Wegmans Food Market

Wegmans Food Markets is a privately held, family-owned supermarket operator known for large stores that combine traditional grocery with extensive fresh food, prepared meals, and in-store experiences. The company focuses on full-line supermarkets that feature strong produce, bakery, meat, seafood, specialty grocery, and ready-to-eat options, positioning Wegmans at the higher-service, higher-quality end of the food retail landscape.

The business began in 1916, when brothers John and Walter Wegman started selling fresh produce in Rochester, New York. They opened their first produce store soon after, then launched a full supermarket in 1930. Over the following decades, Wegmans grew from a single local store into a regional chain, introducing in-house bakeries, expanded meat and seafood counters, and early versions of the large, self-service supermarket format that is now standard. A key milestone in the company’s history was its steady push across upstate New York and then into nearby states such as Pennsylvania and New Jersey, supported by its own distribution network and a strong emphasis on merchandising and employee training.

As of March 2025, Wegmans operates 111 stores across New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Delaware, and Washington, D.C. The footprint remains concentrated in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, with deeper coverage in legacy markets like Rochester, Buffalo, and the broader upstate New York corridor. Over roughly the last five years, the brand has shifted from a primarily suburban, regional grocer to one that also competes in dense coastal metros. Newer stores include urban and mixed-use locations in New York City and the Washington, D.C. region, alongside more traditional placements in high-traffic suburban centers.

Recent expansion has been deliberate but ongoing, with a few new stores opening each year and parallel investment in remodels and enhanced prepared-foods programs. Wegmans has added high-visibility locations such as the Astor Place store in Manhattan and a prominent site in Tysons, Virginia, showing that it is prepared to operate in complex mixed-use and vertical projects as well as conventional suburban centers. The company remains controlled by the Wegman family, with Colleen Wegman serving as CEO. Wegmans has appeared repeatedly on Fortune’s list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For, which reinforces its reputation for stable operations, consistent customer service, and disciplined execution at the store level.

For landlords, brokers, and developers, Wegmans functions as a large-format, destination supermarket anchor with a strong and loyal customer draw. Its locations tend to stay in place for the long term and help support restaurants, daily-needs retailers, and soft-goods tenants that benefit from steady traffic. Because Wegmans has experience in both expansive suburban sites and constrained urban footprints, it can work within a variety of development and redevelopment scenarios, from power centers and lifestyle centers to mixed-use projects in dense trade areas. The company’s selective growth posture, focus on high-income, high-density markets, and established brand recognition in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic make it a meaningful consideration for projects where a best-in-class grocery anchor can set the tone for the entire property.