Wegmans Readies First Bay State Store
An artist's rendering of the new Wegmans grocery store in Northborough.
Officials with Rochester, N.Y.-based supermarket chain Wegmans are accustomed to the challenges of opening a new store in a new market.
But the company's plans to open the first Wegmans store in Massachusetts in Northborough this October could be particularly challenging: The company's nearest store is in upstate New York or Northern New New Jersey, and it has little name brand recognition in the region.
The company made news last week, however, when it announced that it plans to hire 550 locals to work at the 1450,000-square-foot Northborough store. Wegmans plans to hire 150 full-time employees and about 400 part timers.
Even though the Wegmans name brand doesn't yet have much traction in Massachusetts, company officials hope that hiring that many people, along with marketing and communications efforts, will drum up interest in the store.
Mixed Use Development
The Wegmans store is part of a new $100 million, 175-acre development being built by Southborough-based Brendon Properties and Newton-based New England Development. Avalon Communities has already opened apartments at the site.
Wegmans, which is a family-owned store that began in 1916, will be one of the development's anchor tenants. In the coming years, Wegmans hopes to open another Bay State store in Westwood and possibly more beyond that. The company has 77 stores mostly in New York, Pennsylvania and others in Virginia, Maryland and New Jersey.
Jo Natale, a spokesperson for Wegmans, said the company had been looking to jump into the Massachusetts market and the Northborough site seemed like a good fit. The company only opens about two or three stores per year and Natale said the design and amenities of each store are slightly different. For example, while the Northborough location will have a full stock of regular grocery items, it will also include a full pharmacy and a 300-seat café with restaurant-style food.
The company looks for spots to open its stores that have large open areas for the market and parking lots, as well as good regional access. While the company expects most of its customers to be within a close 10 mile radius or so, Natale said it's not uncommon for visitors to travel 40 to 50 miles to visit a Wegmans on a non-regular basis.
"We draw from a pretty wide geographic region, so we want to be able to have not only the population density where the store is, but also easy access to the region," she said.
Being new to the market means the store will face some competition in MetroWest market. A new 64,000-square-foot Price Chopper supermarket recently opened on Route 9 in Shrewsbury and there are numerous other supermarkets along Route 9. Natale said it's not uncommon for Wegmans to have stiff competition in an area. She said some Wegmans stores are even in the same shopping plazas as competitors. Northborough Crossing officials have hinted that BJ's Wholesale Club may also open in the new development, but there has been no official word from the company yet confirming that.
Natale said while regular supermarkets traditionally offer 30,000 to 40,000 product brands in their stores, the new 145,000-square-foot Northborough Wegmans will have about 70,000 products in stock.
The store will be served by the company's distribution centers in New York and Pennsylvania, although Natale said the company will likely work with local farmers to purchase fresh in-season produce.
Construction of the exterior of the facility is already complete, Natale said, and the interior is being worked on throughout the winter.
Wegmans will hold open houses in Westborough next month. In March, the company hopes to begin interviewing for the 150 full-time positions in a variety of departments, including entry-level management, customer service and culinary professionals.
Then, in the early summer the company hopes to hire as many as 400 part-time workers to work in various other departments of the store.
Correction: An earlier version of this story reported that the open houses will be held at the future Wegmans store location in Northborough. In fact, they will be at an employment office in Westborough.
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