Wegmans may open on the Upper West Side
Photo of the Wegmans at Astor Place. Courtesy of Wegmans
Wegmans may be continuing its foray into Manhattan with a new space on the Upper West Side. As first reported by the New York Post, Danny Wegman, chairman of the Rochester-based grocery store, recently signed a long-term lease for the former 58,900 square foot space of Bed Bath & Beyond at 1932 Broadway between 64th and 65th Streets. While the exact amount Wegman paid for the space isn’t known publicly, sources told the Post that it was a “blended $3.5 million.”
Although a Wegmans representative told the Post that the space was leased by Wegman as a “personal investment” with no “immediate plans to open a [Wegmans] store at that location,” Beth Rosen, the real estate agent who oversaw the deal, confirmed that a Wegmans supermarket will be opening up at the location, according to I Love the Upper West Side.
It’s great news for everyone,” Rosen told the Upper West Side blog. An opening date is not yet known. Rosen added: “It’s uncertain. They have a lot of work to do. But as soon as possible.”
The exact concept and offerings of the new store are also not known, but Rosen told the blog the new supermarket will feature a sushi area. It will be interesting to see how the new storefront will differ from Wegman’s Astor Place location, which opened to much fanfare at 770 Broadway in October, and the Brooklyn Navy Yard store, which opened in 2019.
According to the Post, the UWS location had caught the eye of Danny Wegman before the Astor Place location became available last year. When it didn’t work out, the grocery store chain moved forward with signing the lease for 770 Broadway, Mandee Puleo, a spokesperson for Wegmans, told the Post.
The former Bed Bath & Beyond space shut down in 2023 but left behind its elaborate “vertical transportation” system, including two large elevators, and a specially designed cart conveyer that transports shopping carts between floors, according to the Post. The multi-level space features a 24,000-square-foot cellar with an 18.5-foot-high ceiling, a subcellar of 23,452 square feet with a 22.5-foot-high ceiling, and an 8,777-square-foot mezzanine.
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