Columbia Wegmans to Open in Summer of 2012

Wegmans is on its way…really, it is.

According to Jeanne Colleluori, a Wegmans spokeswoman, the chain is hoping to open a Columbia store by summer of 2012. Approximate store space is 145,000 square feet with multi-level parking including ground level and a parking deck.

Customer elevators and cart escalators are also a part of the construction plans at the store's location on the 8800 block of McGaw Road.

The Columbia food market will total five Wegmans in Maryland--once the Bel Air store opens in September--and close to 80 in the country.

Columbia residents seemed truly “hyped” about the impending opening with lots of chatter on social networks.

Dan Finkelstein unashamedly admitted on a Facebook page devoted to celebrating the Wegmans entrance into the Columbia market: “I will not lie, we are basing our new home search pretty much solely by proximity to the Columbia Wegmans site.”

The group has 716 members, as of Friday.

Howard County's blog HowChow is among those locally following the store's progress closely, posting updates about who the store's new manager will be, and even joking about holding a "mass rally" at the Wegmans site on Valentine's Day 2011.

Wegmans, based in Gates, NY, opened its first store in 1916 as Rochester Fruits and Vegetables. It has enjoyed many accolades including consecutive annual high rankings on the prestigious Fortune Magazine’s Best 100 Companies to Work For list since the ranking began in 1998. In 2011, it ranked #3 on the Fortune list.

Wegmans officials have not provided any information on when the application process will begin for hiring employees. Colleluori said Wegmans wants to be further along in the construction process before beginning that stage.

“It’s very early in the process to provide any specific numbers. However, our experience tells us that a store of this size will be staffed by approximately 650 employees,” she says.