This coming Sunday starting at 7 a.m. the much anticipated Wegmans in Chestnut Hill Square just off of Route 9 will finally open. This will be the second Wegmans to open in Massachusetts, a store in Northborough opened in 2011, but this will be the first store in the Greater Boston area. While Wegmans in many ways has a cult-like following, and people have been waiting for nearly two years for the Chestnut Hill Wegmans to open, the question is, will it change the way locals grocery shop?
While the size of the Wegmans in Chestnut Hill, 80,000 square-feet along with a 10,500 square-foot second level that sells beer, wine and liquor, combined with cheap prices and a diverse food and product selection may impress people, in the end will it be enough to force shoppers leave their current grocery stores?
As a young person who lives in the Boston area I tend to have no preference where I grocery shop. I usually go to stores that are convenient, whether it be Shaws, Roche Bros. or Stop & Shop, and the places that have the best deals for the items I need that week. I am a person who won't travel the extra miles in a car, especially with gas prices pushing $4 a gallon, just so I can shop at a popular store, like a Wegmans. I am sure this Sunday, and in the coming weeks following, people will trek down the already busy Route 9 to check Wegmans out, but I am skeptical unless people live in the immediate area that they will visit the store on a regular basis.
The Wegmans phenomenon to me is strikingly similar to the Shake Shack craze that hit Boston a little over a year ago when it coincidentally also opened up in Chestnut Hill. During the first weeks Shake Shack was open the lines were out the door, but since that opening month, while many people still go there, it doesn't appear to be the destination spot that it was when it first opened. Developments like the ones on both sides of Route 9 in Chestnut Hill have allowed businesses to come to the Boston area that hadn't previously been here before, and while this has caught the attention of consumers, the verdict is still out whether people will endure the Route 9 gridlock just to shop at stores like a Wegmans or a Shake Shack. I personally believe people will only go there if they are already in the area.
By no means am I saying Wegmans will fail, because I personally think it will do quite well, but my main point is after people visit the Chestnut Hill store for the initial time, will it make them want to make it their regular grocery store. The one thing working in Wegmans' favor is the Chestnut Hill store is just the beginning of Wegmans planting their footprint in the Greater Boston area. In the fall the chain will be opening a store in Burlington, next year a store it will be opening a store in Westwood and in nearly three years time Wegmans plans on opening a store in Fenway's Landmark Center. The more stores Wegmans open up in Boston, the more likely competing grocery stores will begin to suffer.
While I look forward to visiting Wegmans in the coming weeks to see what all the hype is about, I can honestly say I am happy I won't be there at 7 a.m. on Sunday when the doors open and mass hysteria ensues similar to that which occurs on Black Friday at midnight.
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