FORE!!! The 2015 golf season officially opened on May 4 as more than 90 golfers teed off at MAFTO’s annual outing held at Commonwealth Golf Club in Horsham, PA. Once again, event chair Bill Carter of Knauss Foods summoned the weather gods who came through with another perfect day to begin the season. Although some golfers complained about rusty clubs (read: they haven’t picked up a golf club for six months) the scores weren’t too shabby. John Stewart of Schmidt Baking had the low gross at 75, followed by Pete Ammons of Ammons ShopRites with an 81. Longest drives went to BJ Zellers of TKE Marketing, and Mike Gross of Mrs. T’s Pierogies. Most honest golfer went to Doug Coleman, Marsh and McLellan. The food at this event is always exceptional and the committee makes sure nobody leaves empty handed. I look forward to seeing you all on the various courses as we move into summer.
Two new stores opened this month in our market. Redner’s Market opened its 44th store when it cut the ribbon Chestertown, MD on May 13. Unique to its grand opening celebration, Redner’s always invites the local community to an open house to get a first glimpse of their new store the day before the actual opening. Store director John Henry, along with corporate staff and directors were on hand to welcome the community to its new grocery store. Opening day featured a brief, closed ribbon cutting ceremony with company and Chestertown city officials prior to officially opening for business at 8:00 a.m. At approximately 45,000 square feet, the new Chestertown Market in the Washington Square Shopping Center is a full service store offering services such as; in-store bakery, full service deli, fresh produce, and fresh meat and seafood departments, along with frozen, dairy, health and beauty aids/non-foods and grocery departments. This store is a prototype for all stores going forward with the installation of LED lighting throughout the store and also within the store’s parking lot. The store employs approximately 125 people in both full and part-time positions. Customers can participate in Redner’s Pump Perks fuel discount program and save money on their fuel purchases at a High’s Dairy Store, which is also located in the Washington Square Shopping Center. For every $100 spent on groceries, customers are able to earn a 10 cent discount per gallon, which can be used during a future fuel purchase. There is no limit to the amount of discounts that can be earned and customers can redeem their Pump Perks at any time. Unique to this location will be customized and reusable Chestertown Eco-Bags, which will be given with each order through May 20th. Customers will be able to take a free copy of Redner’s HealthCents newsletter and speak with corporate dietitian, Meredith Mensinger, about making healthy, nutritious decisions when shopping for food.
As we went to press on May 15, a new ShopRite was opening in Burlington, NJ. Local politicians, dignitaries and community leaders were in attendance to help the Eickhoff family present special donations to the Burlington Township Recreation Dept. designated for the replacement of children’s playground equipment and to NJ Autism Speaks for learning resource equipment and family grants. The family also presented a special donation to the Food Bank of South Jersey at Friday’s ribbon cutting.
Located in the WishingWellPlaza, on Route 541, the new 90,000 square foot ShopRite of Burlington is operated by Eickhoff’s Supermarkets, a family business which owns four additional ShopRite stores in BurlingtonCounty. The new store brings an additional 175 jobs to the Burlington community. In addition to a broad array of groceries and fresh produce, this store has several services that ShopRite customers have come to expect including: a fresh bake shop, fresh meat cut to order, a floral department, fresh seafood delivered daily, a Wine & Spirits Shop, as well as a broad selection of natural, organic and gluten-free products in every department. ShopRite of Burlington offers an extensive Meals in Minutes food service department featuring a wide variety of store-made, ready-to-cook entrees and side dishes. Hot American and Asian buffets, pizza, made-to-order sandwiches, as well as fresh sushi made daily, will be available for lunch and dinner. The new store also features ShopRite Kitchens Authentic fire grilled chicken to complement traditional rotisserie and fried chicken favorites. All items are prepared fresh daily on premises, available to take home or eat at the in-store café.
In addition to the free services of an in-store registered dietitian to assist customers in choosing healthy foods for their families, ShopRite of Burlington offers ShopRite From Home to its customers. The store’s full service pharmacy department also provides the added convenience of a drive thru window and a home delivery service which most stores do not provide. The ShopRite of Burlington was built with the latest energy-saving and sustainable technologies in refrigeration and lighting, including glass doors on the dairy and freezer cases, LED and T-8 lighting and environmentally-friendly refrigerant systems.
“My family and I are excited to bring our customers this state-of-the-art, service and perishables-oriented supermarket,” said Karl Eickhoff, president of Eickhoff’s Supermarkets. “The new ShopRite of Burlington will represent the traditional low prices and outstanding services that ShopRite has always been famous for, in a bigger, better, fresher location. We look forward to making a positive impact on the community and to continuing our long standing relationship with our BurlingtonCounty neighbors.”
Weis Markets launched its seventh annual Paws for Pets program, a company-wide initiative that collects monetary donations, pet food and supplies for local animal shelters and rescue organizations throughout the month of May. “Paws for Pets has become one of our company’s and one of our customers’ favorite programs,” said Brian Holt, vice president of advertising and marketing for Weis Markets. “Each year we are amazed at the generosity of our customers as they donate pet supplies and money to help improve the lives of homeless pets. Shelters continue to be overwhelmed by the number of animals in need, and we hope our program will provide some assistance to local rescues and shelters.” Since 2008, Paws for Pets has generated more than a million dollars in donations for local pet shelters. Weis Markets’ stores will also be hosting pet “adoptathons” in May. During the four week Paws for Pets program, customers can make $1, $3 or $5 donations, or buy a Paws for Pets reusable bag for $2. Customers can also make online donations at WeisMarkets.com. All proceeds donated will go to local shelters.
“Can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street?” Procacci Brothers can certainly do that as it unveiled new “eat brighter!” packaging for the “Fresh Fruit Trio” item in their Garden Sweet line of assorted premium fruit and vegetables. The popular item will now draw even more attention on retail shelves thanks to the new eye-catching ‘eat brighter!’ design featuring the Sesame Street character Big Bird. The Fresh Fruit Trio is Procacci Brothers’ second item that utilizes Sesame Street-themed packaging, joining Santa Sweets authentic grape tomatoes. The ‘eat brighter!’ program is a joint partnership between the Newark, DE based Produce Marketing Association and the Sesame Workshop that allows for Sesame Street’s lovable characters to appear on the packaging of fresh fruits and veggies without a licensing fee through 2016. The campaign has set its sights on increasing consumption of fruits and veggies among children aged two to five. Available in four and five pound bags, the Fresh Fruit Trio is a year-round item comprised of navel oranges, Granny Smith apples, and either gala or red delicious apples.
“The fruit trio was a natural fit for ‘eat brighter!’ packaging. Our variety apple and navel orange combination gives parents a few different snack options in the same bag that will keep their children happy and healthy throughout the summer and into next school year,” stated vice president of sales, Rick Feighery.
A fond farewell to Tracy Pawelski of Ahold USA as she retires on May 15. Tracy always had a smile on her face, even when the answer was no (which wasn’t often), and got us information faster than any other communications director in the business. Enjoy your next adventure, Tracy, whatever it may be!
Kudos to Dan Croce of Acme Markets and his team for presiding over a successful vendor meeting on April 21st at the Malvern offices. Dan was full of positive energy and contagious optimism as he addressed the vendor community with news of upcoming programs and opportunities at Acme.
A tip of the hat to the fine folks at Haddon House who put on another spectacular spring selling show at the Waldorf Astoria Bonnet Creek Resort in Orlando, FL earlier this month, setting a new company record with more than 450 booths, 100 of which were perishables. Retailers from all over the U.S. sampled and ordered products in almost every category, including non-perishables. Congrats!
The Genuardi Family Foundation awarded two deserving food marketing students at Saint Joseph’s University substantial scholarships for the upcoming academic year. At a luncheon at LaCollina in Belmont Hills, six Genuardi family members (including cousin Father Gappy) representing three generations mingled with recipients Caitlyn Fichter, Madison Smith and their families. Both young women are sophomores looking forward to careers in our industry.
Best wishes to Remy Ravitz, daughter of Steve Ravitz, Ravitz ShopRites, and Lynny Goldberg Ravitz on her marriage to Brett Strause. The high school sweethearts were married on April 25 at Vie, in the Avenue of the Arts North section of Philadelphia. The bride, whose smile lights up any room she walks into, and her husband honeymooned in French Polynesia and Australia, then returned home to Manhattan. Remy is the grand-daughter of two food industry icons, the late Stanley Ravitz, Ravitz Family Markets and the late Jack Goldberg, Penn Maid Foods. Mazel tov!
Birthday shout-outs for the merry month of May go out to: George Endrigian, George’s Dreshertown Shop ‘n Bag; Linda Gilroy, JOH; Anthony L Maglio, Maglio Sausage; Doug Buchanan, Brandywine Marketing; Jan Gabriel, Paul G. Nester and Co.; Beth Pripstein, office manager at Best-Met Publishing; and the one and only Dick Bestany, co-founder and chairman emeritus of Best-Met Publishing. Buon compleanno a tutti!
Quote of the month: “Tact is the ability to tell someone to go to hell in such a way that they look forward to the trip.” Winston Churchill