Wegmans to Shutter One of Its Largest Locations
It was a five-year run for a unique Wegmans Food Markets store in Natick, Mass. The New York-based grocer announced that is closing its location at 1245 Worcester Street in the town west of Boston due to a lower-than-anticipated performance.
The Natick store opened to much fanfare in 2018, due to its 146,000-square-foot size, multi-level format and location inside a major mall. Customers could enter Natick Mall directly from each floor and use a cart-conveyor system to shop between levels. The store – one of Wegmans’ largest – also featured an in-store burger bar, coffee shop, tequila bar and floral shop and a product assortment of more than 70,000 items.
“Making these decisions is never easy. However, we do it for the long-term benefit of our people, our customers, and our communities,” explained Brien MacKendrick, human resources director, Wegmans New England division. “Unfortunately, with this non-traditional location we are unable to attract enough customers for our business model to work.”
According to Wegmans, the 365 full-time and part-time employees will be offered positions at other Wegmans locations. The retailer currently operates five other stores in the greater Boston area.
“We love our Natick community and customers, and we’re eager to pursue new store locations in the area for the future,” added MacKendrick. “In the meantime, we hope to continue to serve our Natick customers through our e-commerce offerings and our other area stores.”
Although a final date has not been announced, the Wegmans in Natick is expected to shutter later this summer. Even as Wegmans pulls up stakes there, it continues to widen its footprint in other parts of its operating region, with a fall 2023 planned opening atAstor Place in New York City and a recent unveiling of a new store in Reston, Va.
Family-owned Wegmans operates more than 100 stores in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, Delaware, Maryland and Massachusetts. The company is No. 37 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2023 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America. PG also named Wegmans a Top Regional to watch in 2023 and one of this year's 10 Most Sustainable Grocers.
