Wegmans Plans to Open Store in Columbia

[MrsWheatie]

Posted on WTOP site

COLUMBIA, Md. (AP) - The upscale Wegmans Food Markets chain is making more plans to expand in Maryland.
The specialty-foods chain has submitted plans to Howard County officials for a store in Columbia. It would be built at Snowden River Parkway and McGaw Road and could open in 2009.

Wegmans opened its first Maryland store in 2005 in Hunt Valley and has announced plans for stores in Anne Arundel County and Prince George's County. Wegmans also has stores in Fairfax and Sterling in Virginia. Three more are planned in northern Virginia in Leesburg, Lake Manassas and Woodbridge.

The chain is headquartered in Rochester, N.Y.

Information from: The (Baltimore) Sun
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[GALF]

Am I the only person who isn't blown away by the Wegmans in Hunt Valley? I used to live in Herndon (never again BTW, but that's for another time and place) and the Wegmans in Sterling just seemed nicer. It was bigger, and had a larger selection I'd like to think. Maybe it is the asinine liquor laws in Maryland where you can't buy wine at the grocery store, or the limited selection of specialty or ethnic foods, but Wegmans in HV just doesn't do it for me. I enjoy cooking Spanish and Thai food, and Wegmans has no real Spanish food selection, no smoked paprika, no piquillo peppers (well once I saw them in the olive bar, but never again), no calasparra rice. On the Thai side I have never seen Thai basil or kaffir lime leaves and the coconut milk is the overpriced Taste of Thai variety. The fresh meats are overpriced as is the fresh food bar.

I'll take Trader Joe's and the Shoppers in Timonium (which has a big selection of REAL, ethnic foods), and surprisingly the Martin's in Eldersburg any day of the week.

[JonParker]

Well I'm blown away by it, but I have no other Wegman's to compare it to. I've never seen the piquillos there (which is too bad), but I buy kaffir lime leaves, Thai basil and galangal there regularly. I sometimes suspect that I'm the only one who buys them though. I can't take the calories of coconut milk though.

Usually if you will ask them to get things for you they will.

[matt8313]

I'm the other guy buying the kaffir lime leaves, so you don't need to feel completely alone. :)

[ktmoomau]

Yeah Harris Teeter hasn't made any grocery stores near me improve, but it was nice to have the Harris Teeter.

I love Wegman's and my Mother is super excited about their expansion closer to her in Annapolis she hasn't been yet but after hearing me talk about it she is on a mission. It is really nice for someone like me who is really picky about what they want I often times am hankering for something at Trader Joes, but know they will not have everything I need so I end up at Harris Teeter which still doesn't have everything on my list. And while my biggest preference for vegetables would be the farmers market sometimes that is not always possible. And the vegetable selection is horrid in Giant/Safeway and I think normal junk brands are overpriced at Teeter. I love that Wegman's carries high end gourmet and the "junk" brands and all those in between at good prices it makes shopping so much better. Plus they have quality cookware there too so if I decide I need something like a pan big enough for a turkey for surprise Thanksgiving cooking I am not stuck with tin foil...

[jpschust]

And DC will be getting its first Harris Teeter I believe in February. I was at their ABC hearing last night and the protestants counsel is certifiably nuts.

[Pool Boy]

I think there is a Harris Teeter planned for in Columbia, MD too (King's COntrivance SHopping Center?).

www.roguefood.com

[MrsWheatie]

Yep, where the Safeway use to be.

[Pool Boy]

Have they started construction yet? When is it due to open?

www.roguefood.com

[cobaltbay]

Late May 2008

[skipper]

I rather doubt that. According to its website, the next area store to open will be Woodbridge VA in June. While there are 4 MD stores planned (Frederick, Columbia, Landover and Crofton) there are no scheduled opening dates.

[st1nky]

was just there last night and it looks pretty close to being finished. they have their 'Wegmans Hiring Bus' in the parking lot and are doing interviews, so its very possible they could be opening the end of may\early june

[Jason1]

At what location?

[st1nky]

sorry ... i meant to say 'harris teeter hiring bus' , not wegmans. the harris teeter in Kings Contrivance is looking pretty done .. where wegmans is rumored to be going is still a parking lot\woods , its a long ways away

[Pool Boy]

st1nky-- I agree that the HArris Teeter will be opening very, very soon. I'd say it is less thana month away from opening.

As for the Wegman's in Columbia, anyone have an exact location where it is supposed to be going? I'd like to drive by there. I heard from one place it was supposed to be on the SW corner of the 175/95 intersection near Columbia Gateway Drive. And another report says it is supposed to be somewhere off of McGaw Rd/Ct and Dobbin/Snowden River.

Anyone know where it is supposed to go for sure?

[steinre1]

It is going to be near the corner of mcgaw and snowden river. Across mcgaw from apple ford. i think it is going to be in place of a warehouse where scenes from "The Wire" was shot.

[chevychasemdguy]

For what it is worth - Wegman's won the Food TV award for regional grocery chains. I think it beat Harris Teeter and Trader Joe's. I grew up in central NY where Wegman's is a religion, not a store. I can't tell you how many e-mails or calls from home have at least one scentence that starts with "I was in Wegman's and I...." I hope they maintain the quality and brand as they expand.

[RobertM]

Driving thru the PG RT 202 beltway area, I dont see any major building going on to convince me a Wegmans is still in the works. Maybe they changed their minds about that area of PG county? If they are going to open in the Summer of 08 I would think things would be a lot more visible.

[Vera]

Wegmans is the Disneyland of grocery stores. According to their website, here
are future locations.

Woodbridge, VA (I-95 between Optiz & Dale Blvd) 2nd qtr 2008
Leesburg, VA (Route 7 & River Creek Parkway) Opening TBD
Landover, MD (I-95 & Landover Road) Opening TBD
Crofton, MD (Hwy 3 & Brickhead Road) Opening TBD
Frederick, MD (Route 15 & 26) Opening TBD
Lake Manassas, VA (Rt. 29 & Old Carolina) Opening TBD

[jpschust]

Not one of them particularly close to DC.

[monkeyrotica]

Are there any available aircraft-hangar-sized warehouses close to DC? Short of gutting the Woodies building and making their first 8-story Wegmans, they aint' coming to DC any time soon.

Downtown to Landover via Metro is 35 minutes tops, much shorter than downtown to Ashburn or Fair Oaks by car.

[jpschust]

There are a few grocery stores that are approximately the size of the Wegmans in Fairfax (from when I remember being in there a few months ago). Some places in the close area that make me think its possible are all the giant box stores in 7 corners.

[MrsWheatie]

I am going to be optimistic (for a change) and hope that this will increase competition and force Giant, Safeway, et al to improve. For many years the DC market was focused on the suburbs, it is slowly changing as demographics shift.

[jpschust]

I'm more interested to see if the new Harris Teeter in Adams Morgan forces the Safeway to improve :)

[DCDOLL]

Where are they putting a HT in Adams Morgan??

[monkeyrotica]

The HT in Adams Morgan will be at the intersection of 18th, Florida, and U Streets, where the old Kilimanjaro club was located.

[JonParker]

Not to burst your bubble, but it's done nothing for the stores in the Hunt Valley area. They're as bad, if not worse than ever.

[smdeneau]

I'm a Western NY native and Wegman's was my regular grocery store. Imagine my surprise in moving to AA County 2 years ago and having to shop at Giant. Dirty floors, lame produce and the smelliest seafood dept I've ever experienced! I think people put up with it because they don't know it could be better. Bad news is I will probably be transferred out of the area before Wegman's can open!

[foodcheck]

"I think people put up with it because they don't know it could be better." Exactly right - important DC-area housewives just pulling brand-name junk from the shelves, too busy to even look at the prices let alone read the labels. Now you know why Giant will try to keep Wegman's out of MC at any cost.

[jpschust]

While Wegman's has some really great high end stuff they keep in stock, I've never found them to be much better than any other supermarket in terms of carrying the brand name junk as you call it.

[JonParker]

That's one of the things that makes Wegman's so great. You can get your high end gourmet stuff and your staples in one spot, rather than making separate trips to Whole Paycheck and regular store. Plus, even on the "name brand junk", their prices are way below those of Giant, Superfresh or Safeway.

Given that the staff is always friendly and helpful as opposed to surly and rude, I've never seen a good reason to go in one of those other stores since I started shopping there. Wegman's is a perfect example of how to run a business right.

[RobertM]

I work in Ashburn by the original area Wegman's. A real pleasure to shop there. Everything you may desire high or day in day out stuff. But I live in Takoma Park. So after a week of that grind on the beltway/193/7 or 66 to 28, Im not thinking of going back on the weekend to shop. And during the week it is a nice diversion until the roads clear, but after working Im too tired to savor the place.
Add to that they are building another up the road in Leesburg. Same problem to far to drive, and too tired after work to shop. Great place though. But it repays that long journey with the expected goods aplenty. If I can find the strength to come back out there.

[MarcDC]

Montgomery County really needs one. Wegmans would clean house if they opened one in the Potomac Village, taking over Giant's current location.

Giant... what a disaster...

[DanielK]

They've said before that with Mont Co's restriction on building new "big box" stores, they're very unlikely to open there anytime soon. The square footage they require means build-from-scratch, not take over an existing location.

[Linda513]

Potomac Village! Have you ever been to a Wegmans? Wegman's is larger than the whole town of Potomac. The traffic alone could destroy the whole area.

I will agree that Giant is a disaster, and the one in Potomac Village is particularly awful.

I think a good place for a Wegmans would be in the Sticks & Stuff in Rockville. Unfortunately its next to a Giant though.

[MarcDC]

Yes, I know, but I can still dream.

A Harris Teeter would be nice... anything is better than Giant.

[Transplanted Texan]

Did you know there's a Harris Teeter on Darnestown Rd. (Route 28) in Darnestown? It opened sometime in 2007. Yay! Now I'm dreaming of having a Central Market here. Anyone from Austin on the list? Is Central Market not the best thing ever?

[foodcheck]

Great news!
Now to get reasonable qualty at a decent price, I shop at nearby SFW, Giant, Safeway, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, and others, depending on my local travels.
If Wegman's gets within 20 miles of me, I will forego all of the above and never darken the doorways of any of the others.
PS:Giant and it's union, with their political clout and contributions, have blocked Wegmans in MC, under the guise of the store being "too big". One Wegman's could close all those rip-off markets and we'd actually save land.

[hmrlovr]

The powers that be in Montgomery County have already said they dont want Wegmans as they think it's another "big box store". That makes you unhappy, write to the politicos there.I live in WV where we have 3 grocers-Martins, Weiss, and Food Lion. Anyone complaining about MC grocers will get no support or tears from me.

[xnyorkr]

I love Martin's! I wish there was once closer to me. The one in Cumberland is awesome.

[sweetpotater]

Martin's definitely surpasses most Giants and Safeways, but doesn't hold a candle to Wegman's. Wegman's, at least in the mid-Atlantic area, is in a league of its own, when it comes to variety (low- and high-end), fresh produce and meats, prices, and of course checkout, where they never have more than two people in line before they open a new register.

[pamd]

Martin's is Giant- same company. They just are named differently in different locations. Much of the generic items at Martin's are Giant brand. Just as Safeway/Genuardi's and Acme/Albertson's, etc...

[Pool Boy]

Wow with the stores in Hunt Valley and NoVa, plus the two to open in PG and AA counties, it seems Wegman's is really carpet-bombing DC Metro. And I ain't complaining!

www.roguefood.com

[jpschust]

I just wish they'd open one that's in the reasonably close DC area- not one of those is terribly close.

[Lowbar]

Aww, come on...one can get from the Teddy Roosevelt Bridge to the Fairfax store in less than 20 minutes. Unfortunately, that Wegman's isn't open at 3:30 a.m. when 66 traffic might make that possible :)

[jpschust]

Not to mention a significant chunk of folks in the DC area don't own cars.

[Lowbar]

I know, I was just making a lame traffic joke. Both Sterling (Loudon Commuter Bus has a stop right by it) and Fairfax Wegman's (Fairfax connector) are theoretically accessible via mass transit, but certainly neither is easy or quick enough to make it worth a visit IMHO.

[xnyorkr]

I respectfully disagree that, even without traffic, you cannot get to the Ffx Wegman's from DC or the TR Bridge in 20 minutes.

[monkeyrotica]

The Wegmans going in near Largo Town Center will be on a Metro stop. Whether the carfree crowd wants to lug 50+lbs of Wegmans groceries from Largo Town Center is another matter, but at least the option will be there.

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