You’ve Never Heard of Wegmans?!

Well, as the month, weeks, and days are counting down to Orientation Day, I have been talking to some of my future classmates through Facebook and even texting. It is very exciting to meet so many new people and learn about different lifestyles around the country.

One thing that has surprised me the most was that many students not from the Northeast do not know what Wegmans is! Now, if you are reading this and are not from this area as well, then you will think I am crazy. But if you are from around here, you will understand me. Wegmans is the number-one supermarket company in this area, and probably in this country. This may be biased, but when you have three giant ones in your town and are surrounded by countless others in your city, it is hard not to think so.

I just found it so surprising that others haven’t heard about it, because of the mass advertising, media, and impact this store has on our community. They give scholarships to their employees, they have their own brands that match the quality of name brands, and they even bag your groceries for you. The latter I thought was a given, until I talked to someone in the West who thought that was an amazing feature of this store. Who would’ve thought such a small factor could change someone’s opinion about their supermarket just like that?

Wegmans is open 24/7. And if you need anything, take a bus, a walk, or drive (if you have a car here) to Wegmans and you will find it. And it will be cheap! Wegmans takes pride in their low prices, sales, and Shoppers Club card. The store also is number 3 (last I heard) on the national list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For.

I don’t expect that we future University of Rochester students will have to go to Wegmans that often, if at all, but in all seriousness: you need to go to one if you have never been before. There are many around Rochester and the surrounding towns. They have big ones and small ones, and recently in Greece they built a brand-new one with its own sub shop, coffee shop, and sushi shop. Walking in feels like I just entered a palace of food and products.

I guess I just never thought about Wegmans only being on the East Coast. I imagined the world knowing about them. But it makes sense that other supermarkets dominate other parts of the country. I challenge any of them to match Wegmans, though. It would be a tough fight!