Wegmans Plans Newton, Mass., Store

Wegmans Food Markets Inc. has revealed plans to open a new, smaller urban concept store within the Chestnut Hill Square in Newton, Mass. The site will house a 70,000-square-foot market.

“Though smaller in size, this store will have almost everything customers have come to expect from Wegmans, including a Market Café,” noted Bill Congdon, VP and New England division manager for the Rochester, N.Y.-based grocer. Congdon added that the company’s first New England store, in Northborough, Mass., “broke every previous grand opening record set by our company.”

Since the Northborough store’s October opening, Wegmans has added 25 full- and part-time positions at the location and is seeking 40 to 45 more employees, according to Congdon.

“We’ve always wanted to have a grocery store as part of this development – a sentiment that has been expressed both by Newton residents and by prospective retailers,” said Douglass Karp, EVP of Newton-based New England Development, the real estate company behind Chestnut Hill Square. “Wegmans, with its emphasis on customer service, quality, value pricing, and community outreach, is the ideal grocery store for this location.”

In addition to Wegmans, the development will feature specialty shops, restaurants, the Equinox fitness club, medical offices and luxury residences. New England Development is also the developer for the Northborough Crossing project, where Wegmans opened the Northborough store.

The new concept store’s design, construction schedule and opening date have yet to be finalized, Congdon said.

Wegmans operates 79 stores in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland and Massachusetts.