Wegmans has plenty of loyal fans — but are they devoted enough to want to bring a part of the grocery chain home?
That option is now on the table thanks to restaurantequipment.bid, an auction website that is taking bids for hundreds of fixtures and pieces of equipment that were housed inside the mammoth Natick Mall Wegmans store until it shut its doors last month.
There are just over 750 lots across three auctions, which began in mid-August and are set to conclude by the end of the month. A fourth auction will follow, bringing an additional 250 items up for bid.
Some of the standouts include a selection of food-related neon signs, an 11-tap beer system, and a gas-powered Marra Forni pizza oven — which, at $1,360 as of Monday morning, has attracted one of the highest bids so far. There are also mini fridges, stainless steel tables, deli slicers, dining booths, vacuums, and more, with bids starting at a buck.
Though the Rochester, N.Y.-based Wegmans is well known on the East Coast, bids for the items are coming in nationwide, according to Neal Sherman, CEO of TAGeX Brands, the parent company of the auction website. Sell-offs like these can be opportunities for other establishments — such as supermarkets, hospitals, or schools — to stock up on affordable wares, and can also help keep cast-off inventory out of landfills, Sherman said.
Wegmans announced in June that it would be closing the two-story Natick store, which opened in 2018. It cited difficulty in attracting customers to the “non-traditional location,” according to Brien MacKendrick, human resources director of Wegmans’ New England division.
Five Wegmans storefronts remain open in Massachusetts, in Burlington, Medford, Chestnut Hill, Westwood, and Northborough.
By Dana Gerber Globe Staff