There’s going to be a lot of perception about bait and switch, regardless of whether or not that’s true. I wonder how many of the commitments were based on Wegman’s?
All I can say is that I am glad that ITB got its Wegman’s, even if it’s a few miles drive from DT property.
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How big was this Wegmans supposed to be? 120k? Who else builds stores that size? Target for sure, but they have one just up the road at Crossroads already. Walmart has one at Waverly, also pretty close.
Publix is the obvious possibility, they don’t have a store anywhere nearby at all - but they are usually half this size. Maybe they’ll find a second retailer to occupy the other half of the site?
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Earth Fare! Kidding…
Publix seems like the only real option but they’re just like meh to me.
Yeah Publix seems the most logical replacement. Maaaaaybe Whole Foods decides to replace its Waverly Place store with a model similar to the North Forks Rd. location. I can’t think of any other chain that would have both the size and upscale reputation Fenton probably wants. Of course, this “interest” from other grocers might just be subterfuge.
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North Carolina’s first H-E-B?
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I laughed a few weeks ago when I saw on the news that H-E-B was out of brisket and chitlins during the winter freeze in Texas
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I’d love a Whole Foods, but I can’t imagine they’d do that with the other 2 so close. They just remodeled the Waverly Place one a couple years ago.
I can’t see Publix - they seem to always stick to their 45-60 sq ft model. Even their locations in Atlantic Station, a Fenton type development in Atlanta is a regular size. The one going up in Wendell Falls is also 48,000 sq ft. They may have to split the parcel up
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Aren’t most Whole Foods closer to 45-60k sq ft also ?
From what I’ve seen up here, they seem mostly like this. But, there are some huge ones in ATL. Midtown is close to 150k I believe. Kennesaw one (nearly 30 miles from downtown) is also huge. So I think they could be in play to take a large spot.
Statistics must say otherwise because pick-up and delivery service rates are picking up everywhere
I still think it was a lazy excuse from them though because they only have ~ 5 locations. Harris Teeter has what like +/-100 in Raleigh. Also this location was a in a destination spot so they could’ve been catching clients who would’ve never even thought to go to a wegmans. It just Seems a little short sighted on their part to me.
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Maybe this is an opportunity for a Giant Eagle Market District to come to town. They’d take up that space no problem.
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Agreed. It’s rife with intrigue. I’m in the camp that feels like the grocery game pendulum will swing back closer to pre-pandemic customer counts but they’re definitely hedging. Will be interesting to see what happens - I’d hope that Fenton pulls a rabbit out of this and introduces a new player to the local scene to drive interest / traffic. Stir those lemons into something tasty…
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what about a food hall or something to that effect? like a ponce city market or union market type anchor? just an open space with various vendors?
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How about an eataly?
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That would be goddamn amazing. But I see no chance of that. And now I’m extra sad lol
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If Raleigh ever gets a project like Ponce City Market, I’ll be a very happy resident! I do love that building and everything in it. Super cool.
For those not familiar: https://poncecitymarket.com/
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Jamestown who was behind adaptive use projects Ponce City Market, Chelsea Market and Ghirardelli Square is Grubb’s partner for Raleigh Iron Works
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