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« Social Realism | Home | Outer and Upper Vagina »

February 9, 2006

I Heart Wegmans

In an entry last week I mentioned something about checking the frozen foods section of my favorite grocery store. I wanted to write simply, "Every time I go to Wegmans I check to see if Ben and Jerry's has brought back my favorite flavors," but I couldn't, because not everyone knows what Wegmans is.

And I have decided to do something about that.

As I hope I've made abundantly clear, I prefer the southwest part of the US to the northeast part. But one thing that makes the northeast superior to the rest of the country is the presence of Wegmans, the best grocery store I've ever shopped at. It's even better than the New Pioneer Food Co-op in Iowa City, and that was a pretty damn good grocery store. (Though New Pi had better bread--they had this chocolate cherry bread that was AMAZING.)

I'd be proud to appear in a Wegmans ad, pushing my cart through the spacious aisles and merrily singing some jingle as I pull high-quality food items from the well-stocked shelves. But I'm not the only one willing to sing the company's praises: last year Wegmans ranked first in FORTUNE Magazine's list of the top 100 companies to work for; this year it ranks second. According to a company press release, "this marks the ninth consecutive year Wegmans has appeared on the annual list and its fourth year ranked among the top 10."

I realize I sound as enthusiastic as a paid spokesperson, but part of what I like best about shopping at Wegmans is the fact that the employees don't seem to resent doing the jobs they're paid to do. They're not surly--in fact, they're usually pretty cheery. They know where stuff is. When you ask them for help, they try to provide it.

My particular Wegmans, it should be noted, is not as vast and grand as some. A couple of my friends live in Ithaca, NY, and their Wegmans is truly impressive, boasting a better deli and restaurant section and a much better liquor selection than the branch I shop at. (That last bit isn't hard, since I live in Pennsylvania, and PA's laws governing the sale of alcohol are even stupider and more complicated than Utah's, with the upshot being that you can't buy booze at grocery stores in PA.)

But I still love my smaller Wegmans, even after being introduced to a truly magnificent version. Believe it or not, Wegmans is the only place in town to get decent sushi. The olive bar is nice too, and I'm fairly happy with the cheese selection. (It is the US, of course, so ain't no cheese section going to be as good as you'd find in, say, France.) They stock a lot of local produce; it's very fresh and reasonably priced, and the organic stuff is reasonable too. They have a really nice tableware and kitchenware section, with merchandise that changes frequently--cool seasonal place settings and ideas for entertaining. I admit I wish they had a better selection of Mexican food products, but no place is perfect.

Anyway, in the future, instead of writing "I went to the grocery store," I'll just write, "I went to Wegmans," and you'll all know what I mean.

Posted by holly at February 9, 2006 9:10 AM

5 Comments

By frankengirl on February 9, 2006 12:57 PM

I wonder if Wegmans is like Trader Joes? I *heart* TJ. Everyone seems so relaxed, so civilized there (an impression I don't often get at regular supermarkets).

By Holly on February 9, 2006 1:35 PM

I like Trader Joe's a lot, but I like Wegmans better. Trader Joe's, at least the ones I've been in, tend to be smaller and more of a specialty store. But Wegmans is a great big full-fledged grocery store, with organic toothpaste, live seafood and Cap'n Crunch (although not all in the same aisle).

But aside from that, if the people at your Trader Joe's are cool, then that's what matters most.

I have three favorite people at my Wegmans: the head produce guy, who's about 60 and really nice and tells me about the distinctions between different kinds of fruit; the head chef, who's about 35 and really cute and always wears one of those puffy chef's hats, and who sometimes offers samples of grilled tuna and the likes; and a cashier in her late 20s/early 30s who is so incredibly nice. I always go through her line if she's working--she's easy to spot because she's the one and only Muslim, with a headscarf. She actually TALKS to me while she's ringing up my groceries--not just idle chitchat, but real conversations.

By John on February 9, 2006 6:16 PM

I'm a big TJs fan as well (I live in SoCal). Our family basically does all of our grocery shopping at TJs, with an occasional run to the Japanese supermarket and to Albertson's (for the few things we can't find substitutes for at TJ).

I've had some good conversations at TJs as well--last week my cashier started needling the bagger, who had just enlisted in the Marines, and I found myself trying to mediate between them.

By frankengirl on February 9, 2006 7:31 PM

Real conversations at the checkout counter? And people who actually know you, remember you? At our general grocery store, we have slouching teens - though I feel for them - they look so bored or shy (or both). Well, now I wish I had a Wegmans!

btw, do you know of www.blogher.org? I'm guessing you do, but just in case - I happened upon it and thought it might interest you. (Hmm, I sound suspiciously like one of those spam comments...)

By Holly on February 10, 2006 10:28 AM

Frankengirl--thanks for telling me about Blogher--I hadn't heard of it, but it's definitely worth knowing about. I registered, and will go back to scope out more cool sites.

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