Entry 002: Leaving Rochester (Rules Project)

As I was leaving Rochester this morning, I realized that there is a grammatical/stylistic mistake in the name of one of my most frequented neighborhood establishments: the grocery store.

Here is the picture of my local Wegmans.  Started almost 100 years ago by John and Walter Wegman, the store has slowly spread from its Rochester roots to states throughout the Mid-Atlantic and New England.

However, this store was started by the Wegmans!  It belongs to them!  One would think it should read "Wegman's" on the front of the store.  As Jane Straus explains on her grammar website*, an apostrophe must be placed before the "s" of a word, to show possession of a singular noun.  In this instance, the singular noun is the grocery store -- it is "Wegman's" grocery story.

Wegmans has publicaly addressed this grammar mishap, both in the press and on its official website, where they offer this explanation:

"It's been missing in action since 1931, when the company incorporated and we simplified the logo. Believe it or not, adding an apostrophe to the sign on the front of each of our stores would cost more than a half million dollars! Not to mention changing the logo on all our products, bags, etc. Just think of it as the plural Wegmans, as in the many generations of Wegman family members that have built the company!"

Wegmans is hardly alone in having to explain themselves for the missing apostrophe.  In their 2013 article, "Why are so many brands forgetting their apostrophes?" (http://blog.mainstreethost.com/why-are-so-many-brands-forgetting-their-apostrophes), Pat DePuy calls out a host of well known companies, from Starbucks, to Michaels, to Tim Hortons, for purposefully neglecting their apostrophes.  See the website for a list of of reasons these companies use to justify their grammar negligence.



*http://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/apostro.asp