Wegmans Food Markets announced the leadership team managing its new store at Natick Mall in Natick, Massachusetts, which opens at 7 a.m. on Sunday, April 29.
The Natick store is a 146,500-s.f. supermarket spanning two floors, including in-store café seating and featuring two restaurant concepts: The Burger Bar and Blue Dalia Mexican Restaurant & Tequila Bar.
The group consists of the store manager, executive chef and three area managers, each of whom supervise several departments within the store.
“This team brings an incredible background of knowledge and experience to Natick, and we’re still hiring and training for a number of open positions,” said Marybeth Stewart, Wegmans human resources manager.
The Wegmans Natick store leadership group is as follows:
Store Manager Rich Boscia
Boscia has been in the supermarket business since he was a teenager in New Jersey, working his way from part-time maintenance employee and cashier to assistant store manager. He joined Wegmans in 2001 as a merchandising area manager and was promoted to perishable area manager several years later. After moving to Massachusetts, he helped open Wegmans’ Northborough store.
In 2012, Boscia was promoted to store manager. He’s currently focused on hiring and training for the 550 employees that will serve the Natick community. Boscia has an MBA degree from Fairleigh Dickinson University.
Executive Chef Brendan Newhart
Newhart’s grandfather owned a grocery store and his father owned a deli and pizzeria. A graduate of Paul Smith’s College with a degree in Culinary Arts and Service Management, he began his career with Wegmans in Rochester, New York as a culinary team leader in 2010. The following year, he relocated to New England as a sous chef and worked his way up to executive chef at the Westwood store. At Natick, he will play a key leadership role for some 130 culinary employees.
Perishable Area Manager Dan Jackson
Jackson began working at Wegmans in 2001 as a full-time cook for Asian cuisine in Wegmans’ Elmira, New York store. He brings prior experience as a service team leader and department manager for bakery, deli, and prepared foods. Jackson also worked as a business analyst before relocating to the Burlington, Massachusetts store as service area manager. He was later promoted to perishable area manager at Wegmans in Chestnut Hill. Jackson will oversee the produce, floral, bakery, seafood, meat, cheese, and deli departments, where customers will find the freshest ingredients and employees will offer easy meal solutions.
Merchandising Area Manager Will Mitchell
Will Mitchell joined Wegmans as a part-time cashier and Helping Hand parking lot attendant in 1999. He went on to work full time in frozen foods and became a service team leader before managing the grocery and produce departments. Most recently, he was merchandising area manager at Wegmans in Burlington. In Natick, Mitchell will supervise each of the departments found on the first level of the unique two-story location, including grocery, dairy, frozen foods, health and wellness, bulk, wine, liquor, beer, and home and entertaining.
Service Area Manager Megan Ruby
Ruby started her Wegmans career in 2004 as a part-time cashier and customer service desk employee. A Wegmans Employee Scholarship recipient, she also completed two internships and worked as a business analyst. She continued her employee development as a service team leader and front-end manager. As service area manager in Natick, Ruby will lead the front end, service desk, maintenance, Helping Hands parking lot attendants, and accounting office. She will also oversee local community giving projects.
Wegmans is a 95-store supermarket chain with stores in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland and Massachusetts. It entered New England with its Northborough location in 2011 and currently operates five stores within the state.
