Will Spring ever arrive in the Northeast?? As I formulate some notes from the past month, our overnight temperatures have again dipped into the below freezing range! Fortunately, though, a true sign that spring and warmer weather are on the horizon as the Eastern Frosted Refrigerated Foods (EFRA) golf outing once again kicked off the metro area golf season as it always does. The Upper Montclair Country Club golf course was full of hardy souls braving the cold weather (as they do most years), but it seems as though they always “take one for the team” as once this event passes the nicer weather is right around the corner.
Wawa opened its northernmost store in New Jersey at the end of April when they debuted a new location and gas station in Elizabeth, NJ at 595 Spring Street. The day was celebrated with speeches, contests, giveaways, and free coffee. Chris Gheysens, president and CEO of Wawa, said the company has for years focused on southern and central New Jersey, and that now “it just makes a lot of sense to continue north.” He remarked about the new store, saying, “We’ve had to do some things with our business model to be able to fit on a site like this here in Elizabeth. There’s a market here that really will appreciate the Wawa brand.” Gheysens said the company’s ability to expand is in large part due to Wawa’s core mission statement, which is “Clean, fast and friendly.” The site joins the Wawa store that opened in January in Kearny, NJ and the company plans to open a third North Jersey unit in the Avenel section of Woodbridge this summer. Additionally, Wawa will be opening in Lodi and Hackensack in 2013 with plans to open ten more stores by the end of 2015.
The largest crowd in the past six years showed up at the Aqua Turf club in Plantsville, CT for the annual Connecticut Food Association (CFA) Hall of Fame dinner. More than 400 guests were on hand to witness Liz Chace-Marino of Ahold USA, Todge Armata of Ted’s IGA and Ross Hollander of Hartford Distributors be recognized by their peers for their service and commitment to the food industry in Connecticut. Kudos to Stan Sorkin of the CFA and his staff for putting on a first class affair.
And while we’re mentioning the Connecticut food scene, congratulations to George Motel of Bozzuto’s and his wife Judy and son George Jr. on a winning sweep of several wine categories in the CFA’s 2013 product awards competition. The Motel family owns and operates Sunset Meadow Vineyards in Goshen, CT and has been racking up awards year after year, and 2013 was no exception. George invites anyone in the area to stop by for a tasting and I think I’ll take him up as soon as I’m back in the area!
A new Key Food banner was unveiled on Staten Island when the Grobman and Gross families opened a spectacular Dan’s Supreme unit on Arden Avenue at the site of a former and long-closed King Kullen. The 38,000 square foot store is the ninth store for Dan’s Supreme, and adds to their other location on SI. “We’ve always enjoyed being on Staten Island, and we were looking for a suitable site for quite some time” stated Rich Grobman, president. A full gathering of local politicos, Key Food associates and the vendor community turned out to witness the ribbon cutting ceremony and tour the fabulous store which will be managed by John Geyer, Howard Mangold and Jodi Podnos.
A tip of the cap to Mike and Karen Waldon of Empire Food Marketing on their recent sizeable donation to Team LeGrand/The Christopher Reeve Foundation to help in the efforts to find a cure for spinal cord injuries. At a luncheon in Woodbridge, NJ, food industry executives were treated to an uplifting and never say quit attitude from an engaging young man, Eric LeGrand. Eric was a Rutgers football player who was paralyzed from the neck down during a game in October of 2010. While he has made tremendous strides in his recovery, he still isn’t walking, but has an infectious attitude that brightens up a room and all that he encounters. Along with his family and friends he created Team LeGrand of the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, which was created to fund research for spinal cord injury and improve the quality of life for people living with paralysis. And in a never-ending example of what a small world we all live in; one of the guests in attendance was none other than Joe Sheridan of Wakefern Food Corp. Joe shared a little tidbit that his first direct report when he started his career with Wakefern was none other than…. Eric LeGrand’s grandfather….needless to say an instant bond was formed with Joe, Eric and Eric’s mom Karen. Anyone wishing to contribute to the fund can go to www.christopherreeve.org.
I was saddened and surprised to learn that all around good guy and friend, Santo Sacca, passed away on April 24 at his home on the Jersey shore after suffering a heart attack. Although he had “retired” in 2010, Santo was still visible around the industry as he maintained his friendships and connections with his good nature and generosity. He will be missed by many and any donations in his memory can be made to the Mazie Staas/Survivors of the Triangle, PO Box 773, Cologne, NJ 08213 or C.O.P.S., PO Box 3199, Camdentown, MO 65020. May his soul rest in peace.
Congratulations to Len Recchione on being named East Coast regional manager for Kahiki Foods. Len had run regions and zones for Red Gold, MOM Brands and Kraft prior to coming to Kahiki, and tells us he is truly excited for the opportunity to grow the line of frozen Asian dinners and specialty foods up and down the eastern seaboard…
Well, Hurricane Sandy may have postponed the Network of Executive Women-Metro NY chapter event set to be held way back in November, but the rescheduled evening on April 16 brought nearly 500 attendees out to the Liberty House in Jersey City, NJ to network and hear a panel discussion with food industry presidents Joe Sheridan of Wakefern, Tanya Domier of Advantage Sales & Marketing and Brian Driscoll of Diamond Foods, Inc. The trio shared experiences and their wisdom with the overflow crowd, covering topics ranging from customer engagement, nurturing relationships professionally and personally to creating positive and productive environments. It was a well-paced discussion and a terrific evening and all at the NEW chapter should be proud of their efforts and the event. And speaking of the local chapter, Cheryl Williams, VP of marketing at Wakefern. announced she is stepping down as programming chair for the Metro NY Chapter but is not disappearing from the group at all. She will still relish the opportunities to mentor and coach many of the young women getting involved with the group and will be involved as long as she can. Kudos to all.
Well like we stated earlier, it has been a brutally cold spring but we were fortunate to witness other signs that outdoor entertaining and warmer times are ahead as I was given a tour of the vastly new and improved Sally Sherman Foods facility in Mt. Vernon, NY. The company is a division of UFS Industries and is being run by Tom Racine. I have had the pleasure of knowing Tom for many years from his expertise in the foodservice industry (he ran sales and operations at Ace Endico and is a Culinary Institute of America graduate). Tom and his team have been hard at work renovating, overhauling and improving the entire processing plant as well as redesigning packaging, and creating a full line of new and improved salads and entrees. It has been a few years since former leader Mike Endico passed away, and I’m confident in the belief that with Tom at the helm and his team at his side, Sally Sherman will be roaring back as the leader in the category. Good luck!
And finally, a congratulations and best wishes to Barry Kahn of Food Scene on the sale of his company to Advantage Waypoint LLC. Advantage Waypoint is a national foodservice sales and marketing agency which focuses on adding and delivering value to the evolving foodservice segment of the industry and in-store opportunities. Barry had successfully run the preeminent bakery brokerage in the Northeast for over 30 years and will stay around to help transition and work with the new company and Cindy Olsen will now run the Colts Neck, NJ office. Mazel Tov, Barry.
That’s it for now and let’s hope Mother Nature cranks up the thermostat, and I’ll see you out and about! You can reach me at 201-250-2217 or kgallagher@best-met.com
