This morning Wegmans announced the date it will finally open its doors, to the delight of those of us who have spent time in Wegmans stores in the past.
April 27 at 7am the doors the full store will be open.
Of course, you can get a preview of the Wegmans way when the wine shop opens on March 28.
Side note: I hear they’re going to have a decent selection of Kosher foods as well.
Yay!!
So now what happens in the dark comes to light! Newton’s Board of Alderman in supposedly saving a small Chestnut Hill wine shop disallowed Shaw’s from using one of the few wine licenses granted to them by the Commonwealth. That decision didn’t seem to mention the Wegman’s impact, did it? Now Shaw’s, having invested big dollars to redo their Chestnut Hill location gets squashed at a competitive disadvantage to a competitor across the street. The clear message to investor’s like Shaw’s is Newton is not a place they can trust. No one should feel comfortable about this — it increases each of our costs when stores don’t compete fairly Shameful
Does anyone know the reasoning for how Wegman’s got the wine shop license when Shaw’s was turned down?
Hoss, the Licensing Commission reviews and approves liquor licenses, not the Board of Aldermen.
Ald Hess Mahan — My comment was misdirected within Newton Gov’t and I apologize 24 times over. Sorry for that and thanks for the insight
For general gov’t interest; this Newton Licensing Commission seems to be a commission of three people? Since I screwed up my statement, I won’t guess if such three powerful persons are the appointees of the BoA, the Mayor or the voters. Three people can affect Newton’s place in commerce this much? Hundreds have been laid off at Shaws/Star for underperforming stores this last year. Newton said they rejected Shaw’s license because (1) there are enough wine sales on Boylston Street already and (2) that young cashiers shouldn’t sell wine even though they need to run a proof of age into it. Now an out of state Wegmans gets to play? What changed?
@ Hoss. What changed are that Chair Martina Jackson and Commissioner James Mitchell are no longer on the Board of Licensing Commissioners. They had voted 2-0 to deny Shaw’s/Star, with the other Commissioner, Kathleen McCarthy absent. They also cited proximity to Boston College and the ease of access that would afford to college drinkers as a 3rd reason to deny the license. McCarthy now chairs the Board along with Commissioners Dina E. Conlin and Gloria M. Gavris.
As I remember things, there’s a reason Trader Joes stores aren’t selling wine in Newton while very small stores (like in Waban on one on Needham Street) can. The rules are baked in favor of small outlets and against all others. So in favoring one large outlet over all others, we let three people select Wegmans. Nice. Our price of bread over town will certainly reflect that.
Sounds like it’s time for Shaw’s to reapply for the license. Is that a possibility?
Wegman’s is a fierce competitor even under the best of circumstances, probably unbeatable if they also have the built in advantage of a liquor store as well.
I look forward to see what all the hubbub is about.