If you know, you know.
And if you don't? Well, the Women of Wegmans will teach you.
Standing outside of the entrance to Wegmans' newest location in Brooklyn, three women decked out in pink sweatshirts and strings of plastic pearls shouted greetings to every employee that walked through the set of automatic doors.
"Good morning! Good morning!" They wave enthusiastically, not bothered by the steady drizzle raining down. "Welcome to Wegmans, thank you for coming!"
They call themselves the Women of Wegmans: Paula Hopson-Stanley, Jill Greene and Susan Myers are three members of a small group of women from Maryland who have made it a point to be present at each new Wegmans opening for the last nine years.
And the opening of the Wegmans location at the Brooklyn Navy Yard was no exception.
The women were among thousands who flooded the opening of the Rochester-based chain's first New York City store on Sunday.
Shoppers, many western New York transplants living in the city, stood in the light rain waiting for the Sunday morning opening. Some even tailgated, Buffalo Bills style.
"We love Wegmans, we really do," Hopston-Stanley said. "Wegmans really is a destination. It's more than a grocery store."
Workers, who trained for months in New Jersey, applauded as the store opened, and they gleamed with pride at the sparkling new store. Wegmans announced four years ago it planned to open in Brooklyn; it will have more than 500 employees.
Many of the customers were already well acquainted with Wegmans and its popular delicacies, like its chocolate-chip cookies or over-stuffed subs.
But others were new, and that's where the Women of Wegmans came in.
Happy to help
Part of the fun, Myers said, is initiating new people into the world of Wegmans fandom.
Those who have never been to a Wegmans store before sometimes need a little advice in getting the full experience, and they're more than happy to help.
"Every year, there's a Wegmans virgin. Where's our Wegmans virgin?" Myers shouts, turning to look at the crowd behind her. She and Hopson-Stanley wave over a man waiting in line, coaxing him over to their group.
"There he is! Here's our Wegmans virgin," Myers said. "Please introduce yourself."
With a smile, he does: "Hi, I'm Andrew."
"Apparently I'm a virgin, which will be news to my children," he added, and all four roared with laughter.
It can be overwhelming when a new store opens and it's packed with customers, Myers said. And the Women of Wegmans are arguably experts — each comes prepared with their own strategy and goals for the shopping experience.
Jo Natale, Wegmans' director of media relations, said there's been maybe one or two store openings the Women of Wegmans have missed in the last decade.
"They are always first in line," Natale said. "They know all of our names. We always feel great when we get here and they're here — they're our good luck charm."
'They said we couldn't open a store in Brooklyn'
About twenty minutes before opening the store to the long line of eager shoppers waiting outside, Brooklyn store manager Kevin Cuff hopped up on a stack of pallets to address all of the employees.
The crowd filled the store's produce section, with people squished in between vegetable displays and leaning over stacks of strawberries and blueberries to get a good look.
"They said we couldn't open a store in Brooklyn. They said we couldn't find people in Brooklyn," Cuff said. "We found some pretty good ones."
The entire produce section erupted in applause.
"To the employees: Today is your day," Cuff said. "Many of you have been training for six, seven, eight months in New Jersey, away from your families, for this day. And it's here."
They kicked off the morning with a cheer, spelling out "Wegmans" together, and opened the doors right at 7 a.m. Shoppers poured in, smiling wide and holding up their phones to record the moment.
The 74,000-square-foot store blends in with the hipster Brooklyn Navy Yard scene — instead of Wegmans' signature brick facade and clock tower, the building is sleek and modern with thick steel beams, huge glass windows and a wooden facade behind the "Wegmans" sign.
The store is on the ground level, with several floors of office and light industrial space above. It carries more than 50,000 individual products, including 2,000 organic products and 300 varieties of cheese.
The store has an in-house bakery and also offers a wide selection of fresh fish, olives and craft beer.
There are several prepared foods sections that includes sushi, Asian cuisine, burgers and pizza, and a second-floor mezzanine with a dining space and a full bar that serves wine, beer and liquor.
Natale, who will retire from her position with Wegmans at the end of the year, said this will be her last store opening.
"We first announced this store in 2015," Natale said. "It seemed so far into the future. The fact that it's here is very exciting."
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'Wegmania'
Wegmans employees weren't alone in counting down the days until the Brooklyn store opened.
Shoppers with ties to upstate cities like Rochester, Syracuse and Buffalo flocked to the store, wearing Buffalo Bills gear and proudly mentioning their upstate ties to other shoppers waiting in line.
Wearing a blue shirt with "Wegmaniac" written across the front, Nicole Sandretto's jaw dropped as soon as she walked into the store. She was one of the first dozen people in line and waited a few hours to ensure her spot.
Her first Wegmans experience as a college student at Penn State University ruined all other grocery stores for her, she said.
On Sunday morning, she took a $30 Lyft ride from her home in the Upper West Side of Manhattan and waited patiently in the rain for her favorite grocery store to open.
Her Wegmaniac status is no secret, she said.
"I promised my parents and husband I would not make poor life choices to get here," she said with a smile. "I was also not supposed to show up before 6 a.m. My husband had a tough talk with me this week."
Other longtime Wegmans fans had a more relaxed approach, some coming specifically for the Wegmans chocolate chip cookies or the massive cheese selection.
And in honor of the Buffalo Bills game at Philadelphia on Sunday, two former Buffalo residents braved the rain and tailgate in the parking lot for the Wegmans opening.
Brad Orego and Jeff Pollock, who now both live in Brooklyn, set up a table and chairs shortly after the store opened. The light drizzle turned into a steady downpour, and a Wegmans employee loaned them a large umbrella.
Orego said a bunch of friends had originally planned to tailgate with them, but bailed at the last minute.
"Jeff and I are the only two idiots that are like, 'You know what? This is so ridiculous that we have to do it,'" Orego said. "It's Wegmans, right? It's definitely worth tailgating. What a better way to celebrate a Western New York establishment?"
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Where is it?
The store is located at 21 Flushing Ave. in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. It has nearly 700 parking spaces, and the store became Wegmans' 101st location when it opened Sunday.
While the Brooklyn location is the first Wegmans store in New York City, another New York City-area location will open next year in Harrison, Westchester County.
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What can I get there?
Almost anything you can get at any other Wegmans store, Natale said.
The Brooklyn store is modeled largely after the East Avenue store in downtown Rochester, she said.
"That experience taught us that we could offer the same customer experience in a smaller footprint," Natale said.
"We've really taken what typically is a suburban supermarket and shrunk it down into more of an urban model that will, more than adequately, serve the needs of customers."
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GSILVAROLE@Gannett.com
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