Happiness is Shopping at Wegmans

  Our neighborhood grocery store closed this weekend. It had deteriorated ever since the local store sold out to a national chain. But it was familiar and we liked the folks who worked there. So over the last few days, it was rather sad to see the half empty shelfs and long-faced cashiers and baggers we've known for most of our years in suburban Philly. Now, I'll have to travel another five minutes to the next town's supermarket for last-minute runs for forgotten ingredients, an unfortunately common occurrence around dinner time.
  But all is not lost. Just as one store closed, another opened. And this store is the Shangri La of grocery stores.
  Wegmans in Malvern.
   Forgive my gushing; it was my first time at a Wegmans. The size of a Walmart but with the class of a Neiman-Marcus, it takes the super part of supermarket seriously. The grand opening on Sunday was a cross between Black Friday at King of Prussia Mall and the Devon Horse Show -- a must-go, see-and-be-seen mob event. The whole family came out for the big day. After a 20-minute drive, we had to park half a mile away to get inside. 
  Aisles were as packed as the baskets of produce. Free samples abounded. Strawberry smoothies. South American roses. Cheeses. Fresh-made rice cakes. Candies to rival Willie Wonka's factory. Who knew grocery shopping could be this much fun? And that doesn't even include the food bars. Where else can you find palak paneer as tasty as the local curry house on a "salad bar"? Even the Bossband was impressed.
  LsOL spend a good deal of the week restocking the pantry. Grocery shopping is as important as a client meeting. It should not be a chore. Wegmans takes the experience to a whole other level.  Right away it exudes luxuriousness in sheer size and choice alone. The fact that its prices are competitive satisfies the bargain hunter inside every LOL. And the type of items it offers --  8,000 specialty groceries, 10,000 natural an organic items, 500  premium teas -- has to please the foodies out there.  Heck, Wegmans carries Lakshmi, a South Asian brand usually only found at the ethnic grocer.
  Grocery shopping will never be the same again. Instead of a weekly chore, it's a bonafide event. Of course, a LOL would have it no other way.