Wegmans (Philadelphia, Allentown, Erie: school districts, live in, prices)

[BPP1999]

Originally Posted by Jessie Mitchell

The place I lived before moving to PA banned plastic bags years ago. Since moving to PA I shop at Wegman's often but always bring my own reuseable bags, like I do everywhere when I shop. Really glad to see they're leading on this in PA where so much of how things are done is like 20 years behind the smarter places in this country.

I like that they’re banning plastic bags because I think they are a waste, but there’s no need to be quite so arrogant. What land of milk and honey did you live before being so unfortunate to move here?

[wp169]

Originally Posted by MarketStEl

Sorry; I had my tongue planted in my cheek with that comment. (I thought the emoji would be a tipoff.) Not only am I familiar with Wegmans, but I've also taken advantage of those occasions when I've had the opportunity to shop at one, and it is the most impressive supermarket chain I've yet run across.

It's also incorrect that I don't drive. A driver's license is a teenage rite of passage in Kansas City, and I got one as soon as I turned 16. I regularly renew my Pennsylvania driver's license, and I subscribe to Zipcar for those times when what I want to do really requires a car. I just define those occasions more narrowly than many others might.

I do, however, prefer bargain-hunting where possible, which is why I'd still shop Aldi and GO even if there were a Wegmans right up the block from me (though were that the case, I'd certainly go to that Wegmans often enough). And I still maintain that if you live in the city, you really don't need Wegmans when you have the Reading Terminal Market. (Okay, you can't get small appliances, housewares or domestics in the RTM. Wegmans is sort of Walmart in reverse: 80% groceries and 20% general merchandise while Walmart flips that ratio.)

What I had heard about Wegmans' evolution was: The chain started adding the eye-popping prepared-foods sections that ring their equally eye-popping produce departments sometime in the 70s or thereabouts, and they did have the desired effect on traffic — but what happened was that the shoppers all bought their prepared stuff at Wegmans, then went to rival Tops for everything else. At that point, management realized that while it could keep the high margins on the prepared stuff, it had to price the regular grocery aisles competitively, which it did.

And the fact (IMO) is that, outside its home market of Rochester, Wegmans' expansion has come almost completely in the form of huge stores in the suburbs. It was big news when Wegmans bought a two-story former warehouse in the Brooklyn Navy Yard area and converted it into one of their stores. I still don't think you will find a Wegmans within the city limits of Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington or even Buffalo.

Those who equate Wegmans with Whole Foods mistake surface for substance. WFM does distinguish itself from every other supermarket chain in the country, including category rivals The Fresh Market, Sprouts Farmers Market and Trader Joe's ("Aldi-meets-Whole Foods" literally) [b]by having quality standards that include a list of ingredients commonly found in processed foods that it will not allow in products its stores carry. It also has a higher percentage of organic produce and meats than conventional supermarkets carry.

I was in a Wegmans recently for the first time, the store is gigantic and very clean. I was very impressed they had so many store brand inexpensive ice cream flavors to choose from until I read the labels. They contain too many additives including carageenan, which is possible carcinogen and stomach irritant so I stuck with my Turkey Hill Natural which is much more expensive without those cheap ingredients.
Anyway, there were other Wegman products I liked, their raspberry jelly donuts are the best I've tasted any place, so I will shop there again. I shop in Whole Foods and Trader Joe's also.
Just a note:reusable bags were banned by some stores during the pandemic.

[MarketStEl]

Originally Posted by wp169

I was in a Wegmans recently for the first time, the store is gigantic and very clean. I was very impressed they had so many store brand inexpensive ice cream flavors to choose from until I read the labels. They contain too many additives including carageenan, which is possible carcinogen and stomach irritant so I stuck with my Turkey Hill Natural which is much more expensive without those cheap ingredients.
Anyway, there were other Wegman products I liked, their raspberry jelly donuts are the best I've tasted any place, so I will shop there again. I shop in Whole Foods and Trader Joe's also.
Just a note:reusable bags were banned by some stores during the pandemic.

The interesting thing here is: carrageenan is not a chemical produced in a lab; it's an extract from seaweed, which I think would make it legal for "all-natural" foods to contain.

It's been around for hundreds of years and is used as a thickener. It's quite common in cottage cheese and cream cheese, both of which I snack on all the time.

And this Scientific American article notes that you will find it in many organic and vegan foods. (As it's not animal-derived, it's okay for vegans to eat.) It also notes that some food scientists consider the evidence that carrageenan is harmful to the digestive tract and a carcinogen flawed and misleading.

It is not on Whole Foods Market's list of banned ingredients. (By comparison, high fructose corn syrup and all artificial zero-calorie sweeteners are.)

Switching gears to private-label/store brand products: Those Wegmans products I've tried are good, though I have the same complaint about its private-label Kansas City-style barbecue sauce that I have about almost all the others, which is that, following KC Masterpiece's lead, they dunp half a tank of molasses in it — the best KC-style sauces simply aren't that sweet, and the closest I've come to getting one I like is at Aldi, whose Burman's Kansas City sauce avoids that error. (I more typically make my own, following a recipe Ollie Gates of Gates BBQ gave up to Martha Stewart on the Food Network ages ago.) Wegmans identifies its store brand natural and organic products with the banner "Food You Can Feel Good About" below the chain's name.

[ElijahAstin]

Originally Posted by MarketStEl

Old color scheme and decor or new?

(For an example of the new, look up my article on the Riverwalk Giant on Phillymag.com — it has pictures.)

To be clear, I meant in terms of size and product selection, not necessarily physical appearance. But this definitely aligns with the classic Giants and not the Riverwalk Giant.

Originally Posted by Muinteoir

There is a classic model Wegmans, and the new development style. Plenty more Wegmans than just the Rochester area have the classic style.

Fair enough. Where would you say the nearest classic Wegmans is to Southeastern Pennsylvania?

Originally Posted by Muinteoir

To the last bit about stores within city limits, Erie and Lancaster, too.

I thought the Erie and Lancaster Wegmans were also just outside city limits, although I could be mistaken.

[Duderino]

Originally Posted by BPP1999

I like that they’re banning plastic bags because I think they are a waste, but there’s no need to be quite so arrogant. What land of milk and honey did you live before being so unfortunate to move here?

Yeah, plastic bag bans are not that widespread--yet. Only 8 states have banned them, which is a reasonable thing to do in my book (when done with some foresight; right now New Jersey is actually dealing with a glut of reusable bags piling up, which is counter-productive).

But yeah, while Pennsylvania could be cutting-edge in a lot more ways, I don't think it's particularly behind the curve with this policy quite yet. Philadelphia's ban is now in effect; Pittsburgh's is coming next year. Several Philly area municipalities have also done so.

[jtab4994]

Can you buy reusable bags with food stamps? Is there a program to provide bags to low-income families?

Some stores like Aldi and BJ's have never provided bags. My warehouse club experience is only with BJ's but I have to assume Costco and Sam's Club work the same way. Nobody complains; it's part of the deal.

I have found lots of uses for the so-called disposable bags. They are the right size for bedroom waste baskets, and they're great for scooping the litter box. Too bad many of them ended up in trees and waterways.

[ElijahAstin]

Originally Posted by jtab4994

Can you buy reusable bags with food stamps? Is there a program to provide bags to low-income families?

Some stores like Aldi and BJ's have never provided bags. My warehouse club experience is only with BJ's but I have to assume Costco and Sam's Club work the same way. Nobody complains; it's part of the deal.

I have found lots of uses for the so-called disposable bags. They are the right size for bedroom waste baskets, and they're great for scooping the litter box. Too bad many of them ended up in trees and waterways.

Since they’re a non-food item, I don’t think they can be purchased with SNAP benefits. However, even at Wegmans, the standard-issue reusable bags are only ~$1.25 with tax, and they are durable enough to last for years.

We also find various uses for the disposable bags, and keep a stockpile by the basement stairs. But it’s still less wasteful to eliminate them from grocery stores altogether.

[cpomp]

Originally Posted by RocketSci

Wegmans avoids city stores because it's business model requires large stores and large parking lots for high customer volume, high sales volume, and within moderately high customer income areas. Unlike most other grocers, Wegmans also owns the land its store and parking are on, which also means it avoids more expensive city properties. The Buffalo store is basically a suburban-style store which infilled a former industrial site, including a large (and often filled) parking lot, and serves customers mainly from wealthier Buffalo neighborhoods and adjacent suburbs. Wegmans has said many times that they avoid "urban" grocery stores - i.e. small footprint, parking garage, mixed use locations. The desire to be in areas near moderately high income residents, and the lack of large open spaces (either due to availability or cost), preclude their business model from most city urban areas. Navy Yard is the exception, likely because of the dense customer base, and because it can be a "destination" store. Wegmans also avoids saturating places with too many branches that siphon business from each other.

Wegmans is actually opening a store in Manhattan at 8th & Lafayette (Astor Place). I was shocked to see the coming soon signs when I walked by a few weeks ago.

[Muinteoir]

Originally Posted by cpomp

Wegmans is actually opening a store in Manhattan at 8th & Lafayette (Astor Place). I was shocked to see the coming soon signs when I walked by a few weeks ago.

That’s amazing. Congrats. Here’s to next stop, Philadelphia!

[Tweb66]

Allentown proper has a Wegmans, one that I have patronized many times over the past 20 years. Though that part of the city is very suburban.