Wegmans expands to New York City, set to open new store at Brooklyn Navy Yard [Video]

wegmans

Wegmans on Rt. 57 in Liverpool

(Dick Blume | The Post-Standard)

Wegmans has set its sights on New York City. The beloved Rochester-based grocery chain has announced plans to open a location in Brooklyn by 2017.

The New York Times reports that the family-owned chain has selected a location at the Brooklyn Navy Yard for its first NYC store. The location was approved for a major redevelopment project on Tuesday.

The store will be Wegmans’ smallest location at just 74,000 square feet, but it will still outsize nearby competitors Fairway and Whole Foods by about 20,000 square feet. The Times reported that Wegmans’ affordable prices should appeal to residents of nearby housing projects, who have been hoping for a grocery store that isn’t a bodega or a green grocer for years.

Wegmans has committed to hiring local residents for its full-time positions, and promised to interview exclusively from three housing projects that border the Navy Yard during its first two weeks …