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'A grocery store on steroids': Charlotte's first Wegmans opening next week. Posted: Oct 9, 2026 / 08:15 AM EDT Updated: Oct 9, 2026 / 08:15 AM EDT CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) - The wait is almost over for a highly anticipated grocery store opening in Ballantyne. Charlotte's new Wegmans supermarket opens at 9 a.m. next Wednesday. "I always call it a grocery store on steroids. It's insane," said Joey Dee, a Wegmans superfan originally from Buffalo, New York. Wegmans invited media outlets and select shoppers to take their first steps inside Thursday. Dee wore his Buffalo Bills jersey to the visit, and it can feel like Wegmans has as much of a fan following as any sports team. "This is my first time," said Stephanie Cook. "I'm obsessed. I love it. I might join the cult soon, I don't know." It was also the first time in a Wegmans for Angelina Khang and her boyfriend. "The interior is very different from any groceries that we've been to," she said. "It almost feels like you escaped into a different part of the world and you're stepping out of Charlotte Ballantyne." The building is 112,000 square feet, which is about 2.5 acres or just under the size of two full football fields. Wegmans served samples on Thursday of foods like butternut squash, spicy sausage rigatoni, and chocolate cake. "We started in 1916 as a produce stand, and we have evolved into the supermarket chain that we are," said J.P. Prinzivalli, the service-area manager. "I like to say we are a people company that happens to sell food." Store managers are aware that there will likely be many people next week lining up overnight and tailgating for the grand opening. Prinzivalli says they welcome it as long as there are no campers in the parking lot. "We're pretty fanatical," Dee said of his fellow Wegmans enthusiasts. "It wouldn't surprise me if a bunch of Bills fans are out there breaking tables in the parking lot Tuesday night."

Hilton Apple Fest returns for weekend fall celebration. Posted: Oct 3, 2026 / 12:52 PM EDT Updated: Oct 3, 2026 / 12:52 PM EDT HILTON, N.Y. (WROC) - Hilton Apple Fest is back this weekend to celebrate autumn and the area's apple harvest. Those who attend will be able to try a variety of apple treats and meet local apple growers. The festival will be held Saturday from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. and on Sunday from 10 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Monroe County and Wegmans teamed up with the Village of Hilton to put Apple Fest together this year. Dozens of artisans from across the Rochester region will sell handmade arts and crafts. Live entertainment from local favorites The Real News, Hot Wire, Joey Stempien Big Band, Groove Project Duo, Beatlemagic, Dark Horse, The Sideburns, Natalie Poole, Lifted, and Shari Ratka will be in attendance. The event will have fun for children of all ages including a climbing wall, Corey's Apple Pond where kids can fish for an apple, and entertainment at the Kids Korner. The Fest's Auto Show will close out another season for many automotive enthusiasts on Saturday. This year's competition will celebrate Low Riders with awards at 4 p.m. Free parking and shuttle service, including access parking and shuttle service, is available at Hilton High School at 400 East Avenue in Hilton.

'Epicenter of grocery wars' in Charlotte: What Wegmans' arrival means for shoppers. October 3, 2026 5:00 AM Gift Article As Wegmans Food Markets prepares to debut its first Charlotte store in Ballantyne, retail experts and industry analysts say the opening marks a major shift in the region's competitive $10.8 billion grocery market. The Rochester, N.Y.-based grocery chain will open its 110,000-square-foot store at 9 a.m. Oct. 14 at 11550 N. Community House Road in Ballantyne. The grocer has a sort of cult-like fanbase, including a Facebook page called Bring Wegmans to Charlotte with 9,000, some of whom are already making plans to tailgate overnight for the 9 a.m. opening. "This to me is like the epicenter of the grocery wars, and we get a front-row view to how this is going to change and challenge some of the incumbents in the market," said Jared Meisel, managing partner at Charlotte-based retail brand consultancy Theory House. At the store's groundbreaking last year, Tim Goldbach, a fan of the grocery chain, vowed to in the parking lot at 2 a.m. before the opening. He's not alone. Others have been talking about tailgating for the 9 a.m. opening, including Linda Easterly who said on Lake Wylie Community Hub's Facebook page that her friend told her: "Bring your jammies." The problem, Goldbach said recently on the Bring Wegmans to Charlotte Facebook page, is all the great tailgate food is in the store. While retail market entries often generate temporary buzz, Meisel expects Wegmans will have a lasting impact across south Charlotte and the region where there are nearly 740 grocery stores. Just last month, Wegmans signed an agreement to purchase property in Cornelius for a second location in the Lake Norman area. The family-owned grocery chain has plans to open three to five stores since announcing two years ago it was coming to south Charlotte. Wegmans targeting established market share. While low-cost grocers like Food Lion, Walmart and Aldi capture value-driven shoppers, Wegmans is positioned to challenge mid-to-premium brands - most notably Matthews-based Harris Teeter, Meisel said. "I think it's going to be Harris Teeter," he said regarding who stands to lose the most market share. "They're going after the same shopper that cares about value but is looking for a little bit more." Wegmans is already putting its competitive strategy on display. Direct mail flyers sent to Charlotte homes in the south Charlotte area feature basket price comparisons against local grocers Food Lion and Harris Teeter, asserting competitive value on store-brand essentials alongside its premium offerings. Supporting its advertisement, a recent price check comparison by the Observer's sister newspaper News & Observer found Wegmans' basket of 30 items was the fifth least expensive behind Aldi, Lidl, Walmart and Trader Joe's. Wegmans total cart price beat out competitors Target, Food Lion, Carlie C's, Publix, Whole Foods, Lowes Food and Harris Teeter. Supermarket analyst Phil Lempert says Wegmans will attract high-value, loyal shoppers across all local supermarket chains, including Harris Teeter. "It's not about stealing from a particular chain," Lempert said. "It's about stealing the shopper that cares about food, that wants to have an enjoyable shopping experience. What they're really going to lose is their best shoppers." Lessons from Wegmans' expansion in Raleigh. After Wegmans made its North Carolina debut with its first store in Raleigh, it grabbed more market share than stores like Publix, Lowes Foods and Whole Foods, according to a review of sales tracking firm Chain Store Guide's annual reports. In 2020 - before Wegmans was listed in the report - Publix ranked sixth with six stores and 4.3% of Raleigh's market share, followed by Lowes Foods with 14 area stores and 4.2%. The next year, Wegmans, with three area stores, ranked fifth capturing 5.1% of customers' dollars. Lowes Foods ranked ninth maintained 4.3% of market share, while Publix slipped to No. 10 slightly to 4%. Wegmans slipped to No. 7 in the Raleigh area last year, according to the latest report. In total for the Triangle area, Wegmans four stores generated $485 million last year. Publix pulled ahead of Wegmans with $558 million but has three times the number of stores, 13 in the greater Triangle area. Still, one Wegmans store in the Chatham, Durham, Orange and Person area with $121 million in sales outranked Whole Foods, Publix and Lowes Foods - each with two stores - by 32%, 34% and 102%, respectively. Like Charlotte, the Raleigh market is dominated by Walmart, Harris Teeter and Food Lion. Across the Triangle area markets, total grocery store sales was nearly $9 billion last year. "Driving to the Raleigh area for my 'Wegmans' fix got tiring!," Lisa Davis said on the Charlotte fan Facebook page. "Anyone that's never been to a Wegmans has no idea what they're in store for." Wegmans choice to build its first store in south Charlotte appears carefully calculated. Meisel said census and market data show that nearly 17% of Ballantyne residents were born in the Northeast, so shoppers are familiar with the brand. That includes the city of Charlotte with many northern transplants coming from New York. It was the community's enthusiasm that prompted Wegmans' first-ever online survey ahead of entering a new market. What they wanted most is a taste of upstate and western New York. To further mark the occasion, Charlotte custom shop Big Frog is selling T-shirts and sweatshirts that say "Wegmans, the wait is over" to mark the opening. "It's not just a grand opening, it's a grand welcoming," Evelyn Harris said on the Bring Wegmans to Charlotte Facebook page. Shoppers win with more grocery competition. For local shoppers, increased grocery competition is beneficial for pricing and store experience, industry experts say. Competitive pricing is one expected outcome as grocers fight to defend market share, Meisel said. Additionally, existing chains are likely to respond by upgrading facilities, expanding loyalty perks and enhancing prepared food options. Last month, Harris Teeter announced a $253 million plan to modernize stores and expand. Salisbury-based Food Lion recently spent $484 million renovating 153 Charlotte-area stores. Even retail giants like Target and Walmart stores in the Charlotte region have been undergoing recent remodels as part of multi-million dollar renovations nationwide. Wegmans also sets itself apart from other traditional grocers in size and experiential store design. At nearly double the size of a standard supermarket, the location features dedicated cheese counters, specialty bakeries, and expansive prepared-meals and restaurant concepts, Meisel said. Unlike typical neighborhood supermarkets that draw from a 2-to-3-mile radius, Wegmans stores regularly pull customers from an 8-to-10-mile area, Meisel said. "If Wegmans can win the time budget, that's going to pay off," Meisel said. "In the end, the consumer wins." Wegmans culture built on employee training and food experience. Both Meisel and Lempert said Wegmans' foundational focus on employee development and workplace culture are key reasons that drive its loyal customer base. While some competitors pull back on staff development due to industry turnover, grocers like Wegmans and Publix treat employee training as an essential investment to reduce churn and deliver a distinct customer experience. "It comes back down to the philosophy of Danny and Colleen Wegman, which is to train and treat their employees really well, and that comes across when you come into the store," Lempert said. "At Wegmans, it's really their profession." Colleen Wegman has been president and CEO since 2017, while Danny Wegman is chairman. With feature offerings like food hall-style dining areas, patio seating, and play spaces for children, Wegmans aims to increase the time customers spend inside the store. "The more minutes that someone spends in the store, the more money they're going to spend," Lempert said. "If you can slow down that shopping experience, you're going to fill that basket with more." The 110-year-old grocery chain has 115 stores in nine states and Washington, D.C. with more than 53,000 employees. The Charlotte store will have 450 full- and part-time employees. September 21, 2026 11:46 AM September 28, 2026 5:08 AM The Charlotte Observer Catherine Muccigrosso covers retail, banking and other business news for The Charlotte Observer. An award-winning journalist, she has worked for multiple newspapers in the Carolinas, Missouri and New York.