Collegeville Wegmans opening just grand

By the time several hundred Wegmans employees had massed inside the new Collegeville supermarket to perform the traditional opening-day cheer early yesterday morning, lines of shoppers already were snaking along two sides of the building.

Brian Hanlon of Pottstown had arrived with friend Peter Kuhn at 6 a.m. - an hour before the official 7 a.m. opening - so they could be the first to check out the baked goods and get a taste of the opening-day hoopla.

"We usually go to the Downingtown Wegmans, but this is closer," Hanlon said. "We're so excited this is opening."

"We have no life," Kuhn added and laughed.

This was no mere supermarket opening. It was a social phenomenon.

Moments after employees finished the cheer, using their arms to spell out Wegmans, an estimated 1,500 early risers poured into the massive store at Providence Town Center. They were greeted with whistles and applause by employees eager to show off the bins with 700 types of fruits and vegetables, trays of hand-sliced salmon, fresh-shucked oysters, artisan breads, and 400 cheeses.

As shoppers grabbed carts, employees handed out directories to help them navigate the 132,000-square-foot emporium, which includes a cafe, full-service restaurant, pharmacy, and Complements shop stocked with dishes, cookware, linens, food processors, and blenders.

"Openings are a big deal for us," said Jo Natale, a spokeswoman for the company based in Rochester, N.Y., that operates 74 stores from New York to Virginia.

Some devotees, she said, travel from opening to opening. Earlier this year a couple turned out for a store opening in Virginia with homemade T-shirts proudly proclaiming themselves "Wegmaniacs."

"It's not a term we use," Natale said and laughed.

While customers celebrated that the store at Routes 422 and 29 had opened at last, so did employees. At a time when the economy is still reeling, Wegmans is one of the few businesses that has created jobs.

A total of 550 employees were chosen from an applicant pool of 6,147.

"We look for folks who are passionate," said Lynn Franklin, Pennsylvania human resources manager. She said a team from the hiring office had conducted rounds of interviews before selecting the workers to stock shelves, oversee departments, prepare food, run the restaurant, and staff the cash registers.

Rebekah Huber, 61, counted herself lucky to be one of the chosen.

"It is kind of like having my shop again without the worries," said Huber, team leader of the Complements shop, who landed the job six months after closing Rebekah's Cupboard, a gift shop she operated in Lederach.

"It's funny because right before it closed, I said to my employees, 'I think I'm just going to close the business and work for Wegmans' as a joke. . . . But I knew it would be a perfect fit."

Havertown native Shawn White, 28, couldn't believe his good fortune when he was named team leader of the Pub, Wegmans first full-service restaurant.

"I was totally surprised," said White, who oversees the service at the restaurant. "I was very nervous because it had been such a long time since I had last worked."

Laid off from a hotel in Manhattan in November, White moved from North Jersey to Collegeville before landing the Wegmans job.

Through months of training that included visiting other Wegmans, White said he bonded with fellow employees and developed an unabashed enthusiasm for the company. He even helped lead the Wegmans cheer at the employee orientation.

Cheering, he said, "is not hard for me at all."

The throng of customers at yesterday's opening included Christine Benedict of Collegeville.

"I got here at 7 a.m., and I could not believe the lines," she said. "This is not just a grocery store. What can I say?"

Nicole Meissler drove from Manayunk with son Maddox, 22 months, in tow.

"I just love grocery stores," said Meissler, a dietitian who travels to Cherry Hill every week to shop at the Wegmans there. "This is farther, but it's bigger."

Peggy Krosskove of Towamencin ducked in to the store with friend Jeanne Kelly of Skippack to grab a few items before heading to church.

"I don't think I've ever been to a supermarket opening," Krosskove said as she munched a cheddar English muffin. "My husband thinks I'm crazy."

The roles were reversed in the Krawczyk household.

Chris Krawczyk said husband Ron had been doing the Wegmans cheer himself all weekend in their Collegeville home.

"He woke me up, and he wouldn't let me finish my second cup of coffee until we got here," she said.

Krawczyk was so happy Wegmans finally was opening he had decided to celebrate his 50th birthday by filling his shopping cart with sea bass and fresh pierogi.

"I'm going to spend my whole day here," he said with a satisfied smile. "For a 50th birthday, it's a good day."