Everyone who lives upstate in New York knows that Wegmans is the best supermarket on the planet. The love and passion for Wegman’s may seem unusual since Wegmans is just a supermarket. But, Wegmans is more than just a supermarket. Wegmans is an experience. So, when I heard that Wegmans is now in Brooklyn, near the Brooklyn Navy Yard, I was psyched.
Office in Rochester
Having an office in Rochester for a few years, I used to frequent Wegmans often. Lisa Gordon, HJMT’s Executive VP, turned me on to these amazing lemon drop candies that were only sold at Wegmans. If I couldn’t make it upstate, Lisa would send them to me via the mail. (That’s how much I loved them.)
Brooklyn Wegmans
Fast forward to the other day, I went to Wegmans to see if it were like the upstate counterpart. I’m sorry to report that it is not as good as its upstate branches, not nearly.
It was crowded. You could barely move through the aisles. I never saw so many people. And, the funny thing was, it was nothing to write home about. Their produce section was good. Everything seemed fresh. They had a small fish department and their meats were very expensive. Everything was overpriced.
Once you got passed the produce and meat departments, the rest of the store was a typical food store. It was nothing special.
Just like an ordinary supermarket
When I got to the small candy aisle, I was on a mission for those lemon drop candies. I asked one of the employees. “This is all we got,” she said.
All they had was one row of candies, just like any other supermarket. This was not the Wegmans I knew and loved. This Wegmans felt like an imposter to me.
I don’t know if the people of Brooklyn will have the love and passion that the people who live upstate have for the store, but I know one thing for certain — I’m glad I went but I’ll never go back. (I can’t wait to go upstate again to visit the true Wegmans!)
