Wegmans To Open First Manhattan Store In Former Kmart
Wegmans is coming to Manhattan.
The beloved supermarket chain signed a 30-year, 82K SF lease at Vornado Realty Trust's 770 Broadway in Greenwich Village, where budget department store Kmart has long operated a space.
“This is something we’ve been dreaming about and working toward for a long time,” Wegmans Food Markets President and CEO Colleen Wegman said in a release. “You can feel that energy returning to the city, and we are thrilled to be a part of it.”
The store, set to open in 2023, will span two floors in the 15-story, 1.2M SF building beneath office space occupied by Facebook and Oath.
“We are delighted to be part of bringing the beloved Wegmans to Manhattan,” Vornado Chairman and CEO Steven Roth said in a statement. “Wegmans is one of a kind and will be a best-in-class addition to Manhattan, both for the local neighborhoods and as a destination for residents from across the island.”
Wegmans bought Kmart's corporate owner, Transformco, out of its lease in order to close the deal, according to broker Ripco Real Estate. Kmart has been at the address near Astor Place since 1996; it shuttered permanently earlier this month.
Once a prolific chain store within locations throughout the country, Kmart only had a couple of dozen stores left, Forbes reported in March 2020. Meanwhile, Wegmans has only grown in popularity.
Founded in upstate New York in 1916, the family-owned chain currently has 106 stores down the East Coast, in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, Virginia and North Carolina, according to its website.
Known for its massive floor plans and buffet market, it is considered the most popular grocery store in America according to a variety of consumer surveys, including Market Force Information survey. Last year, it brought in $10.8B in sales, up from $7.9B in 2019.
This would be the second Wegmans in the five boroughs — the grocer opened a 74K SF store near the Brooklyn Navy Yard at 21 Flushing Ave. in 2019. Ripco's Gene Spiegelman brokered the deal for both Wegmans and Vornado.
