic.

And for Dorothy Pettit, of Kennett Square, who has shopped at the Wegmans stores in Downingtown and Malvern, getting up to be among the first to shop at the new store was to take part in a wish come true.

“We’ve been waiting for Wegmans to come here for a while. Anything you want is here at Wegmans as far as food. They are so courteous. Their pharmacy is excellent,” Pettit said.

The new Wegmans is 111,000 square feet. There are 525 employees and 24 checkout aisles, four of which are for self -checkout.

The produce section carries 700 items with 150 being organic, according to Jo Natale, Wegmans vice president of media relations.

A Market Café has 10 different sections featuring a variety of precooked food. There’s a sushi bar, an Asian bar and a veggie bar along with a coffee shop, sub shop and soup station.

There’s also a seating area that can accommodate 250 people, combined indoor and outdoor, and there’s an outdoor fireplace when the weather is on the chilly side. And there is a hub where people can sit down an order a meal. Pub food prices range from $4 for a salad or veggies with chips and dip, to $15.50 for a lobster roll sandwich or $24 for seared scallops.

Wegmans Concordville also has a Mediterranean bar with more than 90 items, a cheese shop and an area with prepackaged kosher foods. There’s also a pharmacy, a flower shop and catering services are offered.

Shoppers may also buy up to two six-packs of beer and the can make their own six-pack by mixing and matching from a variety of different beers.

And on the grocery side, there more than 20 aisles of standard grocery store type merchandise.

According to store Strassner, Wegmans offers competitive low pricing for the top 200 items families buy on a regular basis.

In all, Wegmans offers between 50,000 and 70,000 products, according to a press handout. The store is open 24/7.

(Top photo: Store manager Todd Strassner Jr. leads employees in the Wegmans cheer just before the store opened at 7 a.m. Sunday.)

About Rich Schwartzman

Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.

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  1. Ann Angelucci

    I am orgionally from Syracuse, New York and this was the only grocery store I knew! I love everything about Wegmans. I have lived in West Chester for the last 4 years and I occasionally went to the Malvern store but I am thriled to have one opened closer to home! #UPSTATENY #LOVEWEGMANS #ROCHESTER cant wait to check it out! Great article!!!

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