Why Wegmans Food Markets gets our love and loyalty encompasses so many reasons that I couldn’t wait to share on a blog post. Wegmans is a Rochester-based supermarket chain with 97 stores: 46 in New York, 17 in Pennsylvania, 9 in New Jersey, 11 in Virginia, 8 in Maryland, and 6 in Massachusetts. It is one of the largest private companies in the U.S.

Dubbed America’s Favorite Supermarket in the country among its customers and employees, Wegmans’ commitment to the customer is simple: Every Day You Get our Best. Customers like me choose Wegmans for the helpful people in their stores, help with delicious meals from their chefs, and the freshest ingredients possible. Offering choice, quality and value in every aisle is how Wegmans makes shopping experience a genuine pleasure.

Wegmans is a family-owned company, founded in 1916, headquartered in Rochester, NY. Danny Wegman is chairman; Colleen Wegman, his daughter, is president and CEO. Danny’s daughter Nicole Wegman is sr. vice president. Robert Wegman, Danny’s father, was chairman until his death in April 2006.

Brothers Walter and John Wegman (Robert Wegman’s father and uncle) learned the food business by working in their parents’ store in Rochester. John peddled fresh produce from a pushcart, and in 1916, he opened the Rochester Fruit & Vegetable Company, which marks the beginning of Wegmans Food Markets. Walter joined him a year later. Robert Wegman assumed leadership of the company in 1950, guiding it until his death in 2006.

Exceptional levels of Wegmans’ charitable donations focus on programs that reduce hunger, help young people succeed, promote healthy eating and activity, strengthen neighborhoods and support United Way initiatives. Last year, Wegmans donated about 14.5 million pounds of food to local food banks and programs that feed the hungry.

Strong employee benefit programs, including an employee scholarship program that provides $4.5 million in tuition assistance to employees each year. Wegmans has awarded $110 million in scholarships to more than 35,000 employees since this program began in 1984. I am one of those more than 35,000 employees who was awarded a scholarship all through college and that’s one of the many reasons why Wegmans Food Markets get our love and loyalty.

A shopping experience at any Wegmans Food Markets look and feel like a European open-air market: Dazzling displays of fresh produce, artisan breads, and other baked goods hot from the oven several times a day. There is a variety of meat, fresh-caught seafood, deli products and imported cheeses, international foods, plus all the grocery, dairy, frozen, and household items usually found in a supermarket.

Wegmans’ Values are about caring about the well-being and success of every person, pursuing excellence in everything they do, making a difference in every community they serve, respecting and listening to their employees, empowering their employees to make decisions that improve their work and benefit customers and the company.

If you’ve never had a Wegmans shopping experience, it is worth the trip. Last Memorial Day weekend, our family planned a trip to Boston, MA. The plan was to visit American Girl store in Natick Mall and Boston Children’s Museum. We stayed at the Hampton Inn in Natick-Boston and I usually checked to see if there is a Wegmans nearby. Oh the excitement when I realized that Wegmans opened a brand new store in Natick Mall, across from the hotel. Needless to say, with complimentary breakfast at Hampton Inn and Wegmans for lunch and dinner, we felt like we were in an all-inclusive resort.

Wegmans customer love translates into customer loyalty and our family is one of them. When I came to the United States, Wegmans was my first employer. I have been so thankful to work for one of the 100 best companies all through college with flexible hours and a scholarship for all my years in college. It’s not just because they carry my all time favorite cookie in the entire world in their famous coconut macaroons. I live for those chewy and melt-in-your-mouth yumminess of cookies.

Why Wegmans Food Markets get our love and loyalty runs deeper than a former job, a scholarship or those oh so yummy delicious coconut macaroons that always bring a sweet smile on my face, it’s knowing that no matter which store my family visits we are guaranteed to get the best and that for us is worth every single trip whenever we can find a Wegmans store.