Happy New Year to everyone and I do hope that you all had an enjoyable and peaceful holiday season. I had the opportunity to drop in on a couple of new stores over the holidays and was truly impressed with the ingenuity and creativity demonstrated by these independent retailers. Operating in such a competitive retailing environment, it showed once again how sharp independents can really compete and succeed. The first one I visited was the newest Key Food in Baldwin, Long Island (store number 217 for Key Food if you’re counting) and I was quite surprised upon entering the store. It is definitely not the “same old-same old” sell some groceries establishment. It is a beautiful eye pleasing store with fabulous décor and fixtures, dazzling refrigerated cases, expansive produce department and on and on. The store is operated by Aurora Grocery Group which is owned by the Jorge, Pena and Gutierrez families. Aurora owns 27 Compare Foods stores which will contain to operate as Compare, but has also acquired three additional sites in addition to the new Baldwin location. Aurora intends to open the new sites as Gala Fresh Farms stores. One is at a former King Kullen site in Riverhead, NY and the other sites are in Brooklyn, NY, Passaic, NJ and Paterson, NJ. The latter three stores were acquired during A&P’s bankruptcy auction this fall. Proud parents Francisco and Ursula Jorge were on hand at the ribbon cutting to see their three children Franky, Omar and Jenny’s dream come to fruition. “Gala Fresh is a different concept from our Compare Foods, and we felt going with Key Food would be a better fit for the type of store it will be,” said Omar Jorge. Gala Fresh Farms stores will feature fresh offerings including an extensive selection of fresh seafood; hot prepared food, sushi, and fresh bakery items. It will offer organic and conventional produce, kosher items and fresh coffee by the pound. Francisco Jorge, head of Compare Foods and longtime NSA board member added, “This is very exciting. This store is an integrated supermarket meaning that it has something for everyone. We’re here to serve the community and we plan to be as competitive as we can with our pricing.” Dean Janeway, CEO of Key Foods added, “I think it’s one of our nicest stores.” He cited the aesthetics and the layout as hitting the mark and then some. Personally I wouldn’t be surprised to see some of the yet-to-come Key Food stores incorporate elements of the Gala Fresh prototype into the new formats. Well done and best wishes to all at Gala Fresh!
The other location I frequented was the newest DeCicco & Sons market on Palmer Avenue in Larchmont, NY. Although the official outdoor signage wasn’t complete, the interior was absolutely ready for business. The 16,000 square foot site (and it appears much larger than that) hits the mark in every department for the demographic that they are serving. An extensive array of natural/organic meats, proteins and produce run through the entire right hand side of the store while a full service seafood department brings in fresh items every day. A fully staffed prep kitchen has hot and read- to-go foods available constantly and a staff of fresh cut produce associates always has the produce department looking its best. Owners John DeCicco Sr. and brother Joe DeCicco Sr. and their sons John Jr., Chris and Joe Jr., all had their influences in the construction of the store. Joe Jr., for example, proudly showed off the entire back wall of refrigerated cases which house more than 3,000 craft beers from around the world. In addition, a very unique selling opportunity exists for the DeCicco’s in that they operate with a tavern license which allows them to also have beer and wine for sale to consume in the store (like a bar/tavern establishment). An upstairs bar area which overlooks the store houses the bar with flat screen TVs and, in the few weeks that the store has been open, has done very well on weekends and is already lining up different beer/wine/food pairing nights. Also, John Jr. spearheaded the efforts for the store’s green initiative and told us that it is just a matter of weeks before the store will be officially LEED certified. LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) is a green building program that recognizes best-in-class building strategies and practices. The majority of the ground-up construction consists of reclaimed lumber and brick and a real potpourri of everyday salvaged items that pop up throughout the store in fixtures and décor put some nice finishing touches to the store. Congratulations to all of the DeCicco’s and their staff, and I look forward to visiting again.
I was saddened to learn that Charles Kuperus, former New Jersey secretary of agriculture, passed away
December 30 after a battle with cancer at the far too young age of 57. Charles served as secretary from 2002 through 2008 and was a warm and friendly man who worked very well with all he encountered.
He grew up in Sussex, NJ on a dairy farm and founded his own Kuperus Farmside Gardens in 1979. He is survived by his children C. Mark and Michelle, Katherine, Jonathan and Rachel, James and Katherine, Annette and Carlos Franco, and David and Alexandra, and five grandchildren. Memorial donations in his name may be made to Sussex Christian School, 51 Unionville Avenue, Sussex, NJ 07641 or Eastern Christian High School, 50 Oakwood Ave., North Haledon, NJ 07508. Wishing you eternal resting peace.
The New England Produce Council, Inc. (NEPC) announced the appointment of Anthony Sattler as NEPC president and Mark Jewell as a director on the NEPC board. Anthony is the vice president of produce at C&S Wholesale Grocers, Inc. and Mark is category manager-produce at Hannaford Supermarkets. Anthony will be replacing Bob McGowan of Northeast Produce Sales who has been NEPC president for multiple terms. His commitment and dedication to the organization has been exceptional and noteworthy and the council anticipates Bob remaining involved as an advisor to the executive board, according to Laura Sullivan, executive director of NEPC. Laura also wanted to pass along that the annual NEPC Dinner Dance Gala will be held February 6 at the World Trade Center at the Seaport Hotel, Boston MA. And the next NEPC Produce, Floral & Food Service Expo will be held Sept. 21-23 at the Ocean Edge Resort & Golf Club, Brewster MA.
Good work by Goya Foods as they launched the second edition of the MyPlate/MiPlato cookbook, “Happy, Healthy Celebrations: Bright, Bold, Healthy Latin Recipes to Celebrate Every Occasion!” This book is part of the national MyPlate campaign designed to help educate Americans on eating healthy and done in collaboration with First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move initiative and the USDA. The free bilingual cookbook featuring 10 complete plates with 30 healthy recipes that celebrate the culinary traditions of the Latin culture and incorporates the five basic food groups for a balanced diet. “We’ve always produced healthy products such as our Goya beans, rice, frozen vegetables and other household staples like olive oil and seasonings; all naturally good for you,” said Joe Perez, senior vice president of Goya Foods. “The MyPlate campaign has been a successful collaboration with the First Lady and has given us the opportunity to expand our product portfolio as well as provide the necessary tools and education to meet the health needs of our consumers.” Goya’s healthy product line has expanded to feature over 40 variations of low sodium and organic beans, organic rice, brown rice, quinoa, frozen vegetables, fruits, coconut water and diet beverages, as well as low sodium condiments. Great job Goya!
The New Year usually brings the rash of “I’m going to lose weight” resolutions, but at Inserra Supermarkets, the big ShopRite operator held its own version of The Biggest Loser before January 1. All employees of the 22 Inserra ShopRites were eligible to compete for the biggest weight loss as well as getting healthier. Congratulations to Rommel Raymond Modejar, produce manager at the Jersey City ShopRite and his 65-pound weight loss! The competition was spearheaded by Lindsey Inserra, VP corporate health and wellness, and Jenna Stock, manager of corporate retail health and wellness. Rommel said he has since lost an additional 15 pounds and loves his new lifestyle. Good work Rommel! Finally, a shout out of “Get well soon” to Mike Casey of Casey Communications. Seems Mike was feeling a little out of sorts after the holidays and went get himself checked out. While at the medical office, Mike experienced a heart attack. Luckily he was in the right place at the right time and we’re happy to report that he is on the mend and we hope to see him back out in the trade soon.
That’s all for now folks. The holidays are behind us and it’s back to work. Look forward to seeing you all out in the field and you can reach me at kgallagher@best-met.com or 201.250.2217.
