Business News

Supermarket shake-up in Seaford

Pathmark will become Stop & Shop

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For the second time in four years, the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, also known as A&P, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and as a result, the Pathmark on Merrick Road in Seaford will change hands.

Stop & Shop has announced that it will take over the store, along with two dozen other supermarkets in New York and New Jersey. A&P, which has nearly 300 supermarkets and other stores under several brands, including A&P, Waldbaum’s, SuperFresh, Pathmark, Food Basics, the Food Emporium and Best Cellars, will close 25 stores — five in the near future — put hundreds of others up for sale and bring an end to its storied 156-year history.

Phil Franco, president of the Seaford Harbor Civic Association, said he is relieved that Seaford’s lone supermarket will not be shuttered. He said he and his wife shop at Pathmark regularly.

“As long as we have a major company in there, I think we should be fine,” Franco said. “Hopefully the new one will be just as good.”

Pathmark is just west of the Massapequa border. A Waldbaum’s at the corner of Hicksville Road and Jerusalem Avenue in North Massapequa, just outside Seaford, is also being converted to a Stop & Shop.

The Stop & Shop Supermarket Company is purchasing the 25 stores for $146 million. The sale is expected to be completed before the end of the year. Stop & Shop has not announced when the Seaford Pathmark, or any of the other stores, will be converted over.

“Stop & Shop is always looking for convenient locations to better serve our customers,” said Don Sussman, the company’s New York Metro Division president. “We are very happy to have the opportunity to expand our presence in greater New York and serve new customers. We look forward to providing customers with unmatched selection, quality and value that they have come to expect from Stop & Shop.”

A&P, a division of Montvale-Para Holdings Inc., whose majority owner is Mount Kellett Capital Partners LP, has been facing stiff competition from Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods. Three major companies will buy 120 of the company’s 296 stores, or 40 percent of its holdings, for about $600 million. Those buyers include Acme Markets Inc., which owns the Safeway and Albertsons grocery stores; Stop & Shop Supermarket Company LLC; and the Key Food Co-operative Inc.

A&P is trying to find buyers for another 150 stores. It would like to sell them as a group, and is planning an auction, according to court papers. King Kullen has said it plans to bid on some of them.

The agreements will be subject to bankruptcy court approval.

According to the Town of Hempstead, a supermarket opened on the site — 4055 Merrick Road — in 1967, and later became Pathmark. Alterations were made to the building several times between 1976 and 2013.

The change received mixed reaction from local shoppers following the Herald’s post on Facebook, but a majority of commenters seemed to be in favor of the switch, many saying that they hope Stop & Shop will be cleaner than Pathmark, and offer more variety. However, some said they feel that Stop & Shop will be more expensive.

“I do hope if Stop & Shop comes in, that they put in management that has an eye for keeping the store clean, as well as the property it sits on,” said Clifford Golub. “As far back as I can remember, Pathmark was never really clean and appealing to me like some other stores.”

“I’m looking forward to Boar’s Head cold cuts and better bread,” added Roseanne DiSimone. “Also, the store just needs to get cleaned up and modernized. It’s OK with me.”

Alison Balsam, a Seaford resident, said she is looking forward to a nice, clean Stop & Shop with a deli and fish department. Don Traynor, also of Seaford, said he hopes all current employees will be offered jobs there. “It’s nice to see the same faces time and time again when we go into Pathmark,” he said.

The United Food & Commercial Workers International Union, which represents about 30,000 workers at A&P stores, released a statement following the bankruptcy announcement. “Our message to any potential buyers of A&P is that our hard-working members are not just employees, they are the heart and soul of these stores. They are committed to their success and determined to make them even stronger. We remain united and look forward to working with any company that will do what is right by our members and their families.”

Barbra Rubin-Perry contributed to this story.