CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Wegmans Food Markets Inc., a Rochester, N.Y.-based grocer, plans to open a 110,000-square-foot store in Charlotte. Located along North Community House Road, the grocery store will be situated within Ballantyne, Northwood Investors’ 2,000-acre master-planned development on the south side of Charlotte adjacent to the South Carolina border.
Wegmans aims to open the new store by the third quarter of 2026. The store will feature all traditional Wegmans departments, including produce, seafood, meat, bakery, deli, cheese and wine and beer. Additional offerings will include Meals2Go and catering, online shopping capabilities, a floral shop, coffee and home goods.
The store will also have a market café with indoor and outdoor seating for customers dining at one of Wegmans’ multiple food outlets.
“We’ve received hundreds of requests from locals asking for a store in their area, and we’ve spent years looking for exactly the right location,” says Dan Aken, vice president of real estate and store planning at Wegmans.
The new Wegmans will be located on the east side of Ballantyne and half a mile from Northwood’s The Bowl at Ballantyne mixed-use development, which is currently under construction. The project will feature a wide array of retail and restaurant tenants including Olde Mecklenburg Brewery, North Italia, Flower Child, Harriet’s Hamburgers and Roosters, as well as two residential towers and a concert venue called The Amp Ballantyne.
“As we’ve continued to enhance the offerings all across Ballantyne, we’ve seen the need for a more experiential grocer in the community,” says Clifton Coble, senior vice president of development for Northwood Office, an affiliate of Northwood Investors. “Wegmans, of course, was top of mind. We recognize how beloved it is throughout the East Coast and North Carolina and are ecstatic for it to join our tenant mix.”
Wegmans is a family-owned supermarket chain with more 110 stores and 53,000 employees. The grocer opened its first North Carolina location four years ago at the Midtown East Shopping Center in Raleigh. The new Charlotte store will represent the southernmost Wegmans store in its network.
In addition to the new Wegmans and The Bowl, the Ballantyne campus features 4.5 million square feet of offices; thousands of apartments; over 1,000 single-family homes; public schools; nearly 600 hotel rooms; more than 20 miles of walking paths and bike lanes; a greenway extension; over 100 acres of parks and green space; and dozens of restaurants, shops and healthcare providers.
— John Nelson