The Maryland Retailers Alliance has inducted four grocery industry executives, a local politician who worked closely with the food industry, and an iconic Maryland company into its Hall of Fame. The honorees were honored at a breakfast held last month at Martin’s Caterer’s in Baltimore.
Phil Tulkoff, Tulkoff Food Products, has led the Baltimore-based manufacturer to new heights in the 19 years he has served as president and CEO. The company’s history dates back to 1925 when Harry and Lena Tulkoff operated a produce stand in Baltimore City. As their business grew, the company began to focus on their prepared horseradish which is still a hallmark of the business.
Since becoming president and chief executive in 2005, Phil Tulkoff has sold their longstanding property on Brewer’s Hill in Baltimore and expanded operations to a new facility in Baltimore’s Holbird Business Park. Tulkoff was also responsible for the opening of a new manufacturing facility in Cincinnati, OH and expanded the company’s business into co-packing which now encompasses more than 50 percent of its business. In recent years, Tulkoff’s has also broadened its product selection to include flavored sauces, garlics, garlic spreads, butters and sauces, ginger and herbed sauces.
Maryland native Kurt Schertle began his career at Metro Food Markets in Baltimore. That company and its Basics subsidiary were acquired by Shoppers Food & Pharmacy (Shoppers Food) where he rose through the ranks from store manager to senior VP-marketing & merchandising.
In 2009, Schertle joined Sunbury, PA-based region grocery chain Weis Markets as VP-sales and merchandising. Currently, he serves the large Mid-Atlantic retailer as its chief operating officer and he oversees all aspects of the company’s marketing, merchandising, procurement, advertising, store operations, information technology and supply chain, including its distribution and transportation teams. When Schertle joined Weis 14 years ago, the retailer’s annual volume was $2.5 billion. Through organic growth and several acquisitions, current annual sales are $4.8 billion.
Business partners David Green and Melvin Shapiro have collectively been in the retail and wholesale grocery industry for more than 100 years and both started working in their families’ businesses – Green at B. Green & Company and Shapiro at Baltimore-based independent retailer Food Town. For the past 27 years, they have owned D&M Management Services which operates 11 Save A Lot discount stores in Maryland, West Virginia and Virginia (their first store was located in Hancock, MD) and employs approximately 230 associates. Green has been active with the original Maryland Food Dealers Association (which later merged with the Maryland Retailers Alliance) since 1976.
This year’s political inductee was recently retired Maryland State Senator Delores Kelley. She was first elected to the Maryland House of Delegates in 1990, representing parts of Baltimore City and Baltimore County in the 42nd District from January 1991 to January 1995. She was elected to the Maryland Senate to represent Baltimore County in District 10 in 1994 and served in that seat from January 1995 until her retirement in January 2023. During her time in office, she served on several legislative committees and was chair of the Senate finance committee from 2019-2023. Kelley served on many state commissions and task forces while in office and was heavily involved with the state Democratic party and state and local central committees. In addition to her leadership and guidance to the Maryland Retailers Alliance, Senator Kelley has been recognized and awarded by several non-profit organizations including the Maryland Commission for Women, the Maryland Foster Care Review Board, YWCA of Greater Baltimore, and the Domestic Violence Network of Maryland. She was chosen for the First Citizen Award from the Maryland Senate in 2017.
The Baltimore Coffee & Tea Co. (BCT) is the 2023 Hall of Fame recipient for local manufacturing. The company was founded in 1992 by partners Norman Loverde and Stanley Constantine. With a family history in the coffee and tea business dating back to 1895, Loverde and Constantine’s vision was to import and purvey the freshest, most authentic coffee and tea possible. The initial retail roastery quickly grew into a major player in the Maryland area, operating four divisions: retail coffee and tea, wholesale C\coffee manufacturing, ecommerce coffee and tea, and Wholesale Eastern Shore Tea Co. for tea manufacturing. BCT’s retail stores offer 120 varieties of freshly roasted coffee, available in regular, Swiss water process decaffeinated, flavored coffee, and certified fair trade organic coffee. The company’s tea selection of more than 1,000 varieties is reportedly the largest in the country. In addition, breakfast and lunch offerings, coffee and tea accessories, preserves, and gourmet packaged foods are also offered for retail sale. The company currently operates manufacturing retail facilities in Timonium, MD. and retail stores in Frederick, Annapolis, and Odenton, MD. The company also sells their products worldwide online and employs more than 100 people.