Johnson City Wegmans store gets $10 million in upgrades

A multi-million dollar modernization and improvement project is underway at the Wegmans store in Johnson City.

Demolition and construction work at the supermarket on Harry L. Drive began on January 3.

The project is designed to disrupt store operations as little as possible. Many patrons are likely unaware that the work is underway, as much of what is happening is in areas not seen by the public.

Store manager David Orlovsky said the Market Café will be expanded from around 140 seats to 210 seats.

A new kitchen will be added to provide greater efficiency and flexibility for future operations. A new restroom will be built on the west side of the store.

Orlovsky said the planned work is expected to cost between $10 million and $12 million.

The project is overseen by Scott Lundy of Johnson City. Lundy said the work should be finished by the end of August.

A 6,500 square foot addition was built on the northeast corner of the store last summer. This provided space for offices and a service area for employees. This also freed up space for the expanded cafe.

Orlovsky said longtime store manager Rich Gilbert developed the concept for the work in progress. Gilbert began working at the Johnson City store when it opened in August 1990. He died in April 2019.

When the expansion project is complete, the store will have 131,000 square feet of space. That makes it one of the largest locations for Rochester-based Wegmans, which now operates 106 stores in New York, Pennsylvania and five other states.

Orlovsky said the Johnson City store now employs about 650 people.

The images below give a glimpse of what’s happening at the Johnson City Wegmans store.

Johnson City Wegmans Expansion

Contact Bob Joseph, WNBF News reporter: bob@wnbf.com. For the latest story development news and updates, follow @BinghamtonNow on Twitter.

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