Could it be that Spring has finally arrived to our area?? Let’s hope so, because it sure has been good to feel a little sunshine and warmth again. Hopefully we’ve seen the last of the rash of cancelled and rescheduled appointments due to Mother Nature. Although as I write this there was a ground covering of snow again last night!
The New Jersey Food Council’s annual Night of Distinction regularly brings out the crowds, but this year’s event at the Palace at SomersetPark brought out record numbers for NJFC president Linda Doherty and the association. Celebrating the association’s 45th anniversary, with a “Broadway show” theme, more than 750 were on hand to see the Food Council honor Joe Sheridan of Wakefern, John Ruane of Ahold USA and Joe Sofia of Wegmans. The evening recognizes honorees for their contributions to advance the mission of the Food Council as well as their achievements in the food industry. Well deserved to all of the recipients.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Joe McCarthy of Bimbo Bakeries for the difficult time he and his family have endured recently. As we mentioned a few months ago, Joe lost his dad, industry icon Joe McCarthy Sr. and in February his mother Jean passed away. Unfortunately the family was unable to bury her until recently, as one of Joe’s older brothers had a massive aortic heart attack while tending to his mother’s funeral arrangements. Fortunately, he is finally on the mend. The family asks that any donations in Jean’s memory be made to Avow Hospice, 1095 Whippoorwill Lane, Naples, FL34104. May her soul rest in peace.
The Network of Executive Women (NEW) NY Metro chapter held a networking event at the Liberty House restaurant in Jersey City, NJ. A rare nice weather day brought out a crowd to hear Kathy Russello of Ahold USA, Toby Johnson of Pepsi and Julie Kruger of Google lead a panel discussion of “Creating your best self at work.” The NEW events always offer a nice setting and opportunity to network and check out our trade calendars for the next NEW event.
Kudos to the folks at C&S Wholesale Grocers on the launch of “Best Wishes” program. The program is designed to help needy families in communities where the C&S house brand Best Yet products are sold. Customers are able to purchase a $5 grocery bag containing basic staples such as tuna, mac & cheese, instant potatoes, canned veggies and soups. The retailer is able to then donate the purchases to a local food bank which will provide food for those in need, make the consumer feel good about a good deed, create positive awareness in the community and provide sales for the retailer. A win-win for all. The program was piloted last fall with select retailers in the Northeast and west coast markets and was such a success that C&S is rolling it our nationally.
Key Food held a grand reopening of its location at 87-15 Rockaway Beach Boulevard in Rockaway Beach, NY. The location which is owned by Rafael Diaz and his sister Evelyn Vargas had been closed since Hurricane Sandy and the community was eager to embrace the “Open for Business” sign again. “We are so proud of store owner and long-time Key Food member, Rafael Diaz,” says Key Foods chief operating officer George Knobloch. “Since Superstorm Sandy he has not only diligently worked on reopening this store, but also focused on creating an even better shopping experience for his customers.” This store has not only been rebuilt, but completely renovated inside and out. State-of-the-art equipment, as well as energy efficient lighting systems, have been installed in a conscious effort to go green. The store also offers an ATM, gift cards, lotto, recycling center for bottle returns and delivery service. “I have been a part of this neighborhood for 23 years,” said Diaz. “Rebuilding and coming back to serve this wonderful neighborhood has been my priority since the devastation hit and I am so happy to finally open my doors and give this community an even better shopping experience than before.”
Speaking of Key Food, a big welcome aboard to John Durante, who will assume the title of VP of business development. John is an industry veteran having recently served as VP-sales at CBA Industries, a business that touches nearly every food retailer in the Northeast through their circulation business and which will serve him and Key Food well in his endeavors.
Congrats to Rick Glover on landing a spot as northeast regional sales manager with Hickory Foods, or as we all better know them, Bubba Burger. Rick was with Langer Juice Co. and we wish him well in his new spot.
The Ideal Food Basket Co-Op continues to grow its membership with another location added in the Albany, NY area in the town of Menands. The store replaces a closed Save-a-Lot unit and the 19,000 square foot space has been completely renovated with full departments in meat, produce, deli, bakery, seafood and grocery. According to company CEO Dan Cabassa, “We do a lot of research and look for areas that show growth. We opened three stores at the end of last year in Westbury, Jamaica and Coney Island. We get into areas where most organizations don’t go into, and we go into underserved areas.” Ideal Food Basket has 30 stores and Dan tells us to look forward to continued growth in 2014.
One of our industry’s most successful charitable campaigns recently kicked off. The Ahold/Stop & Shop/Giant Food Triple Winner game will run in-store from April 11 through July 10. Customers in New York, New Jersey and southern Connecticut who make a $1 contribution will receive a Triple Winner scratch ticket and could be an instant winner of a free product, cash up to $10,000 or a product coupon. Stop & Shop has raised over $67 million through the Triple Winner Game to date and more than $13 million has been raised for MemorialSloanKetteringCancerCenter since 2001. This year the company aims to raise another $1.5 million through its in-store campaign, “Donate Hope.” The Triple Winner Game supports the fight against pediatric cancer at MemorialSloanKetteringCancerCenter and provides children with in-depth intellectual and emotional support to help them adapt to their lives post-treatment. “Stop & Shop is enormously proud to be part of the team that is forcing pediatric cancer to retreat. Triple Winner has become a campaign that has saved lives, created research paths and provided genuine hope to families waiting for a cure,” said Don Sussman, president of Stop & Shop New York Metro Division. I was fortunate enough to be at several of the initial kick-off meetings of this tremendous event, and it is wonderful to see that it continues to flourish in the campaign to fight cancer. Well done, everyone at Ahold and Stop & Shop!
As we were going to press I had the pleasure of attending the ribbon-cutting of the opening of the newest Wakefern warehouse in Elizabeth, NJ. The spectacular 524,000 square foot facility located at 600 York Street replaces the old Wakefern grocery warehouse and increases storage capabilities by more than 58 percent. (Wakefern had temporarily transitioned to a facility in Carteret, NJ while the demolition and construction of the new warehouse was fast tracked along.) Upon entering the facility, you will immediately notice the soaring 36 foot high ceilings which significantly help increase the storage space. A host of local and state dignitaries were on hand along with the entire ShopRite family of owners and Wakefern executives to cut the ribbon and tour the facility, but the major takeaway from the day was the theme of “families serving families” which was continually echoed in the comments by Wakefern chairman and CEO Joe Colalillo and Wakefern president and COO Joe Sheridan. The ShopRite owners and their families have been serving their friends and communities in their trading areas for multiple generations and as Joe Colalillo stated, the new warehouse is another piece of the puzzle which will “help small businesses succeed in a big business world.”
Finally I leave you with a note of condolence to one of our colleagues, Maria Maggio. Maria’s dad Mario Maggio passed away on April 12 at the age of 94. I never had the chance to meet Mario, but knew many who knew him from his years of running and owning the M. Maggio Cheese Co.  Those who did know him loved to share their collections of “Marioisms” but the one thing that always came through was that he was a solid and loyal family and business man.  My thoughts and prayers to Maria and her family at this time. The family ask that any donations in Mario’s name be made to the JDRF, 225 City Line Avenue, Suite 104, Bala Cynwyd, PA19004 or St. John’s Hospice, 1221 Race Street, Philadelphia, PA19107. May his soul rest in eternal peace.
That’s it for now and I hope to see you out and about and as always you can reach me at [email protected] or 201.250.2217.
