Wegmans Opens Ballantyne Store With Cheese Cave Focus

The Charlotte location is Wegmans' 115th store and its southernmost, opened in October with more than 25,000 customers.

Updated on Nov. 5, 2026 in Openings & Closings

Gouache-painted editorial illustration of round aged cheese wheels on pale wooden shelving in a cool, dim aging room, evoking the cheese program behind a new grocery store. — Wegmans opened its 115th store in Ballantyne, Charlotte, in October, drawing more than 25,000 customers and a weekday sales record. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Wegmans opened a store at 11550 N. Community House Road in Ballantyne in October, drawing more than 25,000 customers and setting a weekday customer record. The 110,000-square-foot store is the company's 115th location and its southernmost.

Why it matters

The opening extends Wegmans' footprint into the Charlotte area and highlights the company's in-house cheese program, which it uses to supply stores instead of relying on imports. Residents in the region gain a new full-service grocery option with one of the largest cheese selections in the country.

The Ballantyne store has over 110,000 square feet and is Wegmans' 115th location, while the company sells 350 cheese varieties, about 30 of them seasonal. The stated opening attendance of more than 25,000 customers is a company figure, and the source does not report post-opening sales.

The players

Wegmans

Wegmans is a privately held American supermarket chain headquartered in Rochester, New York, known for its large prepared foods and cheese departments.

Mathieu Callol

Mathieu Callol is the manager of Wegmans' cheese caves, overseeing about 50 cheeses and a nine-person team at the Rochester facility.

The details

Wegmans operates a 12,300-square-foot cheese-aging facility in Rochester, New York, opened in 2014, with seven custom-built caves plus one for Brie, each between 185 and 200 square feet. Mathieu Callol manages about 50 cheeses with a nine-person full-time team, and the facility holds air between 50 and 54 degrees under special regulatory permission.

2008: Concept of making cheeses for Wegmans instead of importing begins.
2014: Rochester cheese-aging facility opens.
October: Ballantyne store opens to more than 25,000 customers.

Market Landscape

Wegmans' in-house cheese strategy, which began as a 2008 plan to stop importing cheese, is now being applied as the chain expands into new markets like Charlotte. The approach lets the company control aging and quality across its growing store network rather than depend on outside suppliers.

Charlotte-area shoppers now have a Wegmans within reach, with access to hundreds of cheese varieties and prepared foods in one store. The cheese selection is sourced from the company's own aging program, which keeps the in-store offering consistent across locations.

The takeaway

The Ballantyne opening shows how a regional grocer can build a distinctive product category by investing in its own production rather than relying on imports. Shoppers who value specialty cheese now have more reason to choose a store that controls its own aging process.