Zallie, ShopRite Owner, Dies at 84

MARLTON, N.J. — Services are scheduled here Wednesday for George Zallie Sr., founder and owner of Zallie Supermarkets, a Clementon, N.J.-based member of Wakerfern Food Corp. cooperative operating eight ShopRite stores in New Jersey and Philadelphia.

Zallie, who passed away June 18 at age 84, was a connoisseur of fine foods and an innovator in the supermarket industry, according to Wakefern.

“He took a particular interest in fresh baked goods, elevating the quality of the fresh baked offerings in his stores by traveling to Italy with his wife Fran to find and hire pastry chefs to work with his in-store bakers,” Wakefern said. “He also featured authentic European breads created by on-site French bakers, creating a worldly shopping experience for his loyal customers. Seeing a need for quality prepared foods for his busy customers, Mr. Zallie would go on to develop an assortment of unique and exclusive recipes that would become known in the community as Zallie’s Own.”

A son of Albanian immigrants who operated a grocery store in the Fishtown section of Philadelphia, Zallie was a World War II veteran who founded a small grocery store in Philadelphia after the war. Together with his brothers and sons, Zallie joined the Wakefern cooperative in 1980. His sons George J. and David Zallie are independent Wakefern store owners and his son Bruce is president of Zallie Supermarkets.

Zallie served on the Board of Governors for the Haub School of Business Academy of Food Marketing at St. Joseph's University and was a member of the New Jersey Food Council. He was a member of Wakefern’s board of directors from 1983 to 2009.