Congratulations to the team at Wegmans on yet another spectacular new store debut last month in Rockville, MD, a close-in suburb of the District of Columbia. The 80,000 square foot store is located on the second level above a parking garage and features all of the features we’ve come to expect from Wegmans – hot and cold prepared foods, ready-to-prepare meals to take home, an expansive bakery, fresh meat, seafood and deli, a colorful and plentiful produce department, and center store aisles with everything one could need. This store features a couple new tweaks that I hadn’t seen before – a Signature Bowl Station featuring Chef-developed meals you can customize that include 20 to 40 grams of protein and a serving of vegetables in every bowl, plus the addition of customized hot subs. I really loved an element of the décor package that was used in the Rockville store’s department signs that was borrowed from the retailer’s Astor Place store in Manhattan – the signs are created using mosaic tiles and they are truly eye-catching. All in all, a fantastic addition to the fleet.
You may recall I told you last month that the new Weis Market that opened in Frederick County, MD took me back to my younger days. Well, the same thing is true of the Rockville Wegmans, except that store took me back to my pre-teen days when my family lived in Bethesda, another DC suburb in the same region. I don’t know how many times in my young life I was in a car that drove past the location where the new Rockville Wegmans is located. And, going to the Rockville of today evoked for me an experience that my 10-year-old self might have equated to visiting the Jetsons in Orbit City (except that the cars were all still on the ground). I think this location will be a genuine winner for the Rochester-based retailer. By the time our next issue is published, they will have made their Connecticut debut, too. Keep it up, guys!
I went to the Summer Fancy Food Show earlier this month in Manhattan after having not been since before COVID. It was just as hectic – and delicious – as I remember from those days! I never tire of trying the many cheeses, chocolates, charcuterie and other delicious goodies that are being touted to show goers. You can read our Fancy Food Show recap in this issue but here are a few fun facts: attending were more than 32,000 industry professionals – including more than 8,000 buyers – the attendance marked a 14 percent increase from 2024. There were 2,492 exhibitors from 59 countries, with nearly 400 exhibitors debuting at the event. Nearly 1,000 new specialty food and beverage products were debuted at the show.
And, in keeping with the usual largesse of the food industry, the Specialty Food Associations’ Exhibitor Food Donation Program, in collaboration with City Harvest, facilitated the donation of more than 84,000 pounds of surplus products.
My stand-out exhibitor at this year’s show was one that is not new to me, but one that is a favorite of mine – Meatcrafters, based in Landover, MD. The woman-owned company has produced chef-crafted sausages, bacon, and cured meats since 2005. The woman in question is Debra Moser, whose husband Mitch Berliner is Meatcrafter’s co-founder and “chief sampling officer.” Their meats are carefully sourced from regenerative, sustainable family farms following time-honored traditions and flavorful recipes to deliver the most premium sausage, charcuterie, and bacons on the market today. Deb and Mitch have shared lots of their products with me and Jeff over the years, and they are always introducing new products and varieties. Their salamis and sausages are fantastic and flavorful. At the show, I was able to taste their bacon for the first time – delicious!
Deb is also rightfully proud of a newer addition to the family – Simply Sausage, which was developed with kids in mind. Simply Sausages consist of 30 percent real vegetables blended with chicken and are currently available in four varieties – Beet, Apples & Spinach, Broccoli, and Sweet Potato. They provide a great source of iron, antioxidants, and vitamins A, C & K, all of which are key for growing kids – and the kids don’t need to know they’re eating their vegetables!
You can learn more about their entire line – and can order product as well – at meatcrafters.com. I highly recommend you check it out.
More about Mitch Berliner – he is a 2025 addition to the Specialty Food Association’s Hall of Fame. Congratulations!
Mitch is a longtime member of the Balt-Wash food industry as he and his brother Guy owned and operated Berliner Foods for many years. Berliner was the first Haagen Dazs distributor outside of the New York area. Today, in addition to their Meatcrafters business, Mitch and Deb operate Central Farm Markets which they started in 2008 in Bethesda, MD. Since then, they’ve added two other market locations in the DC suburbs.
One thing I’ve been interested to watch this year is the determination by the current administration, and HHS secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., in particular, to make U.S. foods healthier. To wit, in April, FDA commissioner Marty Makary said the agency would move to eliminate several synthetic dyes by the end of next year. That includes Green 3, Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1, and Blue 2. Red 3 was set to be banned in food by 2027 because it caused cancer in laboratory rats; the FDA called for that deadline to move up.
The agency is relying largely on voluntary efforts by food manufacturers but also plans to establish a standard and timeline for the food industry to switch to natural alternatives and revoke authorization for dyes not in production. Additionally, the FDA said it would authorize four new natural color additives.
So far, several major manufacturers have recently announced plans to ditch synthetic colors, including General Mills, Pepsico, ConAgra, Nestle, McCormick, Tyson Foods, Sam’s Club, JM Smucker, Hershey, and Kraft Heinz.
The cynic in me has a lot of questions. What are these “plans?” What will these specific ingredients be replaced by, and how we will know if they are any safer? How long will this take to implement? Is this just a flash in the pan until a shiny ball distracts everyone and the status quo ultimately remains in place? I’m not sure, but you can “color” me skeptical…
Stay cool and enjoy the rest of the summer!
