Wegmans unseats Trader Joe's as best grocery store in the U.S.

A survey of 10,000 consumers placed Wegmans, which operates 7 stores in N.J., above Publix in a new study.

A large-scale consumer study says there's a new favorite grocery store in America -- and it's one New Jerseyans know well. 

Wegmans, the popular supermarket chain that operates seven locations in the state, came out on top of a new study by Market Force that surveyed 10,000 consumers about their experiences at the country's largest chains. 

The Rochester, New York-based chain unseated Trader Joe's as the reigning leader of the survey this year, after four years of coming in first place. Trader Joes, which operates 11 stores in N.J., was instead bumped down to third place, after Publix remained in second place for the fourth year in a row. 

Wegmans -- which has locations in Bridgewater, Cherry Hill, Manalapan, Mount Laurel, Ocean, and Woodbridge townships as well as Princeton -- didn't earn enough votes to land on last year's list, but drew in twice as many when the online survey went out this February. 

It quizzed shoppers in four different U.S. census regions on a range of topics including checkout speed, friendliness of employees and the likelihood customers would recommend the store to others to compile an overall composite loyalty index.

Trader Joe's still won out in the cashier courtesy category, while ALDI -- which shares a parent company with Trader Joe's -- came in first for best prices.

The study said family-owned Wegmans stood out among consumers for its large stores, employee training, fresh produce, reasonable prices and customer experience that "creates superfans" of the brand.

Coming in after Publix and Trader Joes on the overall loyalty index were Hy-Vee Food Stores in fourth, ALDI in fifth place, Costco in sixth, H-E-B in seventh, Kroger in eighth, WinCo foods in ninth and ShopRite in tenth place.