food markets inc. type private family business industry grocery founded 1916 ; 100 years ago 1916 as rochester fruit and vegetable company rochester new york u.s. founder john wegman walter wegman headquarters rochester new york u.s. number of locations 89 stores 2016 1 2 area served mid atlantic states new england key people danny wegman chairman and ceo colleen wegman president revenue 7 billion 2013 3 4 5 owner danny wegman number of employees 58 000 2013 website www.wegmans.com wegmans food markets inc. nicknamed weggies citation needed is a privately held american regional supermarket chain headquartered in gates new york near rochester . 6 7 wegmans has 89 stores 1 in the mid atlantic and new england regions in new york pennsylvania new jersey maryland massachusetts and virginia . founded in 1916 in rochester wegmans has appeared on fortune s annual 100 best companies to work for list since the list first appeared in 1998 and has ranked among the top 10 for eight consecutive years . 8 food network recognized it with its award for best grocery store in 2007 9 and consumer reports ranked it the top large u.s. grocery chain in 2012 10 and in 2014 . 11 it was also profiled as part of here are the jobs segment on msnbc s politicsnation on july 6 2012 . 12 contents 1 history 2 operations 3 chase pitkin home and garden centers 4 exit from tobacco products 5 wegmans brand 6 references 7 further reading 8 external links history edit map of wegmans stores . wegmans is a privately owned company founded in 1916 by john and walter wegman as the rochester fruit and vegetable company . wegmans is headquartered in the rochester suburb of gates . danny wegman is ceo . his daughter colleen wegman is president ; his other daughter nicole wegman is vice president of restaurant operations . his father robert who died in 2006 was chairman . robert was the son of co founder walter wegman . during his life robert wegman distinguished himself as a pioneer in the retail food business as well as a generous donor to educational institutions and other charities . 13 14 in 1968 the chain expanded beyond the rochester area with a store in syracuse 15 and again in 1977 with its first buffalo store . 15 the first store outside new york opened in 1993 in erie pennsylvania 15 and the expansion continued into new jersey in 1999 15 virginia in 2004 and maryland in 2005 . 15 16 as a part of the company s continued expansion efforts wegmans opened its fifth maryland location in columbia on june 17 2012 . 17 its sixth maryland location opened in crofton on october 28 2012 followed by a germantown location on september 15 2013 . 18 wegmans opened a store at the montgomery mall in north wales pennsylvania on november 3 2013 the first store to be part of a shopping mall since the closing of the midtown plaza store in rochester . 19 20 wegmans having long planned to expand into new england 21 22 opened their first store in that region in northborough massachusetts on october 16 2011 . 23 24 2014 saw wegmans opening two more massachusetts stores in newton on april 27 25 and in burlington on october 26 . 26 its fourth massachusetts store opened in westwood on october 11 2015 . 27 the newest store in the chain opened in owings mills maryland in september 2016 28 and additional stores are scheduled to open in charlottesville virginia in fall 2016 medford massachusetts in 2017 natick massachusetts in 2018 and hanover township new jersey in 2017 and lancaster pennsylvania in 2018 . 29 seven other locations are currently in the works including one in brooklyn new york the chain s first location in new york city with opening dates yet to be determined . lease negotiations are also under way for a possible store in cary north carolina . 2 wegmans currently offers a pick up service called personal shopping at its pittsford location in rochester ny and at its bridgewater location in bridgewater nj . while there are currently no plans to offer a home delivery service wegmans has stated you can be assured that we re always looking for new ways to make wegmans a great place to shop and save . so it s not to say that we would never again consider home delivery it s just not planned for the foreseeable future . 30 on january 30 2016 wegmans celebrated its 100th anniversary . 31 operations edit a modern wegmans storefront circa 2010 . this wegmans is in lanham a washington suburb referred to as the woodmore store the second wegmans in maryland exterior of a typical wegmans in the style common in the late 1990s ; in amherst new york at the alberta drive location . a wegmans store in manalapan new jersey in 2009 wegmans ranked number 29 on the supermarket news list of the top 75 north american food retailers based on sales volume 32 up from number 32 on the 2007 supermarket news list 4 and 7th among privately held u.s. supermarkets . citation needed in 2009 stores magazine showed it to be the 74th largest retailer in the united states with estimated revenues of 4.67 billion 33 as of 2006 it was the 66th largest privately held company as determined by forbes . 34 on forbes s 2005 list wegmans ranked 54th . 35 most of wegmans newer stores are of the superstore or megamarket type with a large area a variety of foods aimed at an upscale clientele and in many stores market caf in store dining areas . wegmans used to own and operate tastings a restaurant at its pittsford new york store that offered patrons three distinct eating areas . citation needed tastings has closed replaced with the food bar a seafood shack styled restaurant in the same space and is now the burger bar which serves hamburgers . next door bar and grill a stand alone restaurant operated by wegmans opened across the street from the pittsford store . in january 2007 wegmans announced two business ventures 1 opening a 19 000 sq ft 1 800 m2 liquor store in pittsford adding to its two existing wine centers in virginia and new jersey ; and 2 the creation of a 28 million culinary innovation center in chili new york a corporate research and development facility that will house a new central kitchen replacing some of the operations at its meat center . 36 the liquor store opened in april 2008 as century pittsford wines . it is not owned by the company but independently owned directly by a member of the wegman family due to new york liquor laws . the store is 45 000 sq ft 4 200 m2 . 37 38 this business model has been replicated at three other new york wegmans locations in buffalo dewitt and johnson city . ownership of each liquor store is held by different members of the wegman family due to new york state regulations prohibiting individuals from owning multiple liquor stores . 39 in november 2010 walgreens filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against wegmans claiming the w in the wegman s logo is too similar to walgreens . 40 the lawsuit was settled in april 2011 with wegmans agreeing to discontinue use of its w logo by june 2012 although the supermarket retains the right to use the wegmans name in script . 41 according to jo natale wegmans director of media relations the cost of making relatively minor changes to a limited number of products was much less than the cost of litigating this case to the end . 42 chase pitkin home and garden centers edit wegmans was the parent company of chase pitkin a regional home improvement retailer . on october 4 2005 wegmans announced that it would close all chase pitkin stores by early 2006 43 and focus on its supermarket operations . the decision to exit the home improvement business was reportedly due to the increasing dominance of national chains such as lowe s and the home depot . 43 chase pitkin stores closed individually at various points throughout march 2006 . exit from tobacco products edit in january 2008 wegmans announced that it would no longer sell tobacco products because of their negative effects on human health and the environment . 44 and would offer smoking cessation programs to all employees . 45 the decision drew praise from the american lung association of new york state who presented wegmans with the lung champion award . 45 wegmans brand edit wegmans began branding its products in 1979 offering basic commodities with a lower price than the national brands . the wegmans brand has gradually expanded . in 1992 it began a line of health products food you feel good about . the next sub brand to be launched was italian classics . in 1995 wegmans introduced its imported pastas canned tomatoes and olive oils . many of the products are from italy . in 2002 wegmans launched a line of organic products . wegmans six dollar meals are now one of its most popular items in the prepared foods section . the wegmans brand has been used extensively in the american sitcom the office ; the program is set in the city of scranton pennsylvania which does in fact have a wegmans store despite being filmed in suburban los angeles . 46 47 references edit a b store locator . gates new york wegmans . retrieved january 20 2016 . a b the news & observer wegmans seeks to open first nc grocery store near cary towne center by ethan hyman january 19 2016 retrieved jan. 20 2016 . company profile from hoover s a b 2007 top 75 north american food retailers company overview gates town monroe county new york . u.s. census bureau . retrieved on january 20 2011 . contact us . wegmans food markets . retrieved on january 20 2011 . wegmans food markets 1500 brooks avenue po box 30844 rochester ny 14603 0844 . perry kate january 22 2009 . wegmans paychex make fortune list of best employers . democrat and chronicle . retrieved january 22 2009 . dead link and the winner is wegmans press release . wegmans . april 16 2007 . retrieved october 22 2008 . herbert geoff . wegmans named best supermarket by consumer reports ; walmart one of the worst . the post standard . syracuse.com . retrieved april 3 2012 . deutsch lindsay . wegmans tops supermarket survey ; wal mart ranks last . usa today . usa today . retrieved 2014 08 28 . here are the jobs from msnbc july 6 2012 robert wegman innovation and integrity . storebrandsreviewed . retrieved march 27 2015 . robert wegman 87 leader in supermarket innovations dies . the new york times . associated press . april 22 2006 . a b c d e history . wegmans . retrieved january 1 2010 . wegmans company overview . http baltimore.cbslocal.com 2012 06 17 new wegmans opens in columbia http newstores.wegmans.com debree crissa shoemaker november 17 2011 . wegmans montgomeryville store the chain s first at a mall . the intelligencer . retrieved november 29 2011 . connor jennifer november 3 2013 . montgomery mall s wegmans store opens big . the reporter . retrieved november 5 2013 . westwood oks liquor license for proposed wegmans . the patriot ledger . may 7 2008 . retrieved january 4 2010 . abby jordan january 27 2009 . the loop in northborough in the market for a wegmans . the metrowest daily news . retrieved january 4 2010 . uek kathy october 17 2011 . opening of northborough wegmans is a grand affair . metrowest daily news . retrieved october 19 2011 . bradley michelle . wegmans manager