— The highly anticipated Wegmans grocery store opened in Raleigh on Sunday morning, and an estimated 3,000 people waited in line before the doors were unlocked.

According to a spokesperson for Wegmans, the Raleigh crowd was the store's "biggest opening crowd ever." People were already waiting in line at 7 p.m. on Saturday, 12 hours before the store would open.

Final first-day totals will be released Monday morning.

While some customers were eager to navigate the packed aisles Sunday morning, others came out sweating.

"It was a very difficult experience," said shopper Krystyla Sulilski, who told WRAL News she will come back when Wegmans isn't so crowded. "A lot of people, a lot of goodies...many things to see, but you can’t see everything."

See a sneak peek video inside the store and read on for details about the grand opening, coupon policy, pricing guarantee, rewards program and more. Register now for a free Shoppers Club membership and receive some high value digital coupons. The video walks you through the different departments, pointing out some super prices on a number of staple products.

Store details

Wegmans is located at 1200 Wake Towne Drive in Raleigh (at the Midtown East Shopping Center on Wake Forest Road near the Beltline). The 104,000 square-foot supermarket will include a leadership team comprised of the store manager Hallie Johnston and executive chef Rob Santiago, as well as two area managers, who each supervise several departments.

Consistent Low Prices: Wegmans does not have a regular weekly ad. Their pricing model is called Consistent Low Prices and they believe that their "customers shouldn’t have to buy what’s 'on sale' each week—they should be able to buy what they want, when they want it," according to the company.

Grocery Delivery: Delivery will be available through Instacart soon after the store opens.

Shoppers Club

Free Shoppers Club Membership Benefits

* Digital coupons (including some high value coupons when you first sign up)

* Shopping lists : The lists are organized by the actual aisles in your store.

* Online receipts: You can access your receipts from previous shopping trips.

* Up-to-the-minute info: Product recall information is shared.

* Special member-only mailings: You'll receive meal ideas, entertaining help, and special offers.

To use your membership at checkout, enter your phone number or scan the Wegmans App.

Once you sign up, you should see a number of good digital coupons ready to clip.

See the details about the program and sign up on the Wegmans website.

Coupon Policy

* Wegmans doubles manufacturers' coupons with a face value of $.99 or less.

* They will accept up to 4 manufacturers' coupons on 4 of the same brand product per day.

* You can use 1 manufacturers' coupon and 1 Shoppers Club discount or store coupon on the same item.

* Coupons must be in-date and must match the purchase requirements.

* Wegmans accepts internet coupons. They do not accept any internet coupon with the word "free" on the coupon including free product coupons and buy one get one free printable coupons. The coupon value cannot exceed the price of the product. They do not accept internet coupons over $4.99.

See the full coupon policy on their website.

Pricing Guarantee

If a customer is charged more than the shelf price, sale price or advertised price, the customer will receive a refund of the difference they overpaid and will also receive $1 as a thank you for bringing it to their attention.

Raincheck Policy

If Wegmans runs out of an item, they will try to replace it with a similar item. If unable to offer a similar product, they will offer a raincheck which is valid for up to 30 days. Rainchecks cannot be used with future Shoppers Club sales.

See all the store policies at Wegmans.com.

Additional Wegmans locations are in the works for Holly Springs, Cary (2 locations), Chapel Hill and Wake Forest.

Wegmans is a family-owned company, founded in 1916 and headquartered in Rochester, NY. According to their website, "Wegmans has been named one of the ‘100 Best Companies to Work For’ by FORTUNE magazine for 22 consecutive years, ranking #3 in 2019. The company was also ranked #1 for corporate reputation among the 100 most visible companies, according to the 2019 Harris Poll Reputation Quotient® study."

When you first come in the store, be sure to grab a flyer with the excellent prices you see below and a store layout and map so you know where everything is located.

Be sure to sign up for their app which allows you to create and save grocery lists, clip digital coupons to your Shoppers Club rewards account, check prices and more. See below for product photos and specific prices in the Raleigh store on staple items including milk, eggs, peanut butter, fruit, vegetables, ground beef chicken and more.

Wegmans has over 4000 organic choices in the store including 100-150 organic produce products at any given time.

Check out these super everyday prices from the in-store flyer on Wegmans store brands including bread, frozen veggies, peanut butter, tomatoes, pasta sauce, pasta, apples, salad dressing.

Yogurt for $0.25 per 6 oz cup! Greek yogurt for $0.59 per cup! Bananas for only $0.39/lb!

Great prices on broccoli crowns, red seedless grapes, 80% lean ground beef and chicken breasts!

Sweet prices on ice cream and frozen pizza!

Check out the prices on milk and eggs! A package of 3 dozen eggs is only $1.59 (only $0.53 per dozen!). These are fantastic deals for the Raleigh area!

Wegmans brand 18 oz peanut butter for $1.19!

Impressive price on 28 oz can of tomatoes.

Mac & cheese boxes are only $0.33 each!

Wegmans Basting Oil was highly recomended by many Smart Shopper readers.

The bulk section is very large including nuts, dried fruit, candy and more.

There are a number of products that readers who have shopped at Wegmans in the past are very excited to be able to get once again. They include Bison Dip, Dill Dip, Grandma Brown's Beans, various hot dogs and more.

Wegmans also has a good variety of non-dairy, gluten-free and vegetarian products including the Impossible Burger, Beyond Burger and a Wegmans brand of multiple vegetable burgers and patties.

Wegmans is well known for their fresh foods, hot and cold bar, deli sandwiches, burger bar, in-store made sushi and coffee shop. They basically have an entire restaurant with an amazing variety of ready made and made to order foods. They even have restaurant seating so you can enjoy your meal on comfortable cushioned chairs and in booths.

The specialty departments at Wegmans are extensive including the deli meats, cheese and produce sections.

You'll find an extensive wine and beer section with wines starting at $6 and going all the way up to $1800 for a very large and very good bottle! There is a whole section for NC wines and another with beer from NC breweries.

There is a bunch of parking in both the upstairs and downstairs parking decks. And you will find both elevators and escalators to make it easy to get to the store on the upper level.

Your Questions Answered

Many readers on the Smart Shopper Facebook page had questions about the new store. The Wegmans public relations folks were kind enough to answer them all during my tour a couple days before the store opened. Here are the answers to your questions.

Q: What is the buffet by the pound price?

A. The hot and cold food bars are $9.99/lb.

Q: Do they have a large Organics and Natural products selection?

A. Yes! They have over 4000 organic products including 100-150 produce items.

Q; Will they carry Tim Horton’s coffee?

A: Yes!

Q: Will they have a dairy free section?

A: Yes! I have included a photo of part of it above.

Q: Will they have rye boat dip with the correct type of rye bread to make said "boat"?

A: Good news and bad news: They will have the rye bread. They will not have the dip.

Q: I’ve heard they have a great selection of gluten-free items. Can you see how easy the gluten-free items are to find and if they have lots of it?

A: They have an extensive selection of gluten-free items including a large frozen section and a large aisle of shelf stable options in additional to the dairy products. The gluten free sections are clearly marked and easy to find.

Q: I would love to know if they are going to carry bison chip dip and Perry’s ice cream ! My favorites from up north!

A: They have both! You can see a photo of the dip above.

Q: Do they have a store map?

A: Yes! It is shown above and it is in stores in the flyer at the front door.

Q: Could you see if they will be selling Jablum 100% blue mountain Jamaican coffee in the burlap bag?

A: They do not currently have this coffee, but you can make a request and see if they will start carrying it.

Q: Will we be able to order things other Wegmans stores stock, that this one might not, and have them shipped to store for pick up? (primarily thinking of all the Buffalo, N.Y. things that I love, that are regional specialties).

A: They will not be taking special orders for products in other stores, but you can make a request and see if they will start carrying it.

Q: Will they ever run BOGOs? If so, can you get one for half price?

A: They do not run Buy One Get One Free promotions since they have consistent low prices and do not generally have "sales" like this.

Q: Will you peek if they are selling DownEast Cider?

A: They do not currently have this cider, but you can make a request and see if they will start carrying it. They do have Wegmans apple cider in stock.