Wegmans Is the Cream of the Crop
I have a favorite friend that recently moved from Buffalo to California. Amy is originally from the Ventura area, but moved out here to be with the man she loved. Last spring they decided to move back.
I talk to her often, though sometimes schedules are tight and it’s hard to make the connection via telephone, so email is often our only option.
Every time I do get to talk to her she always tells me how much she misses Buffalo. Sure all of her family is in CA, but she really misses our neck of the woods, and they’re making plans to move back.
In the interim, I attempt to soothe her “homesickness”. But I can only do so much. See, the trouble is, she really misses Wegmans. That’s right- it isn’t the chicken wings, the summer festivals, architecture or lack of traffic. It’s Wegmans. Specifically the organic produce department. And in her sunny California town, she can drive down the street to Trader Joe’s, but she’d much rather be at Wegmans. And “her” store, as she calls it, wasn’t the mega-store near Niagara Falls Blvd., but rather the little one on Amherst St. near Buff State.
I really didn’t understand this, I mean, I love Wegmans too. But it isn’t Whole Foods, right? I mean we’ve been hearing Buffalonians clamor for a Whole Foods for a number of years now.
I guess I sort of knew that Wegmans is above average even in some larger metropolitan areas; take for example my sister and brother-in-law. He’s a pastry chef and she’s an avid foodie. They live in metro Seattle and have access to markets that feature fantastic, fresh, off-the-boat fish, premium wine and beer selections, and aisles and aisles of ethnic ingredients. But every time they visit Buffalo, they want to go to Wegmans.
But now, the deal is sealed. Not only is Wegmans one of the top 5 companies in the U.S. to work for (10 years running), but they’ve also just won the 2007 Food Network Award for “SUPER Market”, beating out fellow nominees Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods.
Yep, folks- you’ve got it. We can all set aside our grocery store inferiority complexes, because we’re doing just fine. Apparently, über-chic grocery stores don’t have anything on us. And that's okay with me. Having more things to be proud of never hurt anyone.
Congratulations Wegmans!
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Jeff
I go to Cornell, and I will tell you that every student takes their family to Wegmans as some sort of spectacle. Sure, there are amazing waterfalls, gorges, art, and culture in Ithaca, but what everyone really wants is to see the everyday experience of shopping elevated to an artform. Wegmans is a magical place, I must say. Look out though, I'm becoming partial to the Tops renovations with their undershelf lighting, halogen spot lights, and even larger organic section (like on North French).
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viking
The look on the faces of the people shopping, tells the whole story---- I've arrived .
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Loaf
My wife and I moved from Buffalo a couple of years a go to Denver and we miss Wegmans. Whole Foods is "Whole Paycheck" to us. Weg's has the best of both worlds - the usual suspects and good specialty foods. Miss it big time. lol
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BryanJamesWhitley
My first visit to Wegmans was a rainy day back in March of 2005. It was like a kid hiting DisneyWorld for the fist time. Even though I shop at the Lexington Coop now to support my neighborhood and cut down on the drive time, I still love Wegmans!
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Jefferson
Good for Wegmans. Hope they keep up the good work. Another thing about W is that they carry local products along with the national brands which is good. Whole Foods is so overrated and overpriced. "Whole Paycheck" for sure!
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coolrobc
When I first moved here, I immediately fell in love with Wegmans. Two friends I knew from back where I grew up came out for a Bills game, I swung by Wegmans to pick some stuff for our tailgate.
These two guys whom I've known since third grade, and have virtually no interest in food other than eating it, walked around awestruck. When they came out again next year for a game, one of the first questions they asked was "Can we go to Wegmans?"
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buffalocat
I'm definitely a foodie, and I love to cook, but when I lived in North Carolina, I had to shop at 3 different stores - Whole Foods, the local co-op, and Harris Teeter - each week to get everything on my grocery list. I'm back in Buffalo now, and although I've got an absolutely gigantic list of great things about living here, one of the best is having Wegmans. It's affordable and has virtually everything that my three old stores used to have under one roof.
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