NEW YORK — Wegmans Food Markets Inc., the Rochester, N.Y.-based grocer that operates 109 stores on the East Coast, opened its first supermarket in Manhattan on Wednesday.
The 87,500 square-foot occupies two floors of the historic Wannamaker building at 770 Broadway, which was built in 1907 as an annex to the original Wannamakers department store and was later home to a Kmart store that opened in November 1996. That store closed in February 2021, clearing the way for Wegmans to lease the site for its second New York City store. (The first opened in Brooklyn in 2019.
Not surprisingly, food is the star at the new Astor Place Wegmans, which drew a line of eager customers before the doors opened at 8:45 a.m. In addition to expansive perishables departments, the store features an extensive array of restaurant food options, including fresh sushi, fresh-made salads, sandwiches, hot sandwiches, soups, pizza, and wings, as well as hot Asian cuisine options. Ready-to-eat and ready-to-heat options feature a wide selection of entrees and sides for both individuals and families. The new store also offers made-to-order and packaged Mezze options, inspired by a Mediterranean diet.
The store also has Wegmans’ first-ever Japanese “Sakanaya” fish market, which sells seafood (including whole fish) flown in from Japan’s famous Toyosu Fish Market. An onsite dining room, featuring a Sushi Bar and Champagne-Oyster Bar at Astor Place, is scheduled to open in the first half of 2024.
Wegmans adds that “more than 600 newly hired employees will help create a one-of-a-kind shopping experience in the store’s warm and welcoming atmosphere that reflects the original architecture of the historic Wannamaker building.”
The Manhattan Wegmans’ Japanese “Sakanaya” fish market.
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