Photography courtesy of ME Photo & Design LLC
At last!
Sometimes the impossible just takes a little longer. That’s the case for Wegmans’ new 123,000 sq. ft. King of Prussia store located at the intersection of North Gulph and North Warner Roads, which opened Sunday, May 6th.
It was 1996 when Wegmans first set its sights on one day opening a store in King of Prussia. There were 54 Wegmans stores, at the time, in two states (NY and PA), and just 5 of those stores were in Pennsylvania. The company identified the Greater Philadelphia area as an ideal place for what Wegmans was uniquely positioned to offer: incredible service and selection, restaurant-quality prepared foods, and low prices. In the years since, Wegmans has opened stores in South Jersey, and in Downingtown, Warrington, Collegeville, and Malvern, PA, patiently waiting for the time when a site would come together in King of Prussia.
Fast forward to 2012: There are now 80 Wegmans stores in six states, with 15 in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the list of places finally includes King of Prussia.
“It took a while for us to get here,” says King of Prussia Store Manager Kevin Lang, “so you can imagine how eager we were to open our doors to new shoppers and to those who have traveled the extra distance to shop at our other stores waiting for this one to open.” Within a 10-mile radius of the new store, there are already 64,000 people who have Wegmans’ Shoppers Club card, and new people are signing up every day on the King of Prussia store’s dedicated web site, according to Lang.
Lang and his team of 600 employees (550 new-to-the company) have been working for months to hire and train the best and get the place ready for what is expected to be a very successful 2012.
Executive Chef Chris Happel is part of that team. His focus: The Market Café, which seats 300 indoors and outdoors, including The Pub where food is served to order. “The Pub at this store has double the seating capacity of our other Pubs,” says Happel, “and includes a bar for more than 30 and booth and banquette seating for 80.” A first for Wegmans, debuting at this store, is an outdoor fireplace for dining al fresco.
Fun Facts about Wegmans King of Prussia
Opening Day: Sunday, May 6th
Store Number: 80th Wegmans Nationwide
Address: 1 Village Drive, King of Prussia
Hours of Operation: Open 24 hours, seven days a week
Employees: 600
Size: 123,000 square feet including a Market Café with indoor and outdoor seating for 300
Dining Al Fresco: Features Wegmans first outdoor fireplace
The Pub at Wegmans: The Pub is Wegmans popular full service restaurant within the Market Café. It is the region’s third, with sister locations in Collegeville and Malvern, and includes a bar with seating for more than 30. 80 additional booth and banquet seats are also available for table service.
Products: Over 70,000 compared to, on average, over 40,000 in most supermarkets
Produce: Up to 700 different fruits and vegetables on any given day; 100 or more are organic
Seafood: Delivered daily from ports around the country and around the world, the Day Boat Station displays fish brought in the same day it’s caught listing boat, captain names and port of landing.
Cheese Shop: 300 specialty and artisan cheeses produced domestically or imported from around the world
Beer: Up to two six packs for carry out or by the single serving; over 800 selections of domestic and imported beer
Catering Services: Wegmans has a full service catering department for your graduation party, summer entertaining, family celebration-you name it.
Additional Services: Pharmacy and Florist
