Welcome to the dog days of summer. It’s been hot in the Northeast and I hope everyone has been able to enjoy the offerings of the season.
Congratulations to Phillip Kafarakis who was named president of the Specialty Food Association. Phil brings more than 30 years of food industry experience to the SFA, with a background in innovative brand management, membership development, and strategic planning. Most recently he was with the National Restaurant Association as chief innovation and member advancement officer. Prior to that, he spent ten years with McCormick & Company and also has held executive leadership positions at Cargill, Jones Dairy Farm, and Kraft. “We are very pleased to have Phil join our organization,” said Becky Renfro Borbolla, of Renfro Foods and chair of the SFA’s board of directors. “His experience and insight to the industry will provide us with an excellent blend of strength in strategy, member development and engagement, sales and marketing, and innovative partnership development. Each of those qualities will be essential to our association as we seek to serve our members and the industry in new and compelling ways.” Phil will be responsible for the strategic direction and day-to-day operations of Specialty Food Association, which serves more than 3,200 innovative, entrepreneurial member companies in the food and beverage industry. He replaces Ann Daw who stepped down at the end of 2015 after nine years and is currently serving on several boards as a director. Ann had replaced the legendary John Roberts who directed the SFA for 17 years.
LiDestri Foods has changed its name to better reflect its full array of offerings and will now be known as LiDestri Foods and Drinks. The company’s previous name, LiDestri Foods, reflects an era when the company was almost exclusively a contract manufacturer of pasta sauces and salsas. The new name reflects the addition of fast-growing divisions for beverage and spirits in recent years, expanding the company’s offerings in dips, sauces and salsas. Interestingly and very atypical of contract manufacturing relationships, two high-profile longtime customers give video testimony for LiDestri’s new website – www.Lidestrifoodanddrink.com. The fact that the CEOs of Newman’s Own and Wegmans Food Markets publicly recommend LiDestri in the marketplace is testament to the strength of decades-long, mutually beneficial relationships. The groundbreaking new website was an initiative of Stefani LiDestri, who will transition from chief marketing officer to co-president of the company alongside her brother, John C. LiDestri. Giovanni LiDestri will remain CEO for the foreseeable future and will continue to oversee manufacturing operations. “We’re very proud of how our company has evolved and grown while staying steeped in our roots. I treasure the partnerships that have brought us to this point,” Stefani LiDestri said. “Both our new website and our new name exemplify our company’s character: Where tradition meets innovation.” Established more than 40 years ago, LiDestri now operates five SQF, level-3-certified, state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities in Fairport, NY; Rochester, NY; Fresno, CA; Lansdale, PA; and Pennsauken, NJ.
Several new store openings occurred in our area over the last few weeks and we had a chance to visit and walk the aisles. The Estevez family opened up their 10th location in Hastings-On-Hudson, NY at the site of a former A&P. The 20,000 square foot Foodtown location should be a big hit for the family, as the town had been without a supermarket since A&P closed its doors last fall. It was good seeing proud patriarch Morel Estevez along with his hard working sons, John, Billy and Robin rolling up their sleeves and hustling to finish up the last minute details. Good luck to the Estevez family! And speaking of the Estevez family, big congrats to Robin Estevez on the printing of his first book, “Lessons from Behind the Counter: The Principles a Business Family Uses to Empower Future Generations.” Robin shares stories about growing up in the food business with his dad and his brothers and the life lessons learned along the way. It is full of humorous stories and insights and it is available on Amazon.com to anyone interested. We were very impressed with the finished product – Felicidades, Robin!!!
The Key Food machine keeps rolling along as two of their newly acquired banners from the A&P bankruptcy opened their doors for business. Harold Lee opened a SuperFresh in Belleville, NJ at the site of a former Pathmark. The 54,000 square foot location is Harold’s seventh store and it has a real International flare with an extensive array of Hispanic, Asian and other ethnic offerings in the perishable, grocery, frozen and produce departments. The diverse local population should be pleased with the merchandising mix and we wish Harold much success. Also the first Food Emporium under the Key Food guidance opened in Garwood, NJ under the ownership of Kevin Kim. “Kevin Kim has put so much hard work into creating the best grocery store around,” says Key Food’s vice president of business development John Durante. At 50,000 square feet, this new The Food Emporium will have 5,000 square feet dedicated to fresh produce offerings, including all natural and organic items, from local New Jersey farms to ensure freshness. The seafood department is host to a multitude of fresh options from all over the world, including an oyster bar, and the full service meat department offers customers an on-site butcher to cut meat to order. Shoppers can take a break after shopping to enjoy the store’s cafeteria featuring a fresh squeezed juice bar, as well as coffee, tea, cappuccino, and espresso. The store also offers more than 10,000 organic, natural, and gluten-free items across all departments for customer convenience. “We’re here to serve the community,” says store owner Kim. “From creating new jobs and offering the best customer service, to offering the highest quality of food, our goal is to bring customers an all-around fantastic shopping experience.”
And it was a long time coming, but congratulations to Kevin Mannix on the opening of his brand new ShopRite on the South Shore of Staten Island at 3010 Veterans Road West. This store is a real jewel.
It’s the Mannix family’s third ShopRite on Staten Island and once you can get Kevin past all of the BS involved with getting it open for business (he originally signed leases for it in 2011!!!) you will see the heart and soul poured into this ground up location. The perimeter of the store is outstanding. It starts with an expansive produce department and leads to a multitude of meal options including an in-house restaurant operation, Reggiano’s Brick Oven Pizza, a Dunkin Donuts, sushi bar and a full sit down café. Kevin brings in fresh bagels from Brooklyn every day and the bakery department fries fresh donuts early every morning and makes a variety of cakes and sweets from scratch. The aisles are wide and the front end is deep and spacious. “Our goal was to make the store functional and fun,” said Mannix. “We are thrilled to bring ShopRite to the South Shore, where customers will find all their favorite ShopRite offerings.” Best wishes Kevin and also congrats on becoming a grandfather a few months ago, when daughter Elizabeth gave birth to grandson Connor Jack. Quite a last few months!!
We were sorry to learn that Hugh Snyder, former regional sales manager for 40 years with Johanna Foods, passed away at the end of June at the age of 77. The family requests that any donations in his memory be made to the Ridgewood Emergency Services, 33 Douglas Place, Ridgewood, NJ 07450. May his soul rest in peace.
That’s all for now everyone. We still have six weeks or so before school starts again. Enjoy the balance of the summer and I hope to see you out and about. As always feel free to reach me at 201.250.2217 or [email protected].
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