Greetings all and welcome to Q4 of this year. I was glad to hear that Philip Delprete, CEO at Uncle Giuseppe’s and R Best Produce, is back on the job and all is well after a little eye opening health scare recently. After a physical determined he had an atrial fibrillation (A Fib) and needed to go in for a routine ablation procedure, the pre surgery blood work came back a little “off” and subsequent testing determined that Phil had a mass on his kidney. Additionally, the kidney had not been functioning at all for an extended period of time. Fortunately, for those of you who know Phil, you are well aware of his boundless energy, so it was not surprising to hear that after having the kidney removed, two hours later he was out and was on his way home. Net-Net. Phil was back at his desk five days later, raring and ready to go, just in time for the grand opening of the newest Uncle Giuseppe’s in Ramsey, NJ. Uncle Giuseppe’s acquired the 53,000 square foot former Pathmark at the A&P bankruptcy sale. The spectacular store will feature a fresh seafood department, bakery, gelato counter with chocolate fountains, bread from Arthur Avenue in the Bronx, and a fresh cheese department. There is also a pizzeria, salad and soup bar, sushi, and a wide selection of grab-and-go items all prepared fresh daily and ready for takeout. The Ramsey site is the sixth store for Phil, his brothers Carl and Joe, and partner Thomas Barresi. As Phil said at the opening, “We started Uncle Giuseppe’s to try and recreate the way our grandparents used to shop. While those grandparents, back in the old neighborhoods like Arthur Avenue in the Bronx, would stop at one store for meat, another for bread, another for fish, Uncle Giuseppe’s brings all those stores under one roof.” Up next for the Delpretes and Tommy B is a seventh store in Melville, Long Island scheduled for June 2017. Good luck guys!
Congratulations to Spencer An and the team at Bogopa/Food Bazaar on the opening of their newest location in North Bergen, NJ at the site of a former Food Basics market. “We are so pleased to continue to expand our presence in local communities with the addition of this New Jersey location,” said Edward Suh, executive vice president for Food Bazaar. “We take great pride in giving back to the neighborhoods we serve and partner with organizations who assist those who need it the most. Through this opening and our three previous openings, we reached a 20-ton donation milestone. It is a meaningful way to impact our local areas and show our continued support.” The new location features a full-service seafood department, custom cutting meat department, bakery, deli counter, exotic produce offerings and extensive international aisles – key feature that sets the company apart from other grocers. Food Bazaar will open its next site in Fairview, NJ on Anderson Avenue in early December.
Goya Foods has opened a 240,000 square foot sustainable production facility in Secaucus, NJ as part of a $250 million investment first announced in 2014. The facility, which is located at the site of the old Goya headquarters, is equipped to manufacture and distribute more than 4 million cases of Goya products annually. It features new production machinery and technology, including a continuous motion line that produces 600 boxes of Goya’s rice mixes per minute, six times faster than the company’s past production capability. “The opening of our new production facility in Secaucus, along with our current headquarters in Jersey City, not only enables us to operate more efficiently and cost effectively but most importantly, extends 80 years of Goya’s heritage in providing our consumers with authentic, high quality and affordable Latin products,” said Bob Unanue, president of Goya Foods. Goya said the new facility is equipped with 6,552 solar panels on 3.7 acres of rooftop to generate more than 70 percent of the building’s energy supply and provide a net zero carbon foot-print. Additionally, the company is working on the installation of rail service that is expected to significantly reduce transportation costs, traffic congestion and fuel consumption. Goya moved in to its new 640,000 square foot corporate headquarters in Jersey City in April 2015.
Saker ShopRite opened its 31st store in South Plainfield, NJ at the site of a former Pathmark location. Extensive renovations and upgrades resulted in a state-of-the-art 80,000 square foot marvel. Saker ShopRite, Inc. was established in 1916 and today remains a family-owned company. “We are celebrating our 100th anniversary and it seems fitting that we are celebrating it with the opening of this South Plainfield store,” said Richard Saker, the company’s president and COO. “We have a strong presence in New Jersey and, up until now, when it came to ShopRite, there was a void in this area. The store boasts a pharmacy, in-store café, a Dunkin Donuts, a specialty cigar shoppe, and a full-service catering department as well as a from-scratch bakeshop; a meat department with trained butchers; a full-service seafood department; a floral shop; and a full service deli department. Additionally, hot entrees, sushi, a cold buffet, a Mediterranean olive bar, made-to-order sandwiches, and cheeses from around the world as well as a large selection of fresh produce and natural and organic products are available. The store also offers ShopRite from Home and is outfitted 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. “Our variety is great, we have a tremendous selection of all the organic products that people want today, and we have club sizes and club pricing with no membership fee,” said Saker, adding, “And we have Dunkin Donuts. You always try to make the next store better than the one before and I feel we have accomplished that here,” added Saker. “Our promise is to offer the customer the best possible quality at the best possible price and to make every customer a satisfied customer. We also want to become a vital part of the community.” Saker ShopRite made a $10,000 donation to the Community Food Bank of New Jersey at the opening. The store will be managed by Mike Egan who comes from Saker’s East Brunswick store.
Best wishes to Omar Jorge and the Jorge family as their company (Aurora Grocery Group) opened their fifth Gala Fresh (and 24th supermarket overall) on Van Houten Avenue in Passaic, NJ. Located at the site of a former Food Basics, the 32,000 square foot store underwent massive renovations and upgrading. The refreshed site is a far cry from the old Food Basics and Omar is confident that the open concept and multiple service departments will be successful in the diverse neighborhood.
Congratulations to the team at RDD Associates, which was named center store vendor of the year by Allegiance Retail Services. The award and recognition for Bob Cignarella and his team came at the Allegiance vendor meeting. Also recognized during the program were: Premio Foods as perishable vendor of the year, Manhattan Beer for best booth (center store) at Allegiance’s Trade show, and Boar’s Head for best booth (perishables) Congratulations to all.
As we were going to press, we learned that Supervalu has picked up another Metro New York area account when its announced it had been selected by America’s Food Basket (AFB) as a grocery wholesaler and supplier. The parties have entered into a long-term agreement for Supervalu to supply AFB member stores with grocery products across a range of categories including meat, deli, bakery, grocery, fresh produce, frozen foods and dairy. Supervalu will distribute AFB’s “Ideal Brands” as well as provide AFB stores with the ability to offer Supervalu’s private brand products. AFB currently has 47 stores operating under the banners America’s Food Basket, Ideal Food Basket and Superfi Emporium. “America’s Food Basket is a terrific regional co-op that delivers a great neighborhood grocery experience for its customers,” said Mike Stigers, executive vice president of Supervalu’s wholesale business. “Our plans to continue to grow Supervalu’s wholesale business took another step forward today with the addition of America’s Food Basket.” Supervalu and AFB expect that a few of the 47 AFB member stores will have transitioned to Supervalu supply before the end of December 2016 with the balance of the remaining stores likely to transition to Supervalu supply during the first quarter of calendar 2017. “America’s Food Basket is moving into our fourth year of growth while at the same time seeking opportunities to build our business by exploring new avenues for operational excellence,” said Dan Cabassa, CEO, America’s Food Basket. “We’re pleased to announce this relationship with Supervalu as we believe it will help us deliver a great offering for our shoppers.”
And also at press time, Natural Markets Food Group (NMFG), parent company of Mrs. Green’s Neighborhood Market, announced it will be closing five locations and focus on its remaining five stores, all located in Westchester County, NY. As part of the new strategic direction, CEO Pat Brown will step down. Existing management has taken over his duties while the company finalizes the search process for his replacement. Pat is a very good man who never really was given the ammunition to go to battle effectively in this highly competitive retail arena. We wish him well in his next endeavor.
Well, here’s hoping everyone ends their year strong and prosperously. I hope I have the chance to see you out during the many dinners or events during the coming holiday season and, as always, you can reach me at 201.250.2217 or [email protected]