The moment most of us have been waiting for (even if we didn't know it)

After several years of deprivation, the long-awaited grand opening of Wegmans Extremely Large Why-Would-You-Want-to-Shop-Anywhere-Else Supermarket (and No, There Is No Apostrophe In Our Name) was finally held in our area this past weekend, although we haven't actually been there yet. Apparently we and a few neighbors are the ONLY people within a 350-mile radius who haven't been there yet ("In local news, four persons from the Baltimore area were conspicuously absent today from the grand opening of Wegmans...").


We know only what we have heard from other sources, namely, that the new Wegmans is "gigantical." It has a designated parking garage, with two levels, to accommodate eager shoppers. For those of us who may harbor an abhorrence of parking garages, at present there are no alternative  arrangements, other than something involving llamas and a primitive type of snowshoe. (Wegmans is apologetic that it cannot be responsible for the llamas letting off customers at some great distance from the store entrance.)


If you have never been to a Wegmans, or indeed have never heard of it, it is properly referred to as "an experience." Popular activities include eating in the cafe from one of the many prepared food stations, strolling around with coffee in hand and drooling over the baked goods in the bakery, getting lost and being forced to eat both breakfast AND lunch there, etc. I believe, based solely on rumors, that you can also buy groceries there, although this has not been independently confirmed. You may need some special type of permit or something.


The Hero was inclined to go on opening day, which I figured would be somewhat like visiting it when an important dignitary was scheduled to make an appearance ("The Pope will now bless the Rosemary Foccacia just coming out of the ovens"). I'm sure the employees have been preparing for this day for months by attending special classes ("Embracing chaos," "How to salvage icing from a trodden-down cake display," "Judo in the application of crowd control"). 


The opening of Wegmans has likely caused some consternation among the other local grocery stores, all of which pale in comparison to it but which nevertheless have their charms. I'm sure these charms will become clear at some point.


I will definitely have more to say about Wegmans, and some eyewitness facts to pass along, as soon as I have a chance to go. I just have to locate a llama and some snowshoes.