Westchester and Fairfield County Business Journal 092820

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TR US TE D J O U R NALI S M AT YO U R FI N G E RTI P S

SEPTEMBER 28, 2020 VOL. 56, No. 39

westfaironline.com

Danny Wegman is chairman and his daughter Colleen Wegman is president and CEO of the Wegmans supermarket chain. Photo courtesy of Wegmans.

Exclusive: INSIDE PAGE

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COUSIN BRUCIE IS BACK

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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

An inside look at Wegmans leadership strategy

GOLD IN THEM THAR BUDS?

BY PHIL HALL

BY KEVIN ZIMMERMAN

phall@westfairinc.com

T

his has been a mostly dismal year for the retail industry, with many prominent stores and independently run businesses either closing or barely hanging on. If there was one bright story in this environment, it would be the long-anticipated arrival of the Wegmans supermarket

chain into the Westchester market, with its store opening in Harrison on Aug. 5. The family owned Wegmans was founded in 1916 and operates 103 stores across seven states. Headquartered in Rochester, New York, it is one of the nation’s largest private companies, with 50,000 employees and annual sales during 2019 of $9.7 billion. And while some super-

» WEGMANS

Evan R. Corsello

Frank J. Gaudio President & CEO

203.302.4375

market chains can claim a devoted customer base, Wegmans’ popularity goes beyond mere devotion into a genuine cult-level following: Facebook has 65 different groups related to some aspect of the store’s merchandise and culture. In an exclusive interview with the Business Journal, Wegmans Chairman Danny Wegman and his daugh-

Chief Lending Officer

CALL US TODAY

203.302.4003

EXPERT LENDERS  COMMERCIAL & RESIDENTIAL Port Chester – 914.908.5444 500 Westchester Avenue

NMLS # 510513

Cos Cob – 203.629.8400 444 E. Putnam Avenue

Stamford – 203.413.6101 900 Summer Street

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CT LAWMAKERS LOOK AT LEGALIZING POT AS WAY TO HELP SOLVE FISCAL ISSUES

kzimmerman@westfairinc.com Efforts to legalize recreational marijuana in Connecticut may ramp up next year — especially as the state wrestles with what are predicted to be a $2.1 billion deficit for Fiscal Year 2021, which began on July 1, and a $3.5 billion deficit for FY22 and ’23. While the General Assembly has considered legalization bills in its 2019 and 2020 regular sessions, they have yet to win the approval of state Republicans. The latest attempt, SB 16, introduced in February by Senate President Pro Tem Martin Looney, House Speaker Joe Aresimowicz, state Rep. Matt Ritter and

state Sen. Bob Duff — Democrats all — would have allowed adults 21 and older to possess and buy up to 1½ ounces of cannabis from a licensed retailer. But like most legislation, it fell by the wayside once Covid-19 hit. Introduced in 2019, SB 1085 was similar to SB 16; it ultimately failed to win approval from any Republicans as well as a few Democrats. So why would a third time possibly be a charm? Money — and lots of it. According to a new study by the director of the Connecticut Center for Economic Analysis (CCEA) at the UConn School of Business, Connecticut stands to reap $35 million to $48 million in direct new reve» LAWMAKERS

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