Meaghan M. McDermott

@meagmc

By all accounts, the grand opening of the new Wegmans grocery store near Richmond, Virginia, on Sunday was a resounding success.

Indeed, the store opening in Midlothian is the third-largest in the chain's history, Wegmans spokeswoman Jo Natale confirmed in an email.

As many as 24,000 people packed into the grocery on its opening day, coming close to the 26,000 people who attended the grand opening in Alexandria, Virginia, in 2015 and the 25,500 people who turned out for the grand opening in Northborough, Massachusetts, in 2011, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Natale did not immediately respond to questions about crowd counts for grand openings locally, such as the reopening of the East Avenue store in 2013.

The Gates-based grocer currently has 89 stores and is expecting to open six more through 2018: two in Virginia, one in Maryland, one in Massachusetts and two in New Jersey.

MCDERMOT@gannett.com