Gerrity's Celebrates its 1st Fresh Grocer Location

Shoppers at Gerrity’s grocery stores in Pennsylvania will see their markets rebrand to The Fresh Grocer over the next 10 weeks, retailer-owned cooperative Wakefern Food Corp., announced.

The first rebranded store debuted Friday, and a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held at the family’s first Fresh Grocer owned and operated by Gerrity’s supermarket, located at 702 S. Main Ave., in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Gerrity’s, owned by Joyce Fasula and her son Joe Fasula, will rebrand its 10 stores in Pennsylvania's Lackawanna and Luzerne counties to Gerrity’s The Fresh Grocer. Currently, there are 11 Fresh Grocer stores in Pennsylvania and New Jersey independently owned by Wakefern cooperative members, the company said in a statement.

The Fresh Grocer specializes in serving high quality, fresh prepared foods to communities in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and is a registered trademark of the retailer-owned cooperative Wakefern Food Corp.
 

The other Gerrity’s locations set to transition to the new format on the following dates include:

Customers can expect new products, services and lower prices as well as the Gerrity’s experience to remain—including Gerrity’s recipes, people and service, along with owner and operator Joyce Fasula, also known as “mom” to associates and customers.
 
“We work hard every day to deliver a top-notch experience for our customers, and we will continue to provide all the things our customers know and love while adding new and exciting features as we rebrand to The Fresh Grocer Owned and Operated by Gerrity’s,” said Joe Fasula, in a statement. “This is the next chapter of our family’s business. I want to thank our dedicated team of associates and our shoppers for their ongoing support as we complete our transition to The Fresh Grocer banner. We look forward to providing an expanded assortment of foods and products to our customers while helping them save even more.”

Gerrity's Supermarkets of Pennsylvania joined Wakefern Food Corp. in June, becoming the 48th member of the Keasbey, N.J.-based grocery cooperative.  

Gerrity’s began in 1895 as a small meat market. Co-owner Joe Fasula said in a statement that the chain is excited to be joining Wakefern, which he praised for being "committed to helping family-owned businesses like ours gain a competitive edge in a rapidly changing and challenging industry." Wakefern "will help us save our customers money and provide an enhanced assortment of products to our customers, including high-quality, on-trend private label foods, and [the] increased buying power of a cooperative," he said.

Regarding the new addition, Joseph Colalillo, Wakefern’s chairman and CEO said, “The Fasulas are a strong addition to our cooperative and another family-owned business that provides an exceptional experience and quality fresh foods for its customers and a great place to work for its associates.”
 
Shoppers can sign up for The Fresh Grocer Price Plus club card at the store, and new advertising circulars for The Fresh Grocer stores will appear each Friday as each store converts. In addition, to save time, shoppers should redeem any points and Gerrity’s gift cards ahead of the conversion, Wakefern said in a statement.  Instacart will be available as each store converts.
 
The new Fresh Grocer locations will also offer several new Wakefern Own Brand products, including the Bowl & Basket and Paperbird lines. Shoppers will also be able to purchase Wakefern’s award-winning Wholesome Pantry brands, which include the Wholesome Pantry Organic line as well as a range of products free from artificial additives and preservatives, Wakefern said.

From a small, local cooperative that began with eight grocery store owners, Wakefern Food Corp. has now grown into the largest retailer-owned cooperative in the United States, with its members operating more than 300 stores under the ShopRite, Price Rite Marketplace, The Fresh Grocer, Dearborn Market, Gourmet Garage and Fairway Market banners throughout the mid-Atlantic and New England.