Wegmans Chantilly Announces Leadership Team with More than 100 Years of Combined Wegmans Experience

CHANTILLY, VA, Apr 26, 2018Wegmans Food Markets today announced the leadership team spearheading the grand opening and management of its newest store in Chantilly, Virginia, located at The Field at Commonwealth near the intersection of Route 28 and Westfields Boulevard. The team consists of the store manager, executive chef, pharmacy manager, and area managers who each oversee several departments within the 120,000 square-foot store. Together, this group has 109 years of combined experience at Wegmans.

Preparations are well underway for us to open the doors in Chantilly on June 3, said Heather Gole, human resources manager for the family-owned companys Virginia stores. This leadership team brings an incredible background of experience, and were still hiring and training for a number of available culinary and part-time customer service positions at Chantilly and throughout our Northern Virginia stores. Those interested in applying can visit www.wegmans.com/careers for more information.

Wegmans will host open interviews at its Chantilly hiring office, located at 14280 Park Meadow Drive, Suite 100, on the following days and times:

  • Saturday, April 28, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
  • Wednesday, May 2, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4 to 7 p.m.
  • Saturday, May 5, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The Wegmans Chantilly leadership team is as follows:

Store Manager Brien MacKendrick
Brien MacKendrick joined Wegmans in 1996 as a part-time cashier in Newark, NY. During college, he was a Wegmans management intern, gaining exposure to different areas of the business, like the seafood department, marketing, and the Wegmans bakeshop. After graduation, he went full time as a service team leader before relocating and working as a front end manager, service area manager, and perishable area manager at stores in New Jersey and Virginia. MacKendrick became a store manager in 2011 and most recently led the Potomac store. He will oversee 500 employees at Wegmans Chantilly.

Executive Chef Halit Ozdemir
Halit Ozdemir started his career with Wegmans as a part-time cook in 2009 at the companys Collegeville, Pennsylvania store. He completed Wegmans Culinary Management Trainee program, which involves in-depth culinary and leadership training for aspiring chefs. He was promoted to sous chef after completing the program. In summer 2017, Ozdemir moved to Northern Virginia as executive chef for the Chantilly store. There, he will lead the team of 130 culinary employees who make Wegmans restaurant-quality prepared foods. He looks forward to opening The Burger Bar because it will be the first of its kind at a Wegmans store in Virginia.

Pharmacy Manager Grace Mathew
Grace Mathew graduated from Temple University School of Pharmacy. She joined Wegmans in 2004 as a pharmacist, later taking on the role of pharmacy manager at Wegmans stores in Dulles and Fairfax. Mathew will now oversee all aspects of the Chantilly pharmacy and its staff, helping customers live healthier, better lives. Services include expert health and wellness consultations, immunizations, text alerts, pet meds, auto-refill of prescriptions, free home shipping, and competitively low prices on select generic prescriptions.

Perishable Area Manager Gregg Garbach
Gregg Garbach has been employed by Wegmans since 1995 and has prior experience in a variety of positions, including service team leader, deli manager, and merchandising area manager. Most recently, Garbach was perishable area manager at Wegmans Alexandria store. In Chantilly, he will supervise fresh product quality, sales, and employee development to ensure that the perishable departments (produce, floral, bakery, seafood, meat, cheese, and deli and charcuterie) meet Wegmans high standards.

Merchandising Area Manager Alisha Aponte
Alisha Aponte began working at Wegmans part time in the Coffee Shop in 2000. She previously served as a Wegmans management intern, service team leader, management trainee, employee representative, business analyst, wine store manager, and service area manager. In her new role, she oversees the merchandising departments of the store, including grocery, dairy, frozen foods, natural wellness, home and entertaining, health and beauty, and wine, beer, and spirits. Aponte will work collaboratively across the store to ensure that displays are well merchandised and employees are prepared to share a high level of product knowledge with customers.

Service Area Manager Kirk Van Ry
Kirk Van Ry has been a Wegmans employee since 1995 and previously worked in positions ranging from part-time customer service to front end coordinator, management intern, service team leader, front end manager, and business analyst. As a new service area manager in Chantilly, he will manage the front end, customer service desk, maintenance, accounting office, and Helping Hands (parking lot attendants). Van Ry will also oversee local community giving, carrying out Wegmans commitment to make a difference in every community it serves.

Customers can visit www.wegmans.com/chantilly to sign up for a Wegmans Shoppers Club membership and download the Wegmans app, which offers recipes, digital coupons, and the ability to create shopping lists sorted by aisle. 



Wegmans Food Markets, Inc. is a 96-store supermarket chain with stores in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland, and Massachusetts. The family-owned company, recognized as an industry leader and innovator, celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2016. Wegmans has been named one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For by FORTUNE magazine for 21 consecutive years, ranking #2 in 2018.

Press Contact:

Valerie Fox
Media Relations Coordinator
[email protected]
585-720-5713