Triangle's newest Wegmans opens in West Cary
The new Wegmans grocery store in West Cary opened on Wednesday, July 29 and you can check the line to get in before you leave home!
Wegmans has posted a live view of their storefront at 3710 Davis Drive so people can check out the crowd and line in real time. Orange cones and ground markings are being used to promote social distancing.
The 103,000 square-foot store is located at the intersection of Davis Drive and Airport Boulevard. The hours each day are 6 am to midnight. On July 29, the store will open at 9 a.m.
Click below for a quick video showing the inside of the store. Then scroll down to see multiple photos of the specific specialty departments and some of my favorite grocery deals, including eggs, milk. cereal, peanut butter and more.
This will be the second Wegmans location to open in the Triangle and employs over 460 people. You'll find 29 front end registers and 600 parking spaces at this store.
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, though, you won't see any big Grand Opening events.
According to a statement from the company, "As we keep the safety of our employees and customers a top priority, we’ve had to rethink how we open these stores. While we love the excitement of opening morning, with customers anxiously awaiting to see their new Wegmans, we know this isn’t possible as the need to maintain social distancing remains."
The store has set up a designated line-up area for customers as you can see in the photos below. As the store manager, Katie Duchnowski, pointed out, it is set up the way lines are handled at an amusement park. They will be keeping the store capacity at or under 50% which is approximately 1000 people, including employees.
You can even check their website to see a live video of the entrance to the store to check how long the line is to get in.
In addition, there will be one door to enter the store and a different door for exiting.
See below for additional details on store safety precautions for opening day and every day during this pandemic.
Departments and Amenities
The Burger Bar: The Burger Bar is a family-friendly, casual restaurant offering burgers, sandwiches, kids’ meals, frozen custard, milkshakes, floats, beer and wine.
Market Café: You'll find indoor seating and a number of prepared foods including a coffee bar, sushi, Poke Bowls, pizza, subs, and prepackaged meals to go.
They even have a Create Your Own Poke Bowl Station. You just have to let the employees know what you would like in your bowl and they will make it right there in front of you.
Seafood Market: The Seafood Market offers whole fish, delivered fresh daily and cut to order, including seafood from Wanchese, on Roanoke Island, at the North Carolina Coast. You can also have fresh shellfish steamed at no extra charge including lobster, shrimp, mussels, clams, and crabs.
Produce Dept.: The 800-item produce section includes a fresh-cut veggie and fruit station and more than 300 organic offerings. They also offer locally-grown in-season produce picked daily and delivered directly to the store.
Bakery: The Wegmans bakery includes "Artisan-style breads and rolls, featuring whole grain options, items made with organic ingredients, and grains grown near Wegmans’ stores", according to the company. You'll also find fresh-baked Cookie Shop cookies, breakfast pastries, decorated cakes, cupcakes, specialty chocolates, donuts, muffins, and desserts.
The Wegmans Bakery canoli dip is truly amazing!
Deli and Charcuterie: At the deli you'll find traditional deli meats and cheeses, cured specialty meats, and dry sausage products, including Jamon Iberico de Bellota Ham from Spain. They also offer organic deli meats and cheeses.
Cheese Shop: The Cheese Shop includes a large variety of specialty and artisan cheeses produced domestically and imported from around the world.
The Olive Bar is not self serve at this time. All you need to do is ask the employees to put together the mix of olives you would like.
Wine and Beer: The wine and beer department at Wegmans is quite impressive. They have approximately 2,000 wines range from $6 bottles to offerings from some of the finest wine estates in the world. They are not $6, as you can imagine. There are also more than 900 varieties of domestic, craft and imported beers, as well as ‘Craft Your Own’ six-packs and hard ciders.
Something new at this location that you will not see in all Wegmans locations is a refrigerated cooler in the wine and beer department.
Floral Shop: This location has fresh-cut flowers and floral arrangements.
Additional departments include: Health and Wellness, Home and Entertaining and Catering.
Consistent, Low Prices: Their motto is that they offer "Consistent, Low Prices" every day, especially on the products families buy every week.
Here are some of the top grocery deals I found on my tour on July 27. I had a limited amount of time so this is only a small number of the great deals you will find on staple items and snack foods.
The Pick a Mix section and the Bulk Foods are both open. There are no scoops in the bulk foods section. You just pull down on the bar to release the food in to the bag you put underneath the item you want.
You will also find the display in the dairy section with the infamous Bison Dip (no actual Bison in the dip) and all the favorite hot dog brands.
Family Pack: Save 30% or more compared to regular size with the Wegmans Family Packs found throughout the store including meat, seafood, produce, dairy, frozen foods, and grocery.
SCAN App: The Scan App allows customers to scan and bag their groceries as they shop. This is a great option for a contactless shopping experience.
This is actually a really neat feature. First, download the Wegmans Scan app. Then bring your bags in to the store with you. When you take something off the shelf to buy, you scan the item's bar code with the app. Then put the item in the bag. Do this for every item you put in to your cart. Once you are done, go to self check, scan the bar code on the Scan App with your total and pay with your registered card on the app.
Wegmans App & Digital Coupons: Download the Wegmans App for access to digital coupons, a digital grocery list, your Shoppers Club rewards card bar code, online ordering and more.
Online Shopping: Shop online for curbside pickup or delivery in as little as one hour. You can also order the chef-prepared restaurant foods through the Wegmans Meals 2Go app.
Safety Measures
Keep in mind that because of the pandemic, Wegmans will be limiting the number of customers allowed in the store and shoppers may have to wait in line to get in.
They also have a hand sanitizing station at the store entrance for customers to use.
The company released the following statement regarding safety precautions during the pandemic.
"To ensure a safe environment for all our employees and customers, we’re committed to going above and beyond what is required. We have enhanced our sanitation of high-contact touchpoints and increased the frequency of our everyday sanitation practices. Hand sanitizer stations are available throughout the store and our cashiers are asked to sanitize their workspace and hands regularly. Plexiglas® shields are also installed at all our registers and will be installed in additional areas, as well. We encourage all customers and employees to be respectful of social distancing guidelines. To help, we’ve placed visual indicators at our registers and throughout the store."
You can see the many social distancing reminders throughout the store.
Wegmans also shared, "We look forward to meeting you in-person but will be limiting the number of customers in the store at any given time to ensure we are able to maintain safe social distancing. With these measures in place, we ask for your patience and understanding, as you may need to wait in line to enter the store."
If you are new to Wegmans and wondering what all the hype is about regarding this grocery store, take a look at this article I wrote in October 2019 when the first Wegmans in our area opened in Raleigh, NC.
When the Raleigh Wegmans location opened in October 2019, it had the "biggest opening crowd ever." according to a spokesperson for Wegmans. People were already waiting in line at 7 p.m. on the night before it opened.
The following Wegmans stores are scheduled to open in 2020:
West Cary, NC: Opening Early August
Davis Drive and Airport Boulevard in Wake County
Harrison, NY: Opening Fall
106-110 Corporate Park Drive in Westchester County
Tysons Corner, VA: Opening Late Fall
Capital Beltway and Route 123 in Fairfax County
See all the details regarding upcoming store openings on the Wegmans website.
About Wegmans
Wegmans Food Markets, Inc. is a 101-store supermarket chain with stores in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland, Massachusetts, and North Carolina. The family company, recognized as an industry leader and innovator, celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2016.
Wegmans has been named one of the ‘100 Best Companies to Work For’ by FORTUNE magazine for 23 consecutive years, ranking #3 in 2020. The company was also ranked #1 for corporate reputation among the 100 most visible companies, according to the 2019 Harris Poll Reputation Quotient® study.
