BUFFALO, NY - If you live near three local Wegmans stores and need to make a late night snack run, it'll need to be before the clock strikes midnight.
As of March 4, three Buffalo-area stores are no longer open 24 hours. The new hours are 6 a.m. to midnight.
The stores affected are:
- 675 Alberta Dr. Amherst
- 601 Amherst St. Buffalo
- 1577 Military Rd. Niagara Falls
Wegmans says the move better allows them to have employees available when the majority of people do their shopping. They add most of their new stores in other parts of the country are not open 24 hours.
The love for Wegmans in Western New York is real though, and many 2 On Your Side viewers expressed disappointment in this decision - so we went to get answers.
"It really has to do with the volume. Between midnight and 6:00 a.m. is really the lowest volume for our stores, but for these three stores in particular we wanted to make sure they were efficient,” said Wegmans spokesperson Michele Mehaffy.
The beloved grocery store couldn't put a number on the overnight customers, which differ for every store.
Since both Amherst St. and Alberta Dr. sit next to college campuses, we asked if overnight crime was to blame. Security was considered in the decision, but Mehaffy says crime or bad behavior was no different at these three locations than any other.
The decision, she said, was made based on how to affect the least amount of people.
“We still have several stores that will be open 24 hours,” Mehaffy said.
As for Wegmans employees, she said no one is losing his or her job.
Mehaffy said Wegmans recognizes that a lot of their overnight employees choose those hours for specific reasons, and they'll be allowed to stay on those hours.
"All of our employees at those stores will still be working over the overnight hours, they just won't be doing that customer-to-customer interface,” she said. “The folks who are stocking our shelves, will be stocking our shelves overnight. Prepping for the morning."