Wegmans Food Market is coming to Crofton.
The one-stop shop food store, which is designed to resemble a European open-air market, has signed a lease with Owings Mills-based developer Greenberg Gibbons Commercial Corp. and property owner BBSS Inc.
Wegmans will lease 140,000 square feet of space at Waugh Chapel Village South in Anne Arundel County, an addition to The Village at Waugh Chapel.
The new store, which is expected to open its doors in late 2008 or early 2009, is the second Maryland location for the New York-based national supermarket chain.
Wegman?s first store opened in Hunt Valley Towne Centre in Baltimore County in October.
The store has been drawing a steady crowd of faithful shoppers ever since. “We had high expectations for our first Maryland store, but our expectations were more than exceeded,” said Jo Natale, a spokeswoman for Wegmans.
Natale added that Wegmans chose the Crofton location for its second store for several reasons.
“First, we have successfully worked with the developer and the density of the area is right,” Natale said.
She added that the store should draw shoppers from at least a 10-mile circumference.
The new store will be smack dab in the middle of a new mixed-use community that includes 425,000 square feet of retail space, 400 senior living units and an office building with various parcels of land for new restaurants.
Aaron Greenfield, president and CEO of the Anne Arundel County Economic Development Corp., is elated about Wegman?s decision to open a store in the county.
“Wegmans is a store that brings value and variety to the community,” Greenfield said.
When the store is completed, it will offer seafood, meat and more than 500 varieties of imported cheeses. The store also carries more than 70,000 different products and will employ approximately 700 full and part-time workers.
Founded in 1916, Wegmans is a family-owned company operating 70 stores throughout New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland.
Snapshot of Wegmans
» Source: Hoovers
» Company Type: Private
» Fiscal Year end: December
»2004 Sales (mil.): $3,600.0 (est.)
» 1-Year Sales Growth: 9.1% (est.)
» 2004 Employees: 32,000
