- Customers visiting the new Wegmans store were asked to evacuate on Friday
Customers visiting the brand new Wegmans Manhattan store on Astor Place have been evacuated.
The 87,500-square-foot space was staffed a few days ago by as many as 600 newly hired employees.
But eager shoppers were asked to remain on the sidewalk as the store was cleared out late Friday afternoon.
The supermarket giant’s arrival was Wegman’s first foray into Manhattan and the last of its more than 100 stores along the East Coast.
Customers visiting the new Wegman’s store were asked to evacuate on Friday
But at around 4.40pm on Friday afternoon, staff could be seen outside the entrance to ensure no one re-entered the premises.
Emergency vehicles circled the parameter with their sirens blaring as customers waited outside.
The Manhattan store was part of a broader expansion of the Wegmans brand. In March, it announced plans to open its first store in Connecticut.