Wegmans working on 10 new stores

• Most of the new stores will be located near large metropolitan areas outside of the state.
• Gates-based grocer also said it plans to grow in areas along its distribution network.

Sometimes it's hard to remember that Gates-based Wegmans Food Markets is a supermarket chain and not a celebrity of sorts.

When people want a celebrity to come to their town, they hit social media in search of kindred spirits.

The same goes for Wegmans.

In Wilmington, Delaware, a Facebook page with the name "We Want Wegmans in Wilmington" has attracted, as of Monday, 200 members.

The chat room was abuzz with word that Wegmans, though not in Delaware, is building a store in Concordville, Pennsylvania, which is close enough to the northern part of the state to attract customers and appease fans.

Linda Horton Bacon wrote on the page that she started the website because she and her husband were tired of driving long distances to get to the Wegmans in Downingtown or Malverne, Pennsylvania.

"Six years ago we had no hope of having a Wegmans close by, now we do," Bacon posted. "While we may not have had any influence on Wegmans choosing a site closer to us, we at least have each other to share the excitement with!!!!"

The store's popularity has spurred comment and speculation that Wegmans is stepping up its building plans. There are 84 Wegmans now in operation. The company opened its first store outside New York state in 1993.

Wegmans spokesperson Jo Natale said Monday that the company is not in a growth spurt, but is pursuing an expansion strategy — two or three new stores a year — that has been in place for years.

The idea, Natale said, is to continue to open new stores in six East Coast states — New York, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia and Maryland. Most of the states are in regions dominated by a large city, including Boston, Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia.

The company's current strategy is to expand outside New York state but within the other states.

One reason, Natale said, is that Wegmans' distribution network — an extensive list of suppliers of everything from milk to exotic cheeses — is an eastern seaboard phenomenon. Opening stores in Chicago or St. Louis extends that network too far, she indicated.

The company released its expansion plans for the next two years. In the fall of 2014, a store will open in Burlington, Massachusetts, near Boston.

In 2015, stores are scheduled to open in Alexandria, Virginia, near Washington; Westwood, Massachusetts, near Boston; and in Concordville, Pennsylvania, which will attract shoppers from Chadds Ford, Philadelphia and northern Delaware.

In 2016, Natale said, three stores will open, but the locations have not been finalized. Two locations in Virginia, two in New Jersey and one in Massachusetts are being contemplated.

Also, the company is doing major store renovations in Perinton and on Transit Road in the Buffalo area.

TTOBIN@DemocratandChronicle.com

Twitter.com/Tobin3