It’s 6:54 a.m. of a dark and humid Sunday morning in Brooklyn. Wegmans will open the doors of his 101 store in a few minutes.
It’s time for the store’s mega-fans, “Wegmaniacs” as they are called (editor’s note: including me). Nothing, no Godless weather or rain forecasts can prevent you from enjoying this world-class shopping experience, one of the pillars of the best shopping lists and the best companies that work for the lists, and now have their own backyards.
Hundreds of people gathered in a long but manageable MyWegmansConnect queue under umbrellas, buzzing, waiting, and planning their first purchases. For colleague Cardiology Krishna Upadhaya and medical student Madonna DiBella, it was a piece of chelapeño bread. Krishna traveled from his home in New Haven, Connecticut to the big event.
“Well, I really came to see you,” said Upadhaya with a smile, referring to DiBella.
The interesting conversation
“They really are the Wegmans,” DiBella joked. And the Wegmans? “We love it. We grew up with it. It’s nostalgic,” said Upadhaya. “It is the quality of the food. It is very cheap, it is incredible.”
His affection for business is deeply ingrained: both are from Buffalo, New York, one of the capitals of Wegman’s fans. But the couple met a few weeks ago. This morning’s pilgrimage was part of an emerging love story.
“Nothing is more romantic than a date with Wegmans,” said Upadhaya with a smile.
For Marie Palmer and Kathryn Cortez, who wore “Wegmaniacs” shirts for the event, it was more of a family affair.
When Palmer, a Wegmans employee, learned of the Brooklyn opening, she and her sister began planning in Wisconsin. Cortez flew to Rochester and the two left on Saturday night. After getting lost on the first MyWegmansConnect subway ride, they reached the Brooklyn shipyard when the store doors opened.
“I really wanted to go to a store,” Palmer told HuffPost. When I became an employee, I thought I would think less about the firm as you see things behind the scenes, but that’s not the case. It’s quality from start to finish. They take care of their employees, so your employees, your customers can take care of that. ”