Season’s Greetings to everyone and I hope this finds you all well.
Well, as we have seen, the collapse of A&P and closure of A&P-owned banners have created plenty of opportunities for retailers around the region. A tip of the hat and congratulations to Sid, Dan and Noah Katz at PSK Supermarkets. Not only for the acquisition of three stores (an A&P, Waldbaums and a Pathmark), but on their bid for the Pathmark brand and intellectual property or, more specifically, K-50-15 Corp., a subsidiary of PSK Supermarkets, which made the bid. A&P has asked the bankruptcy court overseeing its affairs for approval to sell its Pathmark brand and intellectual property to K-50-15 Corp. for $1 million. The intellectual property includes the domain pathmark.com as well as the Pathmark Twitter and YouTube accounts. In addition to Pathmark, other trademarks included in the deal are Chefmark, Big Deals, Sav-A-Center and the Pathmark Gospel Choir Competition. (Isn’t it amazing when you stop to think that, just eight years ago, A&P bought Pathmark for $665 million?) And in that same vein, last month, A&P accepted a stalking horse offer of $1.75 million from Key Food Stores to acquire The Food Emporium banner and related brands. The acquired assets included The Food Emporium banner, trademarks, domain names, e-commerce business and fully developed mobile application. While using the term “intellectual property” when used in the same sentence with A&P is dubious at best, I wouldn’t bet against Key Food or PSK and their keen inner city merchandising and retailing chops to breathe significant life into these properties. Best wishes.
I was really saddened to learn that Chet Koby (Kobylakiewicz), VP of finance at Key Food Stores had passed away on Thanksgiving day at the age of 71. Chet was a classy guy who had been at Key for 20 years after stints at Wakefern and White Rose. I still remember meeting Chet for the first time back in the old Avenue D Key Food offices in Brooklyn and was always impressed with his knowledge and business acumen. Surviving are his wife of 48 years Donna Kutney, his son Chris, his two daughters Tracy Meyers and her husband Chad Callender and Kimberly Kobylakiewicz and her husband Benedetto Regalbuto, and his mother Mary Kobylakiewicz-Pross. The family will be establishing a fund in Chet’s name to help defray the cost of hotel rooms, food and transportation for families in need of assistance while their loved ones are receiving treatment at Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital in New York City. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Donna Kobylakiewicz at 34 Wintons Way, Monroe Twp., NJ 08831. Â May his soul rest in peace.
Kudos to all at the National Supermarket Association (NSA) on another spectacular annual banquet. This year’s soiree was held at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square, NYC, and more than 1,200 guests were on hand to enjoy the festivities. Suffice it to say, if any part of you is claustrophobic, stay away from this event in the future ;-). However, if you haven’t attended in the past, put it on your calendar for next year as it truly is a terrific time.
We learned that Charlie DePalma has landed as a customer business manager/team leader at Crossmark out of their Clark, NJ office. Charlie was a longtime salesperson at ESM-Ferolie and now will bring his expertise to Crossmark. Also, Steve Valdez has a new gig as the regional VP of sales at Buddy Fruits. Steve was formerly with Annie’s, Hain Celestial and Kozy Shack and is excited about the opportunities with Buddy Fruits which provides healthy alternatives to unhealthy foods.
I recently ran into Drew Sander, the former White Rose director of security and current director of quality assurance at C&S Wholesale Grocers. Drew is traveling extensively for C&S in his current position and doing well, but was really excited to share information about a new foundation he started – the Sander and Matits Burn Foundation. For those who were not aware, Drew was severely burned over 40 percent of his body when he was three years old and went through 10 years of skin grafting surgeries and multiple hospital visits as a child. The visible and mental scars were permanent for Drew and have driven him through his life and he feels that the time to give back comes in the form of this foundation.
Drew and Joe Matits (also a burn survivor) teamed up to launch a venture that they believe will make a difference in young burn survivors’ lives by showing them there is a life after being burned. Knowing that nothing helps heal burn survivors like other burn survivors, their nonprofit foundation creates scholarships so children can attend summer camp with children just like them at the Phoenix World Burn Congress, an annual event that brings together burn survivors, their families, caregivers, burn care professionals and firefighters. For many burn survivors it is their first opportunity to connect with others on the journey of burn recovery. A truly inspiring story. For anyone looking to donate, or for more information go to www.thesanderandmatitsburnfoundation.com
Congratulations to the good folks at Cibao Meat Products as they officially broke ground on their new plant in Rockaway, NJ. Company executives Heinz Vieluf Sr., Julio Isidor, Heinz Vieluf Jr., Lutzi Vieluf and Edgar Soto were all on hand as the first shovel hit the ground for the 70,000 building. Cibao Meat will continue to operate out of its St. Ann’s Avenue facility in the Bronx until the new plant is ready in June 2017.
Associated Supermarket Group (ASG) held its annual Holiday dinner recently at Leonardo’s Palazzo in Great Neck, Long Island and it gave ASG a chance to honor two of its customers as Retailers of the Year. Steve Vasilikos owner of three supermarkets (Pioneer, Urban Market and Urban Deli) and a restaurant was the first recipient and Jose Collado, owner of an Associated in Jackson Heights was the other. Congratulations to both Steve and Jose! And, while we’re speaking of ASG, I’d like to send out formal congratulations to Bob Striano who was named CEO, president and executive chairman of Associated Food Holdings, LLC a few months ago. I had the chance to meet Bob several years ago during his time at Kozy Shack and he impressed me as a consummate professional and skilled executive. In his short time at Associated – and from conversations I have had with several independent owners of Associated, Met Food and Compare stores – I can share with you that Bob has made a seriously terrific impression on the ASG customer base. Congrats again, Bob, and best wishes.
Kudos to Kings Food Markets’ COO, Rich Durante as it was announced he will take on the additional role of president at the upscale retailer. Rich succeeds Judy Spires in that particular role, as she had been serving as president and CEO, but recently took on the role of chairman.
Kings also announced that Jessica Gasser, the company’s VP of human resources, labor relations and administration, has been promoted to the role of senior vice president of talent and technology. Congratulations to all.
A hat tip to the good people at Goya Foods as they will offer a $20,000 nationwide Culinary Arts Scholarship granted annually to four students entering their freshman year of college to obtain their first undergraduate degree in culinary arts and/or a food sciences area of study. Goya’s Culinary Arts Scholarship are available on a competitive basis to students entering an accredited two-year or four-year institution. Scholarships are in the amount of $5,000 per academic year and are renewable for up to three additional years provided the student remains eligible to receive funding. “We established Goya’s Culinary Arts Scholarship program to demonstrate our pride in the diverse traditions of Goya’s culinary heritage, matched with our strong belief in the importance of education,” said Peter Unanue, executive vice president of Goya. “We want to give a new generation an opportunity to pursue their culinary passions and help families with the expense of a college education.
Finally, I want to extend the very best of the Holiday Season to all of you and your families. The current events of the world can be remarkably unpredictable and concerning yet it can be comforting to embrace the feeling and spirit of the Season and share it with yourself, family, friends and others. All the very best to all of you and see you in 2016.
As always, you can reach me at [email protected] or 201.250.2217.
