NEW YORK — From the moment shoppers enter the 87,500-square-foot Astor Place Wegmans — the Rochester, N.Y.-based grocer’s newest store — the fresh produce storytelling begins with a plentiful case devoted to cut fruit.
The Packer recently shopped the store as part of the New York Produce Show’s Manhattan retail tour on Dec. 7.
Located at 770 Broadway, the Astor Place store, which opened Oct. 18., offers an elevated shopping experience reminiscent of Harrods’ London Fresh Market Hall, a similarity Store Manager Kyle Butta confirmed on the tour; Harrods’ food hall was a source of inspiration for the Wegmans family in designing the Astor Place store, he said.
The store reflects the original architecture of the historic Wannamaker building, in which the grocer now stands. The produce department, which Wegmans’ representatives said accounts for 16% to 17% of the store, is just an escalator ride downstairs.
The Astor Place store is the grocer’s second in New York City following the 2019 opening of Wegmans Brooklyn. Store representatives say the location caters to shoppers riding the subway, as there is no parking lot associated with the store.
Since opening in October, Wegmans Astor Place has reconfigured several fresh cases adjacent to its celebrated “Sakanaya” department or fish market, with Asian vegetables. The cases were formerly dedicated to meat, but the popularity of the fresh fish department, which features fish flown in from Japan within 27 hours, has opened the door to cross-merchandising fresh produce accompaniments, Butta said.
When it comes to fresh juice sales, Wegmans’ Astor Place store is No. 1 in the company, a regional supermarket chain with 109 stores along the East Coast, Butta said.
One of the distinguishing characteristics of Wegmans’ Astor Place store is the presence of produce or floral in virtually every department in the store.
