Former Tops Friendly Markets chairman and chief executive Frank Curci is returning to lead the newly combined regional supermarket chain, Northeast Grocery, Inc. (NGI) which was formed after the Federal Trade Communication authorized the merger between Tops and Price Chopper/Market 32 in November 2021.
At that time, Curci became a board member and consultant of the newly combined retail organization of the two largest upstate New York regional chains. The deal was first announced in February 2021 with Price Chopper CEO Scott Grimmett being named as the chief executive of NGI.
However, on January 19 the Schenectady, NY-based company announced that Grimmett would be retiring in February, opening the door for Curci to return. Grimmett joined Price Chopper in 2012 as president and COO from Safeway where he spent 38 years, including a stint as Denver division president. Five years later, he became the regional chain’s CEO, the first non-Golub family member to hold that position at the company that was founded in 1932 as Central Market.
According to a statement from NGI, Grimmett recently informed the NGI board that he felt this was the right time for him to retire to spend more time with his family in Arizona and turn over leadership of the company. Grimmett will be working with Curci to ensure a smooth leadership transition and provide consulting.
“We have been extraordinarily fortunate to have Scott Grimmett lead us through the merger process and develop the strategies and plans to move the company forward,” said NGI board co-chair Jerry Golub, who once served as Price Chopper CEO (2012-2016). “First at Price Chopper/Market 32 and most recently at NGI, Scott has shown exceptional leadership qualities and vision. We wish him the best as he retires.”
“Working at Price Chopper/Market 32 and helping to lead the organization through this merger has been the opportunity of a lifetime,” Grimmett stated. “I want to thank all of the teammates and associates at Price Chopper/Market 32 and Tops who have worked so hard to serve our customers, especially during these difficult times. I also want to thank the Golub family for trusting me to shepherd this exceptional company into the next phase of its near century of industry leadership.”
Curci has more than 40 years of experience in the supermarket industry. Originally from New Jersey, he joined the former Mayfair Super Markets (Foodtown) in 1987, ultimately rising to become CFO and chief operating officer. When Ahold acquired Mayfair in 1995, Curci joined the large Dutch retailer. He held executive positions at the company’s Bi-Lo and Edwards Super Food Stores units before moving to Tops as CEO in 2000. In 2005 he served as COO for Southern Family Markets, a division of C&S Wholesale Grocers, before retuning as chief executive of Tops when the retailer was acquired by investment company Morgan Stanley Private Equity for $310 million in 2007.
During his tenure at Tops, Curci and the Tops team acquired 79 Penn Traffic stores in 2010 and 21 Grand Union stores in in 2012.
“I’m excited about the future of this company and implementing the plans Scott and I have put in place,” said Curci. “With our now-combined footprint of nearly 300 stores, we are better positioned to leverage increased value for customers; advance shared opportunities for innovation; and fortify the depth of our expanded workforce, community, and trade partnerships, making us stronger and more competitive.”
NGI’s headquarters will remain in Schenectady and Curci will work from those offices. As previously announced, Blaine Bringhurst will continue as president of the Price Chopper/Market 32 business and John Persons will remain president of the Tops Markets business. Dave Langless, formerly the chief financial officer of Tops, serves as NGI’s CFO.
The newly combined entity operates 292 stores in New York, Vermont, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. Approximately 18,000 associates are part of the new organization.
In related news, C&S, which agreed to acquire 12 stores in New York and Vermont that the FTC deemed were overlapping, has begun reopening those stores as Grand Union units. The first two stores debuted in January 22 in Rutland, VT and Warrensburg, NY. Opened on January 29 were supermarkets in Norwich, NY and Owego, NY.
In February, seven former Tops units will also celebrate ribbon cuttings. Those stores are located in Cooperstown, NY and Cortland, NY on February 5; in Peru, NY and Saranac Lake, NY (February 12); in Watertown, NY (February 19); and in Rome NY and Sherrill, NY (on February 26).
A second store in Watertown, NY (on Washington St.), which C&S also acquired, will reopen as a Piggly Wiggly on February 19, the first Piggly Wiggly in the Empire State.