Specialty Food Magazine

Much of these offerings are overseen by David Lopatynski, the store's executive chef. Lopatynski "leads a team of more than 100 culinary employees, who prepare a full line of sandwiches, salads, soups, pizza, sushi, Asian- and Mediterranean- inspired cuisine, and a variety of packaged meal options," explains a spokesperson. The downstairs level of Wegmans feels in some ways more like a traditional supermarket. The produce department covers 17 percent of the store, and 30 percent of the produce is organic. A meat counter and cheese department feature an enormous range of cuts and products, as well as ready-to-cook or ready-to-marinade meals and sides. Aisles of packaged pantry items and a frozen food section are neatly arranged and easy to navigate. A sizable beer department features hundreds of domestic, craft, and imported brews. What you won't find at a traditional supermarket, however, is Wegmans fish market—or sakanaya—on the lower level. Every day, hundreds of species of fish are flown into the sakanaya from top seafood suppliers both domestic and international. One supplier is the Toyosu Fish Market in Japan, where Wegmans has an on-site "seafood selector," who picks only the freshest catch. Customers can ask Wegmans fishmongers to cut whole fish to their specifications, and staff even offer scheduled demos to watch them do it. Various cuts are packaged fresh every day for grab-and-go customers—from locally sourced striped bass to bluefish tuna from Spain to yellowstripe butterfish and sea urchin from Japan. Wegmans Astor Place is giving the competition at the nearby Whole Foods and Trader Joe's a run for their money thanks to the store's understanding of how New Yorkers, with their small kitchens and busy schedules, prefer to eat. Prices are comparable to these supermarket competitors. Wegmans "Meals 2Go" option delivers chef-prepared foods to customers who can't (or don't want to) visit the store, and online ordering is available as well. What's next for Wegmans? A second store in Manhattan is not yet in the works. But a restaurant, Next Door at Astor Place, is set to open sometime in 2025. Reportedly, the restaurant will be Japanese- themed and contain a champagne oyster bar, but that's unconfirmed. According to the spokesperson: "The menu, design, and construction schedule are still being completed." —E.C. customers are inspired by exceptional food," adds the spokesperson. A tour of the two-level store, filled with shoppers on a Sunday afternoon, confirms that Wegmans is succeeding. Go through the main entrance, and you're in the store's tempting (and massive) bakery department. Dozens of bins of fresh cookies sold by the pound give way to pastry counters and shelves of fresh-baked, artisan-style breads and rolls. Across from the bakery are distinct stations, where many of the store's 600 employees prepare and arrange premade meals. An Asian station features a huge selection of Chinese and other Asian food offerings, from dumplings of all kinds to vegetable lo mein, General Tso's chicken, and sesame ginger tofu with baby bok choy. The sushi station is also packed with takeout trays of freshly made sushi rolls and sashimi, plus a variety of poke bowls. "Our sushi and poke bowl offerings are very popular at Astor Place, and at all our stores," says a Wegmans spokesperson. "All of our sushi is made with no unnecessary artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives, and no gluten-containing ingredients." Stations devoted to mezze and pizza come next, followed by a wing bar, fresh soups, and salads, and an enormous variety of hot and cold sandwiches. Wegmans grab-and-go items have been top sellers, a company spokesperson says, as have the ready-to-cook entrees. Many of the grab-and-go options come in "family size," a smart move for New Yorkers with larger households or several roommates. Vegetarian and vegan options also abound. PHOTOS: GEORGE HAJJAR 18 SPECIALTY FOOD SPECIALTYFOOD.COM STORE TOUR

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