Whole Foods vs Wegman's (Silver Spring, Bethesda: neighborhoods, organic, live)

[hbosch80]

Do you have a preference and why

[adelphi_sky]

Wegman's.

Customer service, variety, different "neighborhoods", good selection of organics, and cheaper than Whole Foods. Of course the footprint of Wegman's is much larger. Therefore, it's difficult to expect Whole Foods to have to compete with them in more urban settings.

[hbosch80]

what do you mean by different neighborhoods

[KCP_1980]

I really like the Wegman's at Woodmore. However, I think Whole Foods has a great vibe. They both are solid stores.

[Khemistry]

I don't see much of a comparison. Whole Foods is an upscale over-priced "healthy foods-type" store, whereas Wegmans is an even more upscale, specialty hypermarket. Wegman's Woodmore is the size of a Walmart Supercenter, practically, and you could literally spend about 1-1.5 hours in there, shopping for nothing but food. It's a totally different experience. I have been to Whole Foods a few times, and struggle to find anything that appeals to me. Wegman's... it's like being a kid in the candy store. So many things to choose from, your mind is almost overwhelmed.

[sbyman]

Never heard of Wegman's. I've lived in Maryland all my life.

[MrMaryland455]

Originally Posted by sbyman

Never heard of Wegman's. I've lived in Maryland all my life.

Wow.....What part of Maryland are you from??????????

[goldenage1]

Originally Posted by MrMaryland455

Wow.....What part of Maryland are you from??????????

There's no need to be so surprised. There are only 7 Wegmans in Maryland, none of them in the densely populated spots like Bethesda or Silver Spring.

I only found a store when I was at a conference in Hunt Valley. They weren't on my radar otherwise. FWIW, I would vote for Wegmans over Whole Foods, but I wouldn't go out of my way to find either.

[adelphi_sky]

Originally Posted by hbosch80

what do you mean by different neighborhoods

When you walk through a Wegmans, there's a section on cheese, produce, fish, hot foods, a butcher, etc. In a regular grocery store, there is little differentiation, it at all. Mainly due to space restraints. Wegman's is so huge, you notice when you're walking into a different section of the store.

[adelphi_sky]

Originally Posted by Khemistry

Wegmans is an even more upscale, specialty hypermarket.

I wouldn't go that far. Wegmans has it's own brands like all other grocery stores, but nothing it sells can't be found in Whole Foods or any other grocery store except for Wegmans branded items. I shop at Wegmans on a weekly basis. The ONLY thing that I can't find elsewhere is there branded grilling oil and the salmon sliders. Oh, they do have the crab pretzels.

Upscale specialty to me is Balduccis and Dean & Deluca.

They certainly aren't a hypermarket. While they do sell kitchenware, so does every other grocery store. Walmart is more of a hypermarket where they sell clothes, groceries, furniture, electronics, and tires. lol