BURLINGTON, MA - Gates-based Wegmans Food Markets is expanding again, annoucing plans to build 10 new stores throughout states in the East Coast over the next several years. The first of the new locations will open in Burlington, MA in the Fall of 2014, followed by 9 more locations in Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland.
These latest expansion plans are the result of countless requests by American shoppers throughout the Northeast.
"Each year, thousands of people who have visited our store for the first time, or moved to a place without Wegmans, write asking that we build a store in their town," Wegmans reveals on its website. "Today, we have stores in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland and Massachusetts...There are other sites we are working on, but are not at liberty to disclose as yet."
For Linda Horton Bacon, a loyal Wegmans shopper who has been working for much of the last 6 years to bring a store closer to her home in Wilmington, Delaware, this annoucement is a dream come true. Her "We Want Wegmans in Wilmington" Facebook page has garnered quite a bit of support from the local community, with as many as 200 members, according to the Democrat and Chronicle.
"Six years ago we had no hope of having a Wegmans close by, now we do," she said. "While we may not have had any influence on Wegmans choosing a site closer to us, we at least have each other to share the excitement with!!!!"
Company spokesperson Jo Natale shared with the Democrat and Chronicle that Wegmans is currently planning on keeping its expansion limited to the Northeast because it does not want to risk overextending its distribution network at this point in time. Opening stores in Chicago or St. Louis could strain Wegmans' suppliers of milk, exotic cheese, and a variety of other products, a key foundation of the company's success.
In New England however there are big plans in store over the coming years. Wegmans' has been thriving ever since it expanded out of New York state back in 1993 and with customers coming in droves there's no sign of this grocery chain putting on the breaks anytime soon.
