Meet the Wegmans fans who waited for hours in the rain to be the first shoppers at the grand opening of the cult-favorite grocer's new store in Brooklyn
The Brooklyn Wegmans store officially opened at 7 a.m. on Sunday morning. By 6:45 a.m., the line to get in stretched around the block.
Despite the rain, lovers of Wegmans waited in line outside, some for hours.
The most devoted Wegmans fans were found near the front of the line. Jessica Gonzalez was one of the first people in line at 4:30 a.m.
"We've been going to Wegmans for decades," said the 36-year-old Brooklyn resident, noting that before the opening of this store, she would often use freezer packs to bring groceries back from a Wegmans in Rochester, New York, after visits upstate. "So the love is real," she said.
Inside, hordes of employees prepared to welcome customers into the store for the very first time.
When it came time to open the doors, excited shoppers piled through the entrance. Most of them looked thrilled to be there.
Some shoppers had waited multiple hours in the rain for this moment, and many employees applauded the customers as they entered.
Susan Myers was the first person in line at Wegmans at midnight and was also responsible for making the first purchase at the new location.
Myers is a member of Women of Wegmans, a group of fans that has attended more than 10 Wegmans store openings and seeks to make the first purchase at each store.
"Some people go to the Super Bowl, some people go to Tour de France," said Myers, holding her prized first receipt, which she got from her speedy purchase of a fruit bar. "I come to the Wegmans opening."
As the morning stretched on, the store got increasingly crowded with shoppers.
Yet throughout the store, it was not difficult to find Wegmans fans, or "Wegmaniacs," as some people call them.
Sisters Marie Palmer (left) and Kathryn Cortez (right) grew up going to Wegmans together. Cortez, now married, flew in from Wisconsin to be with her sister for opening day. Both sisters wore "Wegmaniacs" T shirts for the occasion.
"This is so exciting," said Marissa Blokus, who got to the Brooklyn store at 5 a.m. A self-described Wegmaniac, Blokus said she has been to every Wegmans store in the state of Massachusetts.
Both Mars Ballantyne (left) and Caleb Churchill (right) moved to Brooklyn after graduating college in Rochester — the birthplace of Wegmans — in May. "[Wegmans] was one of the things we knew we were going to miss about Rochester the most," Ballantyne said.
![Both Mars Ballantyne (left) and Caleb Churchill (right) moved to Brooklyn after graduating college in Rochester — the birthplace of Wegmans — in May. "[Wegmans] was one of the things we knew we were going to miss about Rochester the most," Ballantyne said.](https://staticbiassets.in/thumb/msid-71823793,width-700,height-525,imgsize-914639/both-mars-ballantyne-left-and-caleb-churchill-right-moved-to-brooklyn-after-graduating-college-in-rochester-the-birthplace-of-wegmans-in-may-wegmans-was-one-of-the-things-we-knew-we-were-going-to-miss-about-rochester-the-most-ballantyne-said-.jpg)
Churchill was sporting a T shirt that combined a black metal band album cover with Wegmans. When asked what the two have in common, he replied, "They both have cult followings."
"I'm like family here," said Stacy Hegedus, who came with her husband, Tim, to opening day. Stacy used to commute with a cooler once a week to a Wegmans store in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, from Long Beach Island, New Jersey — a journey that can take an hour by car.
Hegedus was sporting a Wegmans jacket and said that when she had breast cancer seven years ago, a Wegmans employee delivered groceries to her for three weeks, a factor that contributed to her love for the store.
"The people in here are very, very nice," Stacy said.
"I always say our secret sauce is our people," store manager Kevin Cuff said when asked why Wegmans has such a cult following. "People can copy our buildings, can copy our products that we sell, but they can't copy our people."
Many Wegmans fans cite the superior customer service as one of the best aspects of the store.
Source: Business Insider
Cuff is leading more than 500 employees at Wegmans Brooklyn. And every employee we saw on opening day looked as ecstatic as the customers to be there.
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