Wegman's? (Rochester, Syracuse, Clay: neighborhood, organic, living in)
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What can you tell me about Wegman's? I know everyone in the area raves about it, and I went to the website, but I can't figure out what makes it so special. Is it like a Whole Foods? It didn't look that expensive though....And I saw some job postings for chefs there...what is that about? Thanks.
They don't allow photography inside so it's hard to take pictures for you... I can try but... not worth risking being banned from my favorite place! lol
I've never been to a Whole Foods or Trader Joe's but I've heard from many people that they're tiny, compared to Wegman's, and they even have less of a selection.
It's not expensive, no. I tend to do all of my food shopping at Aldi's, then fill in at Wegman's. The prices are consistently lower - much lower - than the other grocery stores... sometimes even beating out Aldi's, like for frozen veggies.
Wegman's has different areas of cuisine, available for eat-in or take out... stations (which sounds so disrespectful... they're beautiful) of different types of food. They have quite a few chefs at each one, but especially at the Wegman's in Dewitt.
The DeWitt Wegman's is somewhat similiar to a Whole Foods in terms of assortment of various food choices and customer demographics (upper middle class to affluent). Depending on which suburb, the size and assortment of products may slightly vary, however most if not all stores have a great selection and are well maintained. My personal favorite is the Wegmans in Fairmount (Western Suburbs) because the store has an upstairs eating area overlooking the food court.
Here is a list of Wegmans' stores in Greater Syracuse:
Eastern Suburbs:
1.) East Syracuse - Route 298 at Thompson Road
2.) DeWitt - East Genesee Street near I-481
Western Suburbs:
1.) Western Lights - Onondaga Blvd
2.) Fairmount Fair - West Genesee Street
Northern Suburbs:
1.) Liverpool - Route 57 (Newest prototype store)
2.) Liverpool - West Taft Road
3.) Clay - Route 31 (Great Northern Area)
4.) Cicero - Route 11
The DeWitt Wegman's is somewhat similiar to a Whole Foods in terms of assortment of various food choices and customer demographics (upper middle class to affluent). Depending on which suburb, the size and assortment of products may slightly vary, however most if not all stores have a great selection and are well maintained. My personal favorite is the Wegmans in Fairmount (Western Suburbs) because the store has an upstairs eating area overlooking the food court.
Here is a list of Wegmans' stores in Greater Syracuse:
Eastern Suburbs:
1.) East Syracuse - Route 298 at Thompson Road
2.) DeWitt - East Genesee Street near I-481
Western Suburbs:
1.) Western Lights - Onondaga Blvd
2.) Fairmount Fair - West Genesee Street
Northern Suburbs:
1.) Liverpool - Route 57 (Newest prototype store)
2.) Liverpool - West Taft Road
3.) Clay - Route 31 (Great Northern Area)
4.) Cicero - Route 11
Syracuse City:
1.) Pond Street (North Side)
Wegmans has been listed several times as one of the best places to work at too. I co-sign about the selection and prices. It's headquarters are in Rochester. You won't find them east of Onondaga County, with a few exceptions in other states.
What can you tell me about Wegman's? I know everyone in the area raves about it, and I went to the website, but I can't figure out what makes it so special. Is it like a Whole Foods? It didn't look that expensive though....And I saw some job postings for chefs there...what is that about? Thanks.
I heard the same things when I moved here. Alas...it's just a nice grocery store.
It reminds me of Publix in the south. Has some specialty food setups, typically clean environment, usually fresher produce/meats/dairy, and sometimes has those harder to find items.
But I usually go to Spera's for meats anyway. They are convenient and carry Boar's Head deli meats & their steak & grounds are top notch.
I heard the same things when I moved here. Alas...it's just a nice grocery store.
It reminds me of Publix in the south. Has some specialty food setups, typically clean environment, usually fresher produce/meats/dairy, and sometimes has those harder to find items.
But I usually go to Spera's for meats anyway. They are convenient and carry Boar's Head deli meats & their steak & grounds are top notch.
Some other good places for meats are Mazzye's in Liverpool and supposedly Dominick's in the Hawley-Green neighborhood. Liehs and Stegerwald's on Grant Boulevard on the North Side and off of Route 31 across from Great Northern Mall in Clay is good too.I believe that Lombardi's at the corner of Butternut and Lodi and Vince's in North Syracuse(both owned by the same family, I believe) might have some good meats too.
As noted above, Wegman's really is just a nice grocery chain. What makes them so great is that they have a huge, well picked selection and what they sell food-wise is generally high quality and fresh. Its sort of if whole foods was more than just an ethical/organic place; the presentation is similar. Its something you miss most once you move, because frankly its just nice to shop there.
I think if you'd moved to the area 15 years ago you'd find it amazing. I remember as a kid my family from Philadelphia and LA would drool over it when they visited, like it was some sort of beacon of food. It used to be the only general grocery chain that would carry specialty things like proscuitto, chorizo, obscure European cheeses, or an olive bar. Most of the country has caught up to it now and I don't think you'll find it life-changing if you have a Whole Foods or other great grocery chain around.
As much as other grocery stores do now carry those things, they're high-priced at the lesser grocery stores. I don't want to go to P&C and pay $4.99 for a jar of artichoke hearts, where it's a specialty item. Wegman's sells them for $2.99... it's a normal item, for them. I don't want to pay $11.99/lb. for chorizo at P&C... I want to pay $5.99/lb, at Wegman's.
That and Wegman's hires knowledgeable staff... if I want to know how to prepare something or what to pair with a certain dish, they can typically answer it [knowledgeably] themselves *or* call over someone who is.
I can't go to any other grocery store and have breakfast made-to-order, bring my in-laws for fresh Belgian waffles drizzled in strawberries w/sauce and whipped cream, made in-house.
Wegman's holds the local grocery monopoly in making their customers feel important and well-tended to.
I'm one of those people that likes to get in and out of a grocery store as quickly as possible and not make it a whole morning experience
I didn't shop at that mega store in Dewitt on a regular basis when I was living in Syracuse for that exact reason even though it was one of the closer stores to my living residence.
However, I did love the variety, speciality items, and ambiance you could find in that store. It was the only place I could find my favorite ethnic cheese's. I do think there is something very unique and special about Wegmans that I have yet to find in any other general grocery store (non speciality) around the country.
I don't know that the Dewitt Wegmans is really any more special than most of the other Wegs in the Syracuse area. It's a little biggier, a little shinier, and a lot more hectic (since affluent people cause hecticness... it follows them, the way there is constantly a dust cloud following Pigpen on the Charlie Brown specials.)
Wegmans is the dominant grocery chain in the Syracuse area, and are pretty consistent no matter which suburban neighborhood they're in. I think you will notice a difference from other grocery chains in terms of the quality of the staffing and the overall shopping experience. I believe there has been a lot of hype over Wegmans since they expanded into the D.C. area, but beyond any hype, they are just a great grocery chain that other chains in America try to copy.
The other chains are Price Chopper and, now, Tops (replacing P&C).
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