In October 2019, dozens of Wilmington-area residents filled the auditorium-style seating of the New Castle County Council chambers. They wore orange shirts that read, “SUPPORT BARLEY MILL,” in white, block lettering to advocate for the shopping center that would bring them Delaware’s first Wegmans grocery store.
“I was telling everyone I know,” said Kelley Zugger, one of the first customers in line when the store opened three years later. “I was shouting from the rooftops.”
The path to Delaware getting a Wegmans was long and winding. In the end, the New York-based company decided to bring its smaller format store to the intersection of Lancaster Pike and Centre Road where a DuPont office complex long sat. Here’s a look back at coverage from Delaware Online/The News Journal and a history of the company that sparks such loyalty from rabid “Wegmaniacs.”
• Wegmans has always navigated change. But these hurdles might be the toughest ones yet.: Beloved grocery chain Wegmans has come a long way from a single Rochester market a century ago. Its future path is lined with new challenges.
• Where will Wegmans expand next? For clues, see how its store sites have changed over time.: The mega-popular grocery chain causes excitement wherever it goes. Take a tour through its expansion over the past century.
• Delaware finally has its own Wegmans: The first customers arrived almost three hours early, heading a line of more than 150 people by the time Wegmans officially opened its first Delaware store. Before they were let in, staff huddled in the produce section for a W-E-G-M-A-N-S chat to mark the opening.
• A sneak peek inside Delaware’s Wegmans before its opening: At 84,000 square feet, the store is about 30,000 square feet smaller than the nearby Concordville, Pennsylvania store. “It flows really nice,” store manager Jared Fedor said. “The way it’s laid out, I think it’s really easy to shop.”
• Here’s what else is in the new Barley Mill Plaza and how it got approved: When Wegmans opened in October, a few businesses were already open in the four brown brick retail buildings next door. Thirty-three townhomes and 80 luxury flats will be built nearby, and construction of an office building is in progress.
• Does working at Wegmans live up to the hype? We asked Delaware employees: For 25 consecutive years, Wegmans has been listed on Fortune Magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” list, landing a No. 3 rank in 2022.
• With Wegmans in tow, what other grocery chains could come to Delaware?: An influx of grocery stores in recent years introduced Delawareans to rising brands such as Wegmans and Sprouts and expanded the presence of others like Aldi across the state. Who could be next?
• With Wegmans open, here is the ultimate grocery store guide for New Castle County: Hours, memberships, specialties and everything else you need to know about the grocery stores in northern Delaware.
