Suburban grocery heaven is taking root in the heart of Manhattan.

Wegmans has confirmed it is bringing its beloved aisles to the Upper West Side, a spokesperson revealed to West Side Rag on Tuesday. The premium grocer will take over 1932 Broadway, between West 64th and 65th streets — a prime space where teaser signage has hung for over two years.

The site originally housed Bed Bath & Beyond, which closed in early 2023 during companywide store reductions and bankruptcy proceedings. Wegmans signs went up in June 2024, but the storefront remained vacant.

Company spokesperson Mandee Puleo confirmed the grocer is actively designing the layout and securing municipal permits. While an official opening date remains up in the air, the store’s arrival is locked in.

The Upper West Side location will mark the chain’s second Manhattan store. Company reps noted in February that real estate negotiations with landlord Glenwood initially stalled at 1932 Broadway, prompting them to focus on opening their 87,000-square-foot location at 770 Broadway in Astor Place, which debuted in 2023.

Now that the Rochester-based grocer is established downtown, focus has pivoted back Uptown to finalize the UWS site.

“This means the Upper West Side store is expected to open?” West Side Rag asked Puleo to make the announcement clear.

“Yes. Just no timeline yet,” Puleo reportedly answered.

Yet weary locals remain deeply skeptical. Social media users are doubtful over whether the store will ever actually open, with one cynical Redditor calling it “a plan for a plan” and another predicting an opening date won’t come until 2030.

“The second coming of Christ has had fewer delays than this one,” sneered an Instagrammer.

“Let me get this straight. June 2024: signs are posted. It’s happening. Oct 2026: spokesperson confirms it’s happening. Feb 2029: do we get a date on when it’s happening?” commented another user.

Beyond the timeline cynicism, the store bringing neighborhood congestion and traffic is also concerning locals. 

“Noooo not this franchise on the West Side!” one alarmed commenter railed. “It’ll definitely attract too many people and cause so much chaos and traffic! This isn’t the East Side! I hope people boycott.”

Wegmans sole Manhattan location has faced backlash for its facial recognition system used to ID customers. “Wegmans … collects, retains, converts, stores or shares customers’ biometric identifier information which may include facial recognition, eye scans, voiceprints,” the store’s notices read.

It is unknown whether the new location will have the same systems.

While the new Wegmans design plans are underway, locals agree on one consensus: they’ll believe it when they see it.