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Fort Greene and DUMBO

Business & Economy

Here's Why People Are So Pumped About Wegmans Coming to Brooklyn

By Rebeca Ibarra | May 14, 2015 1:17pm

Super fans of the Rochester-based supermarket Wegmans blew up Twitter when the grocery store announced it would open its first New York City location in 2017.

The family-owned store, which has locations in Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Upstate New York and Massachusetts, will call the Brooklyn Navy Yard home. Wegmans has ammassed a cultlike following, known as Wegmania, and will apparently fill a void in the lives of many New York transplants.

Wegmans fanatics sing praises of their subs, their affordable prices and fresh produce. The chain has even inspired high school musicals. This zeal can be puzzling for those of us unfamiliar with the store, but it is very real.

The store will rival Red Hook's Fairway in size, Trader Joe's in prices and Whole Foods in product variety and prepared foods, it seems. The blogosphere and press also seem to be under the Wegmans spell. Reporters at The Washington Post and Business Insider have decided Wegmans is the best store in the United States. Period. Even Buzzfeed made a listicle explaining why.

Perhaps Wegmans newbies will be converted in two years time. For now, however, the news of their 2017 Brooklyn opening has given fans a reason to stay in the borough just a little longer.