Batten down your hatches because Wegmans has graced the Brooklyn Navy Yard with its presence, and soon, its automatic doors will woosh open to welcome you and the literal thousands of other queued-up fans into its bountiful embrace. Come Sunday, you will officially be able to shop the country's most cherished grocery store: Wegmans, which my computer desperately wants to correct as "Legman's," and maybe I should let it, the lech. But that would probably be upsetting to the Wegmaniacs among you, and also confusing in context, and also not the assignment. So! Wegmans: What is it, where is it, and what can you expect from your first encounter?
Wegmans? What is Wegmans?
It's okay: before a few days ago, I didn't know either. Wegmans, in my Midwestern opinion, is a niche obsession: A Rochester-based food emporium with stores all clustered in the Eastern United States. Wegmans entered the world as a humble vegetable pushcart in the early 20th century, and is now a 100-store operation: 46 in New York, 18 in Pennsylvania, 9 in New Jersey, 12 in Virginia, eight in Maryland, six in Massachusetts, and one in Raleigh, North Carolina. That last Wegmans, the most recent addition to the family, drew (no shit) 3,000 eager grocery fiends to a parking lot ahead of its grand opening.
Why do that many people care about a grocery store?
Again, I'm as new to Wegmans as you probably are if you're reading this section, but it does seem that Wegmans fanatics have concrete reasons for their fanaticism, such as: Size, quality, and those sweet sweet everyday deals.
"The first thing you need to know about Wegmans is it's as special as people say it is," Burt Flickinger, a consumer industry consulting expert with a special focus on supermarkets , told the Washington Post. "Inside each Wegmans is the equivalent of 8 to 10 other supermarkets. The produce department by itself in Wegmans stores is twice as big as the total supermarket store volume of its average competitors in the U.S." And, Flickinger continued, the fruit and veg selection rivals, say, a Whole Foods in terms of freshness — just one of the things that make it a "360-degree competitor." Others include: Trader Joe's-level prices, and again, physical size on the scale of a Walmart. Plus, people seem to really go wild for the prepared foods.
Another expert who spoke with the Post, Supermarket News retail editor Jon Springer, pointed to the "theatricality" of a Wegmans grocery experience in explaining its status as a cult-favorite grocer. The Wegmans layout reportedly resembles that of a Whole Foods, with food items organized in a pleasing, open-market style. While I do not understand how this lands itself to theater, exactly, Wegmans employees are, reportedly, exceptionally friendly. It's unclear to me if that friendliness comes from genuine happiness, or if it is obligatory, but Wegmans is said to pay its workers above-market rates, and to provide them particularly solid benefits. Perhaps for these reasons, it has landed on Fortune's 100 Best Places to Work For 22 years running, often toward the top.
Plus, points for font selection, Wegmans. What is that, Joker?
Okay fine, where is Brooklyn's Wegmans exactly?
The new store — which, at 74,000 square feet, will be Wegmans's smallest but also Brooklyn's biggest grocer — lives at 21 Flushing Avenue, and you can visit it starting Sunday, October 27th at 7 a.m.
How can I get there?
If you plan to take the subway, the F at York Street and the A/C at Jay Street-Metro Tech are all within reasonable walking distance. If you plan to take the bus, the B62, B67, the B57, B69, and B48 all put you within three minutes of this grocery behemoth. (Please note: All lines except the B67 stop outside the Navy Yard gates.) You can also take the Astoria Ferry to the Navy Yard, or! You rent a car, drive the car you already have, or con someone into driving you. There's an accommodating 700-spot parking lot/garage at Wegmans, for your convenience.
What else should I know before I go?
Wegmans will offer customers a beautiful cornucopia of restaurant-style foods: Made-to-order sushi; brick-oven pizza; a burger bar where you can find Impossible burgers, lobster rolls, and fried chicken sandwiches alongside the standard beef patties; and a full bar featuring beer, wine, sake, and liquor (much of it local).
Also, brace yourself for frenzied Wegmaniacs, who have been waiting for this and will show up in buzzing droves. “I’m gonna push through to the front of the crowd,” 29-year-old Park Slope resident Suzanne McKenzie told the NY Post, adding that she plans to arrive at 7 a.m., which honestly seems a little on the late side. "I definitely want to load up on stuff, but I also just want to enjoy the atmosphere."
Ah yes the famous Wegmans atmosphere, which I imagine will feel more like a monster truck version of Supermarket Sweep, or Woodbury Common on Black Friday, or LaGuardia during the holidays, due to overwhelming demand and avid anticipation. Have a nice time you wild Wegmaniacs!
Here's you.
