Wegman's report

Ack! I completely forgot, I got a container of potstickers with dipping sauce, cooked them up and I
have to say, they were Excellent.

nancy

"Nancy Young" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Well, after all that procrastinating I finally went. I knew it would be nice, quite nice. Well, it
was all that and more.

I was thinking, okay, this is not going to be a cheap foray into supermarket land, but that's not
why I was there. Walk in the door and what is the first thing I see? Haas avocados 4 $1. Holy
crow, I guess that's the 'after superbowl' sale, because that is dirt cheap here.

Well, what a delightful store, the stuff they had, it was just outstanding. Prepared foods, hot
out of the oven breads, all kinds of cheeses, a beautiful meat and fish department, it really was
all I'd heard of and more. I will definitely be back.

I wound up getting Greek olives, mixed meat and sausage for sauce, Chruscik (a box of fried
something), parmegiano reggiano, and other stuff. Was a lot of fun.

It'll be more fun next time now that I kind of have the lay of the land, so to speak. A little
overwhelming the first time you walk in.

nancy (why, oh why, didn't I get a container of the lobster bisque?)

What is it about Wegmans?

I live in Syracuse NY and I think Wegmans is really.. OK. They have good meat, at a high price, and
if to go to a "'superstore", there is prime beef too. Produce is adequate, and the avocados are 4/$1
here too, now, they were 1/$1 in the fall. They have a nice "olive bar" at $5.99/lb The premade
products are good too, but pricey. Probably you're shopping in a "superstore". All the new ones are
superstores.

We have a decent PriceChopper here, and they have more/better produce, better seafood, similar
prepackaged meat (no prime), at a lower cost.

Is the competition so weak in the rest of the country that Wegmans seems superior, or is it
superior? I spent a month in NW Atlanta last spring and shopped at Kroger's and Publix. While I
liked Publix better, the Kroger was acceptable. I will admit that a good Wegmans, or PriceChopper
"up here" may have been a little bit better, But I can't believe that there aren't other chains that
are as good.

Wrong?

Dave S

On Sat, 21 Feb 2004 18:52:31 -0500, "Dave S" <[email hidden]> wrote: <snip>

Quoted message said:

What is it about Wegmans?

I live in Syracuse NY and I think Wegmans is really.. OK. They have good meat, at a high price, and
if to go to a "'superstore", there is prime beef too. Produce is adequate, and the avocados are
4/$1 here too, now, they were 1/$1 in the fall. They have a nice "olive bar" at $5.99/lb The
premade products are good too, but pricey. Probably you're shopping in a "superstore". All the new
ones are superstores.

We have a decent PriceChopper here, and they have more/better produce, better seafood, similar
prepackaged meat (no prime), at a lower cost.

Is the competition so weak in the rest of the country that Wegmans seems superior, or is it
superior?

The new ones are awesome. Really. I agree that the one in Syracuse (Fayetteville, anyway)
is/was nice (I lived in Syr in the mid-80s) and at the time had a greater selection of
"gourmet" foods compared to say, Tops or Price Chopper. Now, of course, many supermarkets have
caught up to that standard.

But Wegmans has raised the bar-- again. I lived in NJ a few years ago when the Princeton one opened
and I was skeptical as well. After letting the new store aura wear off, I paid a visit and was
converted, although their family-orientation schtick gets annoying sometimes. Not only is the food
wonderful and the produce incredible, the employees are happy to work there and it shows. Checkout
is fast, efficient, and pleasant. So different from the usual indifferent service at most grocery
stores. Too bad they'll never have a store in the 5 boroughs of NYC (not enough retail/parking space
and I doubt they could ever get checkout to be so smooth, either from the cashier or customer
standpoint).

Sue(tm) Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!

Nancy Young said:

Well, after all that procrastinating I finally went. I knew it would be nice, quite nice. Well, it
was all that and more.

Yup. Now there was a store I absolutely loved.

In the Rochester area, Weggie's main competitor is Tops, and there was a while there in the 90s when
Tops was winning out handily. Things didn't turn around until Wegmans took its older (and in many
ways very charming) stores and gave them the MegaWegs treatment. Only then could they run an even
race with Tops. I missed the nice old Wegmans stores, but the change allowed each store more room to
upgrade its upscale and foreign foods selection, boost the chain's image generally and keep its
prices reasonable.

Of course, this was the final nail in the coffin for the last of the smaller chains. Bells and IGA
went belly up, and last I knew Big M was just hanging on. You can find the odd Jubilee (there's one
in Spencerport), but they're scarce as hen's teeth.

It was also the end for innumerable strip malls and shopping centers that had used the popularity of
the smaller grocery stores as keystones. MegaWegs and Tops built new super-sized box stores of their
own far (and sometimes not so far) from the little plazas, and lulled their patrons clean away.

On Sat, 21 Feb 2004 18:52:31 -0500, "Dave S" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

What is it about Wegmans?

I live in Syracuse NY and I think Wegmans is really.. OK. They have good meat, at a high price, and
if to go to a "'superstore", there is prime beef too. Produce is adequate, and the avocados are
4/$1 here too, now, they were 1/$1 in the fall. They have a nice "olive bar" at $5.99/lb The
premade products are good too, but pricey. Probably you're shopping in a "superstore". All the new
ones are superstores.

We have a decent PriceChopper here, and they have more/better produce, better seafood, similar
prepackaged meat (no prime), at a lower cost.

Is the competition so weak in the rest of the country that Wegmans seems superior, or is it
superior? I spent a month in NW Atlanta last spring and shopped at Kroger's and Publix. While I
liked Publix better, the Kroger was acceptable. I will admit that a good Wegmans, or PriceChopper
"up here" may have been a little bit better, But I can't believe that there aren't other chains
that are as good.

Wrong?

Dave S

Like the store near you, the Wegman's in Corning, NY, near my hometown in PA, is just OK. It's a
nice supermarket, but it's not a SUPER supermarket, IYKWIM.

But, I've been to two Wegman's stores in Bethlehem, PA, where my brother lives, and those stores are
AWESOME. Totally superior in every way to the store in Corning. Fantastic selection and great
prices. The selection of produce, meats, seafood, cheeses, deli, and cooked/prepared foods is
similar to what we get at Central Market here in TX, but CM's prices are much higher.

Quoted message said:

Nancy Young said:

Well, after all that procrastinating I finally went. I knew it would be nice, quite nice. Well,
it was all that and more.

I'm guessing this is a relatively new East Coast chain? I'm originally from NY but don't recall them
from my time there (I left in '82). And I've never seen one out here in California.

--
Donna A pessimist believes all women are bad. An optimist hopes they are.

To reply, remove the SPAM BLOCK

Donna Rose said:

Quoted message said:

Nancy Young said:

Well, after all that procrastinating I finally went. I knew it would be nice, quite nice. Well,
it was all that and more.

I'm guessing this is a relatively new East Coast chain? I'm originally from NY but don't recall
them from my time there (I left in '82). And I've never seen one out here in California.

I don't know where they originated, but it's only been moving into New Jersey in the past few years.

nancy

Donna Rose said:

Quoted message said:

Nancy Young said:

Well, after all that procrastinating I finally went. I knew it would be nice, quite nice. Well,
it was all that and more.

I'm guessing this is a relatively new East Coast chain? I'm originally from NY but don't recall
them from my time there (I left in '82). And I've never seen one out here in California.

No, it's an old (original store in 1915) upstate NY family-owned chain. Started in Ra-cha-cha
(Rochester :>😉, then to Syracuse in the '60s, Bflo in the 70s. Unless you lived in one of those
cities, you wouldn't have run into it.

Sue(tm) Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!

MaryGosline said:

For those of you at the Jersey Shore, one is opening up in the Fall in Ocean Twp., Monmouth
County. Our local Foodtown, already feeling the competition, has announced a major
expansion. Susie Q

Whereabouts, if you don't mind me asking. The one I went to is in Manalapan.

nancy

MareCat said:

Dave S said:

What is it about Wegmans?

I live in Syracuse NY and I think Wegmans is really.. OK.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Is the competition so weak in the rest of the country that Wegmans seems superior, or is it
superior?

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

But I can't believe that there aren't other chains that are as good.

Wrong?

Quoted message said:

Like the store near you, the Wegman's in Corning, NY, near my hometown in PA, is just OK. It's a
nice supermarket, but it's not a SUPER supermarket, IYKWIM.

But, I've been to two Wegman's stores in Bethlehem, PA, where my brother lives, and those stores
are AWESOME. Totally superior in every way to the store in Corning. Fantastic selection and great
prices. The selection of produce, meats, seafood, cheeses, deli, and cooked/prepared foods is
similar to what we get at Central Market here in TX, but CM's prices are much higher.

Thanks to you and Sue for chiming in, I didn't answer because I didn't know what to say. My mind
boggled that all the supermarkets where Dave lives are like Wegman's. Makes more sense to know that
Wegman's older stores are like our usual supermarkets.

Funny, when Albertson's bought out the Acme chain and built a new store to replace the old one,
people were giddy, I'm not kidding, running around the store checking out all the new stuff, the old
store was HORRID. I really like the new store, it's so nice, and it's even clean! Still, it's no
Wegman's, which is fine with me. I'd eat prepared meals every day if it was.

nancy (wishing I'd have gotten a second container of potstickers)

"MareCat" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Dave S said:

What is it about Wegmans?

snip

Quoted message said:

But, I've been to two Wegman's stores in Bethlehem, PA, where my brother lives, and those stores
are AWESOME. Totally superior in every way to the store in Corning. Fantastic selection and great
prices. The selection of produce, meats, seafood, cheeses, deli, and cooked/prepared foods is
similar to what we get at Central Market here in TX, but CM's prices are much higher.

I live near enough to the store in Bethlehem on 512 and the one in Allentown on Tilghman Street.
Both have the same set up and color scheme, etc. There are some good deals (if you watch the ads and
buy what's on sale) but then there are some really pricy items as well. In this area, the 'uppa
crust' refer to 'doing Wegman's' and look at contempt at those of us to shop at Kings/Weis or Giant.
It is the Abercrombie and Fitch of food for the Lehigh Valley.

Took hubby in the other week, in dirty jeans and tee shirt. Of course some of the uppas looked at us
in disgust. He picked up on this....held up a package of liver and and said 'looky Ma, innerts.....'
Every now and again I like to pull the chain of those who think they are better than everyone else.

On the plus side, when they have contests, people usually win. I won a salmon at the Allentown
Wegmans'. A whole floppin, flippin 50 lb. salmon. When asked, I let them them gut it and cut it into
serving pieces. It was great. I've entered a few others, but know people who have won them as
well....unlike Kings who runs contests and then posts a picture of a woman in Florida who won big
(they don't even have stores in FL).

-Ginny

Nancy Young said:

MaryGosline said:

For those of you at the Jersey Shore, one is opening up in the Fall in Ocean Twp., Monmouth
County. Our local Foodtown, already feeling the competition, has announced a major expansion.
Susie Q

Whereabouts, if you don't mind me asking. The one I went to is in Manalapan.

nancy

There is a nice in Bridgewater, too.

Boron

Boron Elgar said:

Nancy Young said:

MaryGosline said:

For those of you at the Jersey Shore, one is opening up in the Fall in Ocean Twp., Monmouth
County. Our local Foodtown, already feeling the competition, has announced a major expansion.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Whereabouts, if you don't mind me asking. The one I went to is in Manalapan.

Quoted message said:

There is a nice in Bridgewater, too.

I bet there is! They are no slouch in the demographics department, obviously.

nancy

Virginia Tadrzynski said:

I live near enough to the store in Bethlehem on 512 and the one in Allentown on Tilghman Street.
Both have the same set up and color scheme, etc. There are some good deals (if you watch the ads
and buy what's on sale) but then there are some really pricy items as well. In this area, the
'uppa crust' refer to 'doing Wegman's' and look at contempt at those of us to shop at Kings/Weis
or Giant. It is the Abercrombie and Fitch of food for the Lehigh Valley.

Took hubby in the other week, in dirty jeans and tee shirt. Of course some of the uppas looked at
us in disgust. He picked up on this....held up a package of liver and and said 'looky Ma,
innerts.....' Every now and again I like to pull the chain of those who think they are better than
everyone else.

Those kind of people are too pathetic to laugh at. Imagine needing your ego propped up by a store.

Quoted message said:

On the plus side, when they have contests, people usually win. I won a salmon at the Allentown
Wegmans'. A whole floppin, flippin 50 lb. salmon. When asked, I let them them gut it and cut it
into serving pieces. It was great. I've entered a few others, but know people who have won them as
well....unlike Kings who runs contests and then posts a picture of a woman in Florida who won big
(they don't even have stores in FL).

Now, when I was working and in school in north jersey, Kings was an upscale supermarket. Is that not
the case elsewhere? It certainly wasn't anything to sneer at. Perhaps it's not the same Kings chain.

nancy

----- Original Message -----
From: "Nancy Young" <[email hidden]>
Newsgroups: rec.food.cooking
Sent: Sunday, February 22, 2004 10:13 AM
Subject: Re: Wegman's report

Quoted message said:

MareCat said:

Dave S said:

What is it about Wegmans?

I live in Syracuse NY and I think Wegmans is really.. OK.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Is the competition so weak in the rest of the country that Wegmans

seems

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

superior, or is it superior?

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

But I can't believe that there aren't other chains that are as good.

Wrong?

Quoted message said:

Like the store near you, the Wegman's in Corning, NY, near my hometown in PA, is just OK. It's a
nice supermarket, but it's not a SUPER supermarket, IYKWIM.

But, I've been to two Wegman's stores in Bethlehem, PA, where my brother lives, and those stores
are AWESOME. Totally superior in every way to the store in Corning. Fantastic selection and
great prices. The selection of produce, meats, seafood, cheeses, deli, and cooked/prepared foods
is similar to what we get at Central Market here in TX, but CM's prices are much higher.

Thanks to you and Sue for chiming in, I didn't answer because I didn't know what to say. My mind
boggled that all the supermarkets where Dave lives are like Wegman's. Makes more sense to know
that Wegman's older stores are like our usual supermarkets.

Funny, when Albertson's bought out the Acme chain and built a new store to replace the old one,
people were giddy, I'm not kidding, running around the store checking out all the new stuff, the
old store was HORRID. I really like the new store, it's so nice, and it's even clean! Still, it's
no Wegman's, which is fine with me. I'd eat prepared meals every day if it was.

nancy (wishing I'd have gotten a second container of potstickers)

Me and Wegmans Redux:

It is my opinion that newer stores in any grocery chain in Syracuse are roughly equivalent. Wegmans
does have all the bells and whistles.

But I also found that the Publix and Kroger, admittedly just one of each, that I shopped in NW
Atlanta were perfectly good stores.

All Wegmans aren't created equal, but they all have three strengths: They are clean, the employees
are motivated, and the checkouts are fast. That said, in PriceChoppers and P&Cs, you are in no
immediate danger of: disease, unpleasantness, or, well..., OK..., maybe you >could< die of old age
in the checkout lines
:-)

Grocery chains in the Syracuse market mentioned in this thread, and Sunday ad prices:

wegmans.comwegmans.comOpen ↗ Avocados 4/$5. (I don't think they were ever 4/$1 as I earlier
disremembered) pricechopper.compricechopper.comOpen ↗ Maine Mahogany Clams 100/$5.99 (very popular here, does
anybody in ME eat them?) pandcfoods.compandcfoods.comOpen ↗ didn't save their ad (nearest store 15 minutes
away, too far for an Upstater!) Not mentioned, but a small store, with good points:
petersgroceries.competersgroceries.comOpen ↗ Black Tiger E-Z Peel Shrimp 26-30/lb/$5.98 An even smaller(?) good
store with incredible hype, "the best little grocery store in America" Inc. Magazine:
greenhills.comgreenhills.comOpen ↗ no ad in my paper (awful far away from me, maybe 20 minutes!) ALDI is
here too (I bought a PC there, not food), BJs, Sams Club, more megaWalmarts are springing up too.

It's nice to think Syracuse excels in something other than snowfall!

Dave S

In article <[email hidden]>,

Dave S said:

What is it about Wegmans?

I live in Syracuse NY and I think Wegmans is really.. OK. They have good meat, at a high price,
and if to go to a "'superstore", there is prime beef too. Produce is adequate, and the avocados
are 4/$1 here too, now, they were 1/$1 in the fall. They have a nice "olive bar" at $5.99/lb The
premade products are good too, but pricey. Probably you're shopping in a "superstore". All the new
ones are superstores.

We have a decent PriceChopper here, and they have more/better produce, better seafood, similar
prepackaged meat (no prime), at a lower cost.

Is the competition so weak in the rest of the country that Wegmans seems superior, or is it
superior? I spent a month in NW Atlanta last spring and shopped at Kroger's and Publix. While I
liked Publix better, the Kroger was acceptable. I will admit that a good Wegmans, or PriceChopper
"up here" may have been a little bit better, But I can't believe that there aren't other chains
that are as good.

Wrong?

Yes you are, Dave. I'm originally from upstate NY, but have lived in Dallas, Greensboro, NC, and now
Seattle. Having Wegmans and Tops next door to each other in Ithaca was heaven on earth. I would have
killed to have a Wegmans open in my old neighborhood in Dallas. The Harris Teeter chain in NC has
gone toward the Wegmans model in the last 10 years, but those stores still can't hold a candle to
the Wegmans in Clay and Ithaca. The grocery store in Seattle that comes closest to Wegmans is
Central Market, which is part of a small local chain of groceries.

Cindy

--
C.J. Fuller

Delete the obvious to email me

Nancy Young said:

<snip>

Quoted message said:

Well, after all that procrastinating I finally went. I knew it would be nice, quite nice. Well, it
was all that and more.

Quoted message said:

I was thinking, okay, this is not going to be a cheap foray into supermarket land, but that's not
why I was there. Walk in the door and what is the first thing I see? Haas avocados 4 $1. Holy crow,
I guess that's the 'after superbowl' sale, because that is dirt cheap here.

Quoted message said:

Well, what a delightful store, the stuff they had, it was just outstanding. Prepared foods, hot out
of the oven breads, all kinds of cheeses, a beautiful meat and fish department, it really was all
I'd heard of and more. I will definitely be back.

Quoted message said:

</snip>

One opened here in Downingtown, Pa (S E PA) last spring. It is very well recieved as I do not think
the demographics would have indicated. This is a Shop-Rite kind of aera. Their marketing people must
know something.

Their produce is fantastic, fruits and veggis I never hear of. Fresh mushrooms of many types, morels
in season, trumpets, chantelles, wood ear, pom poms, even truffles.

The cheese section is as large as some store's meat department. Fresh Russian caviar and more. I
asked if they sell much and was told that all their caviar was sold before the sell date.

I have had raw oysters only a few times at restaurents, I get them so often now that the fish
mgr knows me.

Fish and meat departments are wonderful, nice selection of USDA Prime beef.

All in all a great store. www.wegmans.com

On Sun, 22 Feb 2004 17:09:01 -0500, "Dave S" <[email hidden]> wrote: <snip>

Quoted message said:

All Wegmans aren't created equal, but they all have three strengths: They are clean, the employees
are motivated, and the checkouts are fast. That said, in PriceChoppers and P&Cs, you are in no
immediate danger of: disease, unpleasantness, or, well..., OK..., maybe you >could< die of old age
in the checkout lines
:-)

The new Wegmans (at least the one in Princeton) also have the advantages of: --- wonderful produce
in quality and variety, which to me was the kicker. --- excellent full-service cheese counter
(regular grocery stores have a display of pre-wrapped cheeses, perhaps a nice variety but nothing
inspiring) where you can pick cheese, taste a sample, and have them cut as much as you want. ---
fabulous bread and bakery items. Not just muffins, Danishes, and stuff like that. I mean, little single-
serving sizes of fussy, beautifully decorated (and delicious) cakes, fruit [censored], etc. that you'd
expect to see at a patissierie. --- Sees peanut brittle --- wonderful prepared food, as well as
eating area --- all sorts of specialty (gourmet, organic, international) items- far more than the
usual --- bulk foods and candies --- game

and probably more things that I've forgotten, it's been a couple of years.

Quoted message said:

An even smaller(?) good store with incredible hype, "the best little grocery store in America" Inc.
Magazine: greenhills.comgreenhills.comOpen ↗ no ad in my paper (awful far away from me, maybe 20 minutes!)

You just don't want to go to S. Salina St. :>

Quoted message said:

ALDI is here too (I bought a PC there, not food), BJs, Sams Club, more megaWalmarts are
springing up too.

It's nice to think Syracuse excels in something other than snowfall!

Dave S

And notable for the only upside down traffic light in the US, to be mentioned now that we are
approaching March 17 :>

Sue(tm) Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!

"Curly Sue" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

On Sun, 22 Feb 2004 17:09:01 -0500, "Dave S" <[email hidden]> wrote: <snip>

< Snip snip again>ds

Quoted message said:

The new Wegmans (at least the one in Princeton) also have the advantages of:

<snippage>ds

Quoted message said:

and probably more things that I've forgotten, it's been a couple of years.

C'mon: a coupla years? Syracuse ALDIs had hot 'n cold running sushi bars when they opened up ;-) Now
it's all cardboard and canned goods!

Say after me: it's just a grocery store, it's just a grocery store, it's just a grocery store ...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

An even smaller(?) good store with incredible hype, "the best little grocery store in America"
Inc. Magazine: greenhills.comgreenhills.comOpen ↗ no ad in my paper (awful far away from me,

maybe

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

20 minutes!)

Quoted message said:

You just don't want to go to S. Salina St. :>

Greenhills is far so far south of what you're thinking of, it could be in Ithaca. Or maybe
Princeton.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

ALDI is here too (I bought a PC there, not food), BJs, Sams Club, more megaWalmarts are springing
up too.

It's nice to think Syracuse excels in something other than snowfall!

Dave S

And notable for the only upside down traffic light in the US, to be mentioned now that we are
approaching March 17 :>

Quoted message said:

Sue(tm) Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!

Never got into that stuff, I'm a toe teattler!

Dave S