Wegmans sets groundbreaking date for long-awaited first Charlotte store
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Wegmans begins construction on its first Charlotte location, set to open in 2026.
- The Ballantyne store expects to hire 450 workers and generate 250 construction jobs.
- Wegmans enters a $10.4B grocery market led by Walmart, Harris Teeter and Food Lion.
Wegmans Food Markets is taking a much-anticipated, big step forward to opening its first Charlotte store with a groundbreaking planned for next week.
The over 110,000-square-foot Wegman’s Ballantyne store in Ballantyne will be the Rochester, New York-based company’s first location in Charlotte. The south Charlotte store at 11550 N. Community House Road is expected to open in fall 2026.
“This groundbreaking is a pivotal step forward as we prepare for opening day,” Wegmans Vice President of Real Estate and Store Planning Dan Aken said in a statement Monday. The Sept. 24 event is not open to the public.
After years of speculation and anticipation by Northeast transplants and others around town, the popular New York-based Wegmans last year confirmed plans to open a Charlotte store. Wegmans opened its first store in North Carolina five years ago in the Raleigh area.
The Charlotte store design has been finalized and received all of the necessary approvals, Aken said.
Wegmans has partnered with local general contractor, Frampton Construction Co., to assist with building the store. The project will create more than 250 construction jobs, Wegmans said.
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About Wegmans and the Charlotte grocery market
The 108-year-old, family-owned Wegmans supermarket chain has about 5,400 employees and 110 stores in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Delaware and Washington, D.C.
Wegmans plans to hire about 450 employees at the Charlotte store. The majority of hiring begins about six months from opening, Aken previously told The Charlotte Observer.
Along with traditional grocery options, the store will have a market café with indoor and outdoor seating.
Wegmans will face heated competition from nearly 730 grocery stores, including expansions by Publix and Sprouts Farmers Market, to capture a piece of the $10.4 billion market in the Charlotte region.
Discount giant Walmart has dominated the field for six years, followed by Matthews-based grocer Harris Teeter and Salisbury-based Food Lion.
This story was originally published September 15, 2025 at 2:57 PM with the headline "Wegmans sets groundbreaking date for long-awaited first Charlotte store."
