A Evening At Wegman's

Last weekend my boyfriend and I checked out the new Wegman's in Burlington, partly motivated out of my nostalgic memories of Wegman's in Rochester in my childhood. There the store evolved in the 70's from a regular store to a high end supermarket with grocery dioramas with fancy names like "Olde Worlde" featuring gourmet foods like aged cheeses, dried meats, and preserves. The first thing we noticed was the covered enclosed parking lot, shielding us from the snowfall that evening, making this supermarket resemble a high end department store.

I didn't see the fancy food displays with polished wood produce stands I recalled from my childhood, but there was a large food bar with a seating area for dining on two levels, and an escalator leading to restrooms on the second floor. The sprawling store was unusually quiet, and not too crowded that evening.

We explored the meat section and deli, finding some high end options like dry aged steak, and a very large section of marinated meats, and pre-sliced deli meats, as well as a large liquor section. We didn't want to spend an extended period of time there on our first visit, so we decided to seek out the specific items I was looking for: cat food and tea, and mulling spices. Here we were pleasantly surprised. I was able to find Purina Cat Chow Complete for $3.99 for a 3.15lb bag, almost half of the price it is at other grocery food chains, so I had to buy two bags! I was also able to buy a 12 pack of Fancy Feast cat food for $6.59. I also found crystal cat litter for only $5.99 for 4lbs. Usually crystal cat litter is sold in 8lb containers for about $15.99, and can only be found in pet stores or online, not in the average grocery store. Crystal cat litter has a special dessicant that absorbs moisture from pet waste. I like to mix it with clumping litter, which can be extremely heavy used on its own. This was a bargain price, so again I had to buy 2. Another coup in the pet supplies was the Wegman's brand of clumping litter. I bought a 21lb container for only $6.19.

When we looked for tea we found a cornucopia of high end brands, most often found in gourmet boutiques, cafes, and health food stores: Tazo, Stash, Tea Forte, Tulsi, and Republic of Tea, as well as some of the average brands like Constant Comment, Celestial Seasonings and Lipton, in a variety of exotic flavors. I bought the Tulsi Cinnamon Rose tea, Celestial Seasonings Red Zinger, and Constant Comment (a childhood favorite). They didn't have mulling spices in the store, unfortunately.

We were pleased with the bargains we found, but for our average shopping needs Market Basket still has better bargains for meat and produce, though Wegman's is now my number one choice for pet supplies and tea. The store is so large I'm sure there are more treasures waiting to be discovered by discerning shoppers.