New Locations Expected to Minimally Impact Crowded Hunt Valley Wegmans

Despite opening two new locations in Columbia and Bel Air, Wegmans officials don't anticipate that business will slow down at the

"We did see a modest dip on [Sunday] and Monday mornings," said Jo Natale, the popular grocery chain's director of media relations. "The and we think people wanted to check it out."

Prior to the opening of the in September 2011, the store was one of just three Wegmans in Maryland. Natale said customers come from across the state and even Pennsylvania to visit the Shawan Road grocer.

However, she added, there's been no indication that the Bel Air store has pulled business away from Hunt Valley. She doesn't expect the Columbia location will either, though she acknowledged that it's too soon to tell. 

"We know that people's shopping pattens shift and what happens is that we end up getting a lot more new customers," Natale said. "But the impact on existing stores is minimal in the long run."

Wegmans plans to open its newest store in . A proposed l is up in the air.