Wegmans Supermarkets to Suspend Operations During Solar Eclipse
Wegmans Food Markets Inc. will temporarily shut down 48 of its upstate New York stores that are located in the path of the total solar eclipse on April 8.
The 48 stores will close for 30 minutes, between 3 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. ET. During that time, all store services, including pharmacy, grocery, and Meals2Go pickup and delivery, will be unavailable. The stores to be temporarily shut down include locations in Rochester, Buffalo, Finger Lakes, Southern Tier, Syracuse and Erie.
In other solar eclipse news, Tops Markets LLC will host a free viewing party in upstate New York. The grocer is inviting the Buffalo community to join in, together with the Buffalo Bisons minor-league baseball team and NASA scientists, to mark the momentous occurrence at Sahlen Field. Tickets are available on a first-come, first-serve basis online (with a $1 service charge), at the Sahlen Field box office or at select Tops Markets stores.
Plus, Natural Grocers will offer customers free special solar eclipse glasses to view the total solar eclipse. The glasses will be offered with purchase at all Natural Grocers stores in the following states: Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, Louisiana and Kansas (limit one per customer).
The total solar eclipse on April 8 will be the second such event to be visible from the United States in seven years. During this time, the moon's shadow will sweep across the United States, allowing millions to view the eclipse.
However, it will only be visible by those who live in the path of totality — the 115-mile-wide track falling under the moon's central shadow. The path of totality will extend from Texas to Maine. The rest of the country will be able to see only partial phases of the total solar eclipse.
According to NASA, the differences in the path totality and timing could make next month's total eclipse even more brilliant and accessible than the last one in 2017.
With its 53,000-plus employees, family-owned Wegmans now operates more than 100 stores along the East Coast. The Rochester, N.Y.-based company is No. 37 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2023 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.
