Pennsylvania-Based Gerrity's Supermarkets Joins Wakefern

Wakefern Food Corp. announced that Gerrity's Supermarkets of Pennsylvania has become the 48th member of the Keasbey, N.J.-based grocery cooperative.  

Gerrity’s, owned by Joyce Fasula and her son Joe Fasula, will see its 10 stores in Pennsylvania's Lackawanna and Luzerne counties rebranded as 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 stated in a news release.
 
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.”

Colalillo said that membership at Wakefern allows independent operators like the Fasulas to maintain their entrepreneurial spirit while benefiting from the scale and services the cooperative has to offer. As Gerrity’s begins its transition to The Fresh Grocer banner over the next few months, Wakefern said, customers can expect to see in store new products under the Bowl & Basket and Paperbird labels.
 
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.