Wegmans' first Long Island supermarket set for February opening
The largest supermarket on Long Island will be a Wegmans when it opens next year.
The much anticipated store, Wegmans' first on Long Island, will span 101,000 square feet when it opens Feb. 26 in Lake Grove, at 3270 Middle Country Rd.
Wegmans, a grocer with a cultlike following, is renowned for its fresh and specialty offerings across departments like bakery, seafood, deli and produce, and customizations, said Jeff Metzger, publisher of Food Trade News, a Columbia, Maryland-based publication.
The new Lake Grove store is expected to affect grocery competitors, particularly non-discount stores, within a five-mile radius, Metzger said.
“They’ve proven that they can draw from a typically wider area and, historically, when a Wegmans opens, everybody loses volume to some degree, some more than others,” he said.
Wegmans’ Lake Grove location will have a “cookie pod” offering fresh-baked items, a self-service coffee station, made-to-order and premade salads and sandwiches, a pizza department where pies are made daily, a sushi bar and an Old World cheese department, store manager Dawn Cooper said during a media tour Thursday.
The store also includes an 86-seat café and dedicates 10,285 square feet to prepared foods.
What distinguishes Wegmans most from competitors is its culture, Cooper said.
“The No. 1 thing we’re passionate about is taking care of our people and our people take care of our customers,” she said.
The store will employ more than 500 full- and part-time workers, most of whom are being hired locally, she said.
Founded in 1916, Wegmans Food Markets Inc. is a family-owned regional supermarket chain with 111 East Coast stores in Washington, D.C., and eight states, including New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
The company opens two to three new stores annually, focusing on filling gaps in existing markets, including more urban areas, Wegmans spokeswoman Mandee Puleo said.
In the last five years, Wegmans has opened 13 stores, some in new markets. It entered New York City with a Brooklyn location in 2019, followed by stores in Harrison, Westchester County, in 2020, and Manhattan’s Astor Place in October 2023.
Factors considered for new locations include site size, public demand, population density and proximity to Wegmans' distribution centers in Pottsville, Pennsylvania; Ashland, Virginia; and Rochester, Puleo said Thursday.
“We also look at what’s in the area," she said, using the new Lake Grove location as an example. "We’ve got Stony Brook [University] not too far way, so that’s bringing the college crowd and everything."
Wegmans’ traditional suburban supermarkets are large, ranging from 80,000 to 120,000 square feet, and typically require 15 to 20 acres of land, Puleo said.
At 101,000 square feet, the Lake Grove store will be Long Island's largest supermarket, excluding retailers like Walmart supercenters and BJ’s Wholesale Club that have grocery sections.
The new store was built on the site of former Babies R Us/Toys R Us and Ashley Furniture stores, which were demolished, in a shopping center called DSW Plaza at Lake Grove.
In October 2023, Wegmans bought 8.5 acres of the shopping center from Prestige Properties and Development for $15.3 million, according to the Suffolk County Clerk’s Office.
Manhattan-based Prestige owns and operates the remaining 20 acres of the shopping center.
The largest supermarket on Long Island will be a Wegmans when it opens next year.
The much anticipated store, Wegmans' first on Long Island, will span 101,000 square feet when it opens Feb. 26 in Lake Grove, at 3270 Middle Country Rd.
Wegmans, a grocer with a cultlike following, is renowned for its fresh and specialty offerings across departments like bakery, seafood, deli and produce, and customizations, said Jeff Metzger, publisher of Food Trade News, a Columbia, Maryland-based publication.
The new Lake Grove store is expected to affect grocery competitors, particularly non-discount stores, within a five-mile radius, Metzger said.
WHAT NEWSDAY FOUND
- Wegmans' first supermarket on Long Island is set to open Feb. 26 in Lake Grove.
- The 101,000-square-foot store will be the largest supermarket on the Island, excluding other types of stores that sell groceries, such as warehouse clubs and supercenters.
- The new Wegmans will employ more than 500 full- and part-time workers, most of whom are being hired locally.
“They’ve proven that they can draw from a typically wider area and, historically, when a Wegmans opens, everybody loses volume to some degree, some more than others,” he said.
The new store will feature all the traditional departments Wegmans customers have come to know and love, including a self-serve area, a pizza department with pies made fresh daily, a "cookie pod" and more. Credit: Rick Kopstein
Wegmans’ Lake Grove location will have a “cookie pod” offering fresh-baked items, a self-service coffee station, made-to-order and premade salads and sandwiches, a pizza department where pies are made daily, a sushi bar and an Old World cheese department, store manager Dawn Cooper said during a media tour Thursday.
The store also includes an 86-seat café and dedicates 10,285 square feet to prepared foods.
What distinguishes Wegmans most from competitors is its culture, Cooper said.
“The No. 1 thing we’re passionate about is taking care of our people and our people take care of our customers,” she said.
The store will employ more than 500 full- and part-time workers, most of whom are being hired locally, she said.
Filling gaps
Founded in 1916, Wegmans Food Markets Inc. is a family-owned regional supermarket chain with 111 East Coast stores in Washington, D.C., and eight states, including New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
The company opens two to three new stores annually, focusing on filling gaps in existing markets, including more urban areas, Wegmans spokeswoman Mandee Puleo said.
In the last five years, Wegmans has opened 13 stores, some in new markets. It entered New York City with a Brooklyn location in 2019, followed by stores in Harrison, Westchester County, in 2020, and Manhattan’s Astor Place in October 2023.
Factors considered for new locations include site size, public demand, population density and proximity to Wegmans' distribution centers in Pottsville, Pennsylvania; Ashland, Virginia; and Rochester, Puleo said Thursday.
“We also look at what’s in the area," she said, using the new Lake Grove location as an example. "We’ve got Stony Brook [University] not too far way, so that’s bringing the college crowd and everything."
The Lake Grove Wegmans opens Feb. 26. Credit: Rick Kopstein
Wegmans’ traditional suburban supermarkets are large, ranging from 80,000 to 120,000 square feet, and typically require 15 to 20 acres of land, Puleo said.
At 101,000 square feet, the Lake Grove store will be Long Island's largest supermarket, excluding retailers like Walmart supercenters and BJ’s Wholesale Club that have grocery sections.
The new store was built on the site of former Babies R Us/Toys R Us and Ashley Furniture stores, which were demolished, in a shopping center called DSW Plaza at Lake Grove.
In October 2023, Wegmans bought 8.5 acres of the shopping center from Prestige Properties and Development for $15.3 million, according to the Suffolk County Clerk’s Office.
Manhattan-based Prestige owns and operates the remaining 20 acres of the shopping center.
Tory N. Parrish covers retail and small business for Newsday. She has worked at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and Observer-Dispatch in Utica, N.Y.
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No bail for alleged CEO killer ... Suffolk cop back on duty ... Trader Joe's plans new LI store ... All LI football team
