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TOUR: Weis Markets - Westgate Mall, Bethlehem, PA

Weis Markets
Opened: 2021
Previous Tenants: Bon-Ton
Location: 2425 Schoenersville Rd, Bethlehem, PA
Photographed: January 13, 2022
Welcome to the Westgate Mall! Once anchored by a Hess's department store and a King's supermarket (no relation to the New Jersey-based chain), the mall has changed very much over the years. Neither anchor remains, as Hess's became Bon-Ton and King's was bought out by Weis, and in 2021, Weis moved from the roughly 35,000 square foot former King's space into the nearly 100,000 square foot former Bon-Ton.
It doesn't appear that the former anchor department store was demolished; instead, this space appears to have been remodeled into the Weis that exists today.
I believe this is the largest Weis I've been to, and certainly one of the nicest. We've seen the newest decor package looking just fine in stores like Pennsburg, but it's stores like this where the decor looks best.
We enter to the grand aisle on the right side of the store, with produce on the left side of the grand aisle and beer & wine/cafe, prepared foods, and deli/cheese on the right side of the store. Bakery is at the back of the grand aisle with meat and seafood up next on the back wall, natural foods are in the first aisle, and dairy/frozen and pharmacy are all at the far left side of the store.
This is what the decor should look like. I find Weis stores very attractive and very pleasant to shop in, and I think they've done some very good things with decor in the last several years.
Opposite produce is the spacious Eatery, with beer and wine on one side, and the prepared foods departments opposite.
As we see, deli and prepared foods take up the entire right wall of the store. And the produce department opposite that is quite beautiful...
I think this store does a good job of both merchandising and decor, although I wish the fixtures looked a little more modern. The beige that Weis prefers looks outdated to me despite the fact that it's all brand new.
Cheese and bakery departments in the back right corner of the store.
And the service bakery counter is to the left of that.
As we move into the first grocery aisle, we encounter natural foods, which have their own dairy/frozen department within the natural foods department.
I've noticed that name-brand natural and organic items tend to be in this section for Weis, while storebrand natural and organic items are mixed in with the rest of the grocery selection.
Even though the store is massive, it doesn't feel overwhelming. The aisles and each department are well designed.
Service meat and seafood counter at the back of the first aisles.
But we can see that the store is in fact quite large, and is roughly a square because of the shape of the former department store building.
Cold cuts give way to dairy on the back wall, with the frozen aisles opposite.
There seems to be plenty of space to navigate around the store, but not too much empty space.
And the dairy department continues down the last aisle of the store. I love the backlit decor here.
And that in turn leads into the spacious pharmacy/HABA department in the front corner. I generally seem to find that Weis has excellent prices in general, but especially on HABA and nonfoods.
And a look across the front-end. I commented on the thank you signage in Pennsburg; the newer signage, seen here, says Thank You, Be Well instead of the older Thank you for shopping with us.
And outside the store is some signage outlining Weis' latest sustainability efforts...
This is a very impressive store, but it's also a huge change from the store they used to occupy here in the Westgate Mall! We're going to visit that place tomorrow on Grocery Archaeology. Stay tuned!

Comments

  1. OK, what is that last word on the baked goods supposed to be?

    Rich, buttery, __akey? Flakey (with an odd spelling), Cakey, ????

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  2. It is Turkey

    Rich Buttery Turkey

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    Replies
    1. This is in bakery, so no turkey there! Plus, the 4th letter definitely looks like an A (or the top of the A at least), not an R :)

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  3. The Lehigh Valley can only support one large indoor shopping mall; obviously, that distinction goes to the Lehigh Valley Mall (which opened in 1976). There were too many small malls built in the Lehigh Valley: the Whitehall Mall (opened in 1966), the Palmer Park Mall (opened in 1973), the Westgate Mall (also opened in 1973), the South Mall (opened in 1975), and the Phillipsburg Mall (opened in 1989). Hess's was an anchor in all of these small malls other than the Whitehall Mall. And of course, all those Hess's stores later became Bon-Ton locations.

    To the best of my memory, the first Weis Markets I ever set foot in was at the Whitehall Mall back in 1997. Most of that mall was de-malled in 1998. Though I did not verify the information Josh wrote--and he is mistaken some of the time--he claimed that particular Weis closed for six months shortly after the Whitehall Mall's demalling (so as to accommodate an expansion of the supermarket). Josh added that the Weis never recovered (as a result of being temporarily closed for so long) and that it permanently closed in 2006. There is, however, another Weis in Whitehall that is close to the Whitehall Mall. Per Josh's Flickr companion page, that Weis opened in 1999 (meaning that it was not a replacement for the Whitehall Mall Weis).

    It was great that you did a profile of the old Westgate Mall Weis over on Grocery Archaeology. It is sad to see a classic supermarket close (although this new Weis looks very nice), and I liked that the facade of that store (vaguely) resembled a Centennial A&P. Thanks also for getting some photos of the Westgate Mall's interior. FYI, Wikipedia stated that on February 9 of this year, the remaining interior tenants of the Westgate Mall "were informed to vacate the mall within around March-April [because the] interior would permanently close for redevelopment."

    --A&P Fan

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    1. Thanks for the history here! Interesting that the mall's demise is impending.

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  4. That's very interesting about the natural foods brands being separated. I wonder if having only the store brand in the "regular" aisles results in higher sales of the store brand for natural foods.

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    Replies
    1. I would assume so -- plus, the storebrand natural foods are typically cheaper and therefore not purchased for name recognition, just for convenience and price.

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