Timeline unclear for Wegmans opening in Cranberry Township
The announcement earlier this week that Wegmans would be entering the Western Pennsylvania market sparked plenty of excitement among Butler County residents, but there’s no timeline for when the supermarket would open.
Officials from the grocery store chain chose Cranberry Township as the site of its first location in the Greater Pittsburgh Metropolitan Area.
A Wegmans spokesperson said Wednesday, Jan. 15, the process to get a store up and running takes anywhere from two to three years.
Despite meeting with executives from Wegmans this week, Cranberry Township officials don’t have an exact timeline as of now for when the company would break ground on the new store.
“The most that we’ve gotten is that they’re looking to move as quickly as possible,” said township manager Dan Santoro. “I don’t know what that means in their world, so it’s hard for me to say. They’ve got an approval process to get through here, and then they have to obviously build the building.”
The store will be located on 13 acres on Cool Springs Drive in close proximity to the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex.
Wegmans senior public relations coordinator Marcie Rivera said Wednesday it takes about 12 months to get the approvals to break ground on a new store. She also noted that from that point, it takes anywhere from 12 to 15 months to actually build the store and open it.
That would put a tentative timeline for the store’s grand opening to be sometime in late 2027, although Rivera couldn’t confirm that date.
“Things can happen, so we haven’t put a date on it at this point,” she said.
It hasn’t stopped local residents from praising the decision, especially those who have visited one of the other 19 locations in the state.
“I’m excited,” said Ruth McCarrier, of Butler. “We’ve shopped at Wegmans in our travels. It’s a nice store.”
Wegmans will compete directly with other local store chains throughout the region that most notably include Walmart, Giant Eagle, Aldi, Whole Foods and Costco.
“I feel it’s a needed addition to the grocery store options,” said Butler resident April McKee. “I always looked at Wegmans as the Disney World of grocery stores.”
The store will also boost the local economy in other ways. According to a Wegmans news release, officials plan to hire 400 to 500 employees, most of them being local.
“As far as jobs, Wegmans is a wonderful company to work for,” McKee said. “They surpass other grocery stores in their treatment of their employees and benefits. I worked for Wegmans when I was 16 as my first job in upstate New York. I feel they are a welcome addition to the community for sure.”
