Wegmans Opens Its First Washington, D.C., Store

Wegmans Food Markets on Wednesday opened its first Washington, D.C., location, transforming the former headquarters of mortgage association Fannie Mae into an 84,000-square-foot supermarket.

The opening expands on Rochester, N.Y.-based Wegmans’ existing 107-store footprint in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland, Massachusetts and North Carolina.

The fast-growing grocery retailer also has plans to open its first store in Delaware this fall, along with a new location in Reston, Va., early next year.

The Wisconsin Avenue market in D.C. employs 450 people and has 13 full-service registers and 22 self-checkout lanes, along with 160 indoor and outdoor seats for on-premise dining at Wegmans’ Burger Bar, Pizza Shop, sub and salad station, sushi kitchen, coffee shop, soup bar, and Asian-foods self-serve area.

Customers can also order Wegmans’ prepared meals for delivery and catering.

The store features an online shopping service with curbside pickup, as well as the SCAN app that allows customers to scan and bag their groceries for a contactless experience.

The new Wegmans also has an extensive liquor, beer and wine selection, with more than 500 beers, 500 spirits and some 1,500 wines.

Wegmans' Washington, D.C. employees / Photo courtesy Wegmans

In the produce department, Wegmans works with local growers to source seasonal offerings. The Wegmans Organic Farm & Orchard in Canandaigua, N.Y., experiments with organic crops and growing techniques.

“I love it,” Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said during a tour, according to local media reports. ”I think people are going to really appreciate all of the prepared and ready-to-go options.”

Late last month, Wegmans agreed to pay $400,000 and upgrade its security practices following a widespread data breach that exposed the personal information of more than 3 million customers across the country, according to a settlement announced by New York Attorney General Letitia James.