No surprise there. We have them around here but not convenient to me.

Never even heard of Wegman's.

My FIL runs the bakery in his store. I've never been to one. I heard its upscale. My favorite is Publix.

I had never heard of it in CA or Iowa except when you mention it here Monica. I am surprised that a regional market can be named #1 in the U.S.

I have lived in several regions of the US and never heard of them except here and I have never seen one.
Also I have never seen a Publix.

Used to shop there while in PA...nice store...but
took too long to shop there. LOL Too much looking
to do.

I'm with you, Monica--I've shopped in supermarkets all over the country, and NONE beat Wegman's. One of the (few) disadvantages of moving will be that we'll be over 30 miles from Wegman's instead of just 3! It's worth making the trip frequently, though, so I'm sure we'll be back often.

I have a Wegman's a few miles from me and shop every week there. I still am surprised because I heard Whole Foods and Trader Joes are better, and we have neither of these.

It looks to me like the stores are located in 6 states - the rest of us shop and eat too :)

I don't really have a find-it-all store where I could purchase everything I would use in a month or two in one place. An inclusive shopping day for me (and an hour away so I don't do this every month) is Costco for bulk, Trader Joe's for specialty items, Top Foods for things I don't want in bulk that are not specialty items - and since Top Foods has an instore Starbucks, that's where I get my coffee for the drive home :) A routine.

I do like Whole Foods but it just doesn't work for distance, only for times I'm already in the vicinity for something else - closest stores are Portland (2 1/2 hours), Bellevue (2 hours. Both of those times one way)

I live in Pa., but we don't have one around here....I go to Aldi's.......

And wouldn't you know it, they don't have these here either! I've just recently started hearing that name though. I like Aldi's too and with high prices, I'm shopping there more and more...although, they really don't have very good meat prices...I've just found myself shopping sales and freezing it for meat.

Sad that I am Cdn. (Toronto) - have never been to a Wegman's, but I knew that Wegman's would be the winner. Probably from the commercials we used to see via the U.S. networks before Canadian ads started to run in their place during simulcasts. I preferred the U.S. commercials - at least they told you what a product was for (e.g. Champix).

None around here. But then again the bird cage liner Consumer Reports has little credibility with me anyway! I'll bet there's some mom & pop places that beat it but they don't give fair evaluations. Don't even know what their criteria was to determine #1 either. But looking at CR's past criteria for things, it's often pretty biased.

Since we don't have Wegman's here, I am curious to know what makes it so special.
Please share.

I've never heard of Wegman's. Trader Joes has my vote.

Yay, Wegmans! 2 within driving distance. Great produce. Their regular pantry items -- canned goods, pasta, spices, bread -- aren't really priced any higher than other stores', but I suppose other parts of the store could be considered upscale -- that is, the prepared foods areas, their seafood counter (not just salmon, but salmon stuffed with crabmeat or already marinated) and their specialty meat counter (not where you'd pick up regular hamburger or chicken -- that's nearby in the store -- but a counter that has special cuts or treatments of meats that you'd use for a dinner party, or a party of 2. ooh-la-la! Nope -- never had a need for the specialty stuff, tho.

Oh, and also a cafe right near the meat/fish aisles where you can order up sushi or whatever else the chef might be cooking up. Never done that (I like eating out where the decorating is a bit more than the scent of meats, esp. seafood! And I don't want to be eating while shoppers are walking by and looking!)

Some of the Whole Foods have that "cafe-restaurant in the middle of the store" too -- I just don't get that! But I understand it's a trend in more grocery stores,

Wegmans does have a nice salad bar (I know, so do other stores) and an awesome hot-foods bar (Chinese, Indian, Thai, very good quality food), with a nice sit-down area with a lot of tables. I will occasionally eat lunch there before doing my grocery shopping.

I haven't looked at Consumers to see what the criteria were, but I'd venture that it's customer service, clean and well-stocked aisles, superior produce, quick easy out (as in enough cashiers, which can be a big problem in some of my other stores).

Wegmans is very slow (maybe thoughtful or careful would be better words) when it comes to opening up new stores. They have very specific training sessions (more than how to use the cash register), and they don't want to grow so big so fast that they lose quality control. (An article in my local paper a couple of years ago when a new store opened in the area outlined the regimented processes, including sending training teams from established stores.)

I don't shop at Wegmans regularly (there's another grocery a few blocks away that gives gas points -- yay!), but when I'm doing other errands near one, I certainly stop there. If only for their pretzel rolls!

This is from a Feb thread on Wegmans

Posted by maire_cate (My Page) on
Sat, Feb 25, 12 at 15:01

My closest Wegman's is only about 5 miles from the house so I visit once a week. I think their prices for non-perishable goods have come down since they first opened the store. Like many other chains they have eliminated many of the national brand names in favor of their own Wegman goods. They still have national brands but instead of having 6 or 7 different brands of canned tomatoes you now Wegmans plus a couple others.

I really like their produce department but they have eliminated some items and now only carry organic ones. For instance last week I couldn't find a 1 pound bag of carrots, only organic. When I asked the fellow working there he said that they only have organic carrots - I didn't check to see if that was true of other vegetables - or if that was something that might change depending on the season and pricing.

I really like the fact that it's well staffed. There is always someone nearby who can answer questions.

Their meat department is good but pricey so I tend to purchase their club packs which are larger packages but more reasonably priced per pound.

They have excellent fresh baked breads and rolls. But I've decided that while their desserts are beautiful they are rather tasteless. If I'm going to splurge on a high caloric treat I want it to taste like it! It's a real disappointment but better for my waistline.

They have a beautiful floral department and a nice selection of cards, magazines, books and gift items. Ours also has a liquor store but I'm not knowledgeable enough to say anything about prices or selection.

I feel fortunate that I have so many places to food shop - Wegmans, Whole Foods, Shop Rite. On occasion DH and I will run into Philly to shop at the Italian Market or the Reading Terminal with it's huge variety of foodstuffs - especially the baked goods and fresh meat at the Amish shops.

It's not a great place to shop if you use coupons a lot. They don't carry the wider variety of groceries that you find in other supermarkets like Shop Rite or Kroger. I was there yesterday and couldn't use the coupons I had for about 15 different products that I purchase regularly at other stores.

Here is a link that might be useful: Wegmans

There's a Wegman's near my late mother's house. I'm planning a visit there this summer. No Wegmans in Long Island (yet). It's a gerat store. Lots of items- bulk items of all kinds-dry cake mix, dog biscuits,nuts, mostly any dry food product you can think of. Also good to their employees, that's a positive! I'd stay out of Aldi's. They wewre caught selling outdated foods!