The survey's margin of error, which was four points for Erie and Niagara counties as a whole, was higher for all breakdowns for individual communities. Tops has 35 stores in the two-county area, more than tripling Wegmans' total of 11. Wegmans, with 792 local employees, ranks 57th. The Jan. 4 edition of Business First named Tops the 11th most influential institution in the region. Wegmans was 36th.
Tops also has the benefit of stronger historical ties to the region.
It was founded in Niagara Falls and currently is headquartered in Amherst. Rochester-based Wegmans, on the other hand, didn't enter the Western New York market until 1977, but quickly became Tops' most aggressive competitor. It has really built up that level of service, paralleling the excellence of Tops in customer service. A 1991 study by the University at Buffalo School of Management confirmed that Wegmans had become the second-largest grocery chain in the region, passing Bells. Tops registered a market share of 46 percent in 1991, according to the UB survey.