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Wegmans ups the ante in North Carolina

Another store planned for move into new state

Russell Redman

October 30, 2018

2 Min Read
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Wegmans Food Markets has added a fifth location to its expansion into North Carolina starting next year.

Rochester, N.Y.-based Wegmans said it plans to build an approximately 100,000-square-foot store in Wake Forest, N.C., on the Route 98 bypass east of Capital Boulevard. The regional grocer has signed a purchase agreement for the site and said it would announce an opening time frame for the store once municipal approvals are in place.

Similar in design to Wegmans’ latest stores, the new location would anchor a mixed-use project by Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based developer Stiles, which has completed several Publix-anchored shopping centers in North Carolina since opening a Charlotte, N.C., office in 2012.

“We look forward to the day when we can greet new customers and welcome back those who have shopped with us in other areas before,” Ralph Uttaro, senior vice president of real estate at Wegmans, said in a statement. “We’re grateful for the opportunity to bring incredible customer service, restaurant-quality prepared foods and consistent low prices to Wake Forest in the future.”

Wegmans is slated to open its first North Carolina store in 2019 on Wake Forest Road, near Interstate 440, in Raleigh. That site is about 11 miles southwest of the planned store in Wake Forest.

Related:Wegmans grows presence in Massachusetts

The retailer also aims to open three more stores in North Carolina but hasn’t yet announced a timetable. Those locations are in Cary (at Cary Towne Boulevard and Interstate 40), West Cary (at Davis Drive and Airport Boulevard) and Chapel Hill (at Interstate 40 and Highway 15-501).

North Carolina would grow Wegmans’ market area to seven states. The chain now has 98 stores in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and Massachusetts. Its most recent opening, a 120,000-square-foot store in Lancaster, Pa., came in late September.

Besides the Raleigh store, Wegmans plans to open two other locations in 2019: in Virginia Beach, Va. (at U.S. Route 58 and Independence Boulevard) and in Brooklyn, N.Y. (at the Brooklyn Navy Yard). The latter would mark the grocer’s first New York City store. One of those locations will be Wegmans’ 100th store. The company said in late August that hiring has begun for the 113,000-square-foot Virginia Beach store, expected to open in the spring.

Eight more locations are listed on Wegmans’ website as future store sites, including one in New Jersey (Middletown), one in New York (Harrison), one in Maryland (Rockville), four in Virginia (Alexandria, Arcola, Reston and Tysons Corner) and one in the District of Columbia. The latter, part of a redevelopment of the former Fannie Mae headquarters, will be the first Wegmans in Washington, D.C.

About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

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