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First Person: Wegmans—Just Like Back Home

When I was growing up in New York, Wegmans was my hometown supermarket—and Washingtonians hadn’t heard of it. Now that it’s here, I have to get used to sharing my love affair.

By Coleen Murray Published Saturday, November 01, 2008

“We all have a little something about our hometowns that feels like only the locals get it,” the author says. For her, it’s Wegmans. Photograph by Chris Leaman.

When people ask if I’ve been to Wegmans, I launch into my standard “That was my grocery store growing up!” After ten minutes in which I act like a teenager talking about her latest crush, the conversation ends with me thinking, “I was hip to Wegmans long before Washingtonians thought it was hip to shop there.”

At the same time, I love that my friends here appreciate Wegmans as much as I did back home in Auburn, New York. We’re talking about my grocery store in my hometown.

In the 1980s in Auburn—near Syracuse—I practically lived at Wegmans. It was in the middle of town next to city hall. If you were a teenage girl, you’d never set foot in the place until you had checked the rearview mirror and reapplied lipstick. My friends and I did that in case we spied an ex-boyfriend or, better yet, an ex’s mother standing over the spiedie sauce. She’d tell her son you still looked fantastic.

Wegmans was the place to go whether you needed full-tilt groceries, a dozen eggs, or just to kill time in the makeup aisle on a summer night.

Fast forward to 1992. I had met my husband, Jack, in college. After a year of living back home after graduation, I packed my 1984 Chevy LeBaron and moved to his hometown, Alexandria.

Every road trip to Auburn meant packing a cooler and bringing back tastes of home from Wegmans—Hofmann Hots, Dinosaur Bar-B-Que Sauce, salt potatoes. Jack became a Wegmans fan, and that sealed the deal for me: We were a match. We’ve been married 13 years, and now Wegmans is just down I-95.

When the area’s first Wegmans opened four years ago in Sterling, I took my three kids to the grand opening and . . . cried. I walked into the store, which is set up in the familiar Wegmans way, and the tears starting flowing. I couldn’t stop until I got to the frozen-food section.

One of my sons said, “Mom, are you really crying about this?” My daughter buried her head. I knew that (1) I was a complete loser, (2) I will forever love everything that reminds me of my hometown, and (3) I will always have a thing for Wegmans. My fellow flat-A-accented upstate friends understood: Something we all grew up with had moved in next door and now was everyone’s.

Maybe we all have a little something about our hometowns that feels like only the locals get it.

Back home, Wegmans was the “social” grocery store where you knew everyone and could catch some good gossip. My neighbor Jerry used to cut grass for the Wegman family. When I see Danny and Colleen Wegman’s smiling faces on signs in the Potomac Mills store, I feel like I’m running into old friends.

Don’t get me wrong—I couldn’t be happier Wegmans is here. But I’m still getting used to including Washington in my love affair. So if you see a woman crying in the produce aisle of your local Wegmans, that’ll mean I still have some work to do. If you see me in the parking lot reapplying lipstick, you can assume I’m fine.

This article first appeared in the November 2008 issue of The Washingtonian. For more articles like it, click here.

Comments

I live in Fairfax, VA. I heard that a Wegman’s was opening only 10 min from my house, I went to the website and read about the store. I liked what I saw so much, that I signed up for a shopper’s card on line (before the store opened).
Love the wine shop, the bucher shop, extreme customer service. My teenage sone calles me a Weg-maniac, and I am!

Posted by: Jocelyn, Mar 03, 2009 04:57:56 PM

I feel the exact same way! I grew up in Rochester NY and I LOVED Wegmans. My brother worked as a cartboy there. I would tell everyone about this magical far far away place. I still feel though it is my place first. Wegmans made me LOVE grocery shopping. Nothing compared to it in VA. Now that they’re opening up down here people are amazed by it. I went back to Rochester for a HS reunion and we all took a "field trip" to Wegmans.

Posted by: Lori, Dec 03, 2008 12:02:53 PM

I am just giggling at how many of these posts I can relate to. Growing up in Rochester, we knew Wegmans was special based on out of towners comments, but its when you don’t live near one that you truly feel the pain of missing it. I also wrote to them to see (and try to convince) them to move west to Cleveland, Ohio, where I live. The closest we have is Heinens but there’s really no comparison! I though when they opened stores in Erie, PA in the early 90s there was hope they would make it to Ohio, but so far no luck. My husband, a native Clevelander, has also become a fan, and when we go to Rochester to visit, we have to bring a cooler store the Zweigles white and red hots we buy to bring back with us! Great story Coleen!

Posted by: Aileen, Nov 21, 2008 03:23:48 PM

My friend from Washington sent me this article and it made me laugh. I live in Phoenix and there is nothing like good ole Wegmans.I still make sure I have lipstick on when I go in in case I run into anyone My brother has been working there for 20 years and not only is it a great store they are also very good to their workers. .

Coleen, I though I recognized you in the proiduce section.

Posted by: Kathleen Long Dalton, Nov 20, 2008 02:11:52 PM

Coleen,
I loved your article - it as if it was written by me! I too grew up in Auburn, NY and my first job was at Wegmans. I experienced such culture shock when grocery shopping in this area, and no one understood my dismay.
Thank you for sharing.

Posted by: Catherine Tehan, Nov 20, 2008 07:55:20 AM

This is such a great article!! I grew up in a smaller town 30 minutes from Auburn, NY, my family has always shopped there and I have actually worked in the Auburn Wegmans for 7 1/2 years. I am graduating from college in December and I am eventually planning to move south, possibly NC, of moving for me will be knowing that the closest Wegmans will be in VA! How pathetic is that?! I’m hoping that they will eventually make their way to NC, but I can understand the sad feelings of sharing my grocery store with people who are unfamiliar and will fall in love with the store the second they step inside. The buzz of a new store opening lingers on for months and months so the thought of people telling me about this new wonderful store “they” discovered in which I grew up with, would just irritate me! Anyways, it truly is a great company and they really know how to provide excellent customer service. They have this remarkable way of making you feel like you are a part of their family. I can’t imagine living without out one near by! And with that being said, I would get over sharing my store with the newcomers!

Posted by: Kate, Nov 19, 2008 06:55:23 PM

I am not from the northeast, I’m from Southern California, but I too was close to tears when I discovered the jewel down the street from my new home when my husband and I married two years ago. After 5 years of banishment on the East Coast, I’d entirely despaired of finding fresh produce, international ingredients, or anyone with a concept of customer service... Then I walked into Wegmans. I don’t feel like a DC rat anymore when we eat dinner, now we’re a relaxed, healthy family. And on my mom’s next visit from California, I finally had something to show off! She was so jealous. Now if I’m on the phone with her while I’m at Wegman’s, she sighs... "I wish WE had a store like THAT!" So to all you New Yorkers, thanks for sharing!!!

Posted by: Beka, Nov 19, 2008 05:13:02 PM

Wow!! I just read this posted from Facebook. Kaitlin, I too am from Canandaigua, and I moved to Raleigh, NC. I was just in Harris Teeter 2 days ago, almost in tears, because the service was soooo bad! I said to the cashier, "In Wegmans, I would never have gone through this!" He just gave me a blank stare.

Posted by: Jennifer, Nov 19, 2008 04:38:56 PM

Hate to bring it up but there is an equally wonderful hometown market less than 100 miles to our south in the Richmond area. It’s called Ukrop’s. The first time I shopped there, having just moved in, I had a huge grocery order. Imagine my dismay when I went to pay the bill only to find my wallet missing. I groaned at the prospect of having to re-find all my hard-found goodies and the humiliation of it all. But guess what? No problem! They said "don’t worry, take your groceries with you. We’ll take your receipt to the office and you pay for the groceries next time you come this way!" I was dumbfounded! Ukrops was the first place to offer take-home heat and serve meals, an international section and a cafe. THis was back in the early "90’s. They hired retirees during the day and high school kids in the afternoon to carry groceries to the car. It was WONDERFUL. Our minister once remarked, "When new folks move to town, if people were half as excited to tell people about our church as they are to tell them about Ukrops, the pews would be full every Sunday." (That’s another thing Ukrops didn’t sell liquor and wasn’t open on Sundays, but no body minded. It quality and service was worth working around these minor inconveniences.

I like Wegman’s but don’t like the fact that there seem to be two sections for every item depending on whether it’s organic or not. Just put all the crackers in ONE place please, cereals too.

Hmmm. I’m lonesome for Ukrops!

Posted by: Susan S, Nov 19, 2008 02:00:51 PM

I also live in NC and although Asheville is filled with "Natural" food stores, nothing compares to Wegmans. My friends here think I’m slightly out of my mind when I reminisce about home (Canandaigua, NY) and I’m going on and on about a grocery store. They just can’t understand how wonderful it is. I can completely relate to everyone who has posted here!

Posted by: Kaitlin, Nov 19, 2008 11:26:59 AM

We need more stories like this by Coleen Murray to counter the 98 percent bad news in the paper these days.

Posted by: Norman, Nov 18, 2008 02:49:39 PM

Ok, I admit it, my eyes welled up reading this story. I grew up in Rochester, and now live in NC. I miss Wegmans so much! (the subs! the options! the people!) Even my husband (from Ithaca) wrote to the company to see if they would ever open any stores down here. If they opened stores in Washington, perhaps there’s still hope! So happy for you!

Posted by: Liz, Nov 16, 2008 06:41:09 PM

I am tearing up just thinking about the possibility that my beloved Wegmans might make it down here to North Carolina some day... I too grew up in Auburn NY, have been down in Wilmington, NC for 10 years, and let me tell you, the grocery stores down here have NOTHING even remotely close to Wegmans. Thanks for the hope and enjoy Washingtonians!

Posted by: Stef, Nov 16, 2008 08:03:49 AM

I’m going home to Upstate NY for Thanksgiving - we moved from Ithaca to Houston a few months ago... and I’ll tell you what we miss most!!: Wegmans!
I feel certain that the tears will fall when I enter those hallowed halls.

Posted by: eliza, Nov 12, 2008 04:36:11 PM

I’m from Rochester as well and Wegmans is also near and dear to my heart! All of my friends have been introduced to the "experience" that is Wegmans. My fiance and I have often shared date night on Friday nights shopping there, but we’re happy to make the trip from Arlington to Sterling. A little taste of home :)

Posted by: Carrie, Nov 12, 2008 03:16:02 PM

Oh my gosh! I moved from Rochester, NY to NYC about 7 years ago. The thing I missed most was WEGMANS! The closest store was over an hour drive in New Jersey, then finally a store opened in Woodbridge, NJ that made the trip closer and so worth it! (Yes, I was at that store Grand Opening!) While it is still more convenient to shop at the local store, if I am feeling at all homesick, or desire truly great customer service or produce, I go to Wegmans.

Posted by: Evelyn, Nov 12, 2008 11:08:49 AM

Great article! I’m from a small town and can relate to these sorts of feelings. Really a cute piece.

Posted by: Rachel, Nov 11, 2008 10:23:40 AM

First Person: Wegmans—Just Like Back Home

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