Uncle Giuseppe's Taking Over Former King Kullen Site

Italian specialty grocer Uncle Guiseppe’s Marketplace is expanding again on Long Island.

The Farmingdale, N.Y.-based chain said it would open a new store in North Babylon, N.Y., taking over a site formerly occupied by a King Kullen store that closed last September. King Kullen, which is in the process of being acquired by rival Stop & Shop, declined to renew the lease at the site, saying the store had been underperforming.

Uncle Guiseppe’s said the unit will be the ninth location for family-owned Unclue Guiseppe’s. It is planned to open in the spring or summer of 2021.

The 39,000-square-foot store will showcase a full-service deli, specialty butcher, scratch bakery, as well as “viewing rooms,” where pasta and mozzarella are made fresh daily. The store will also offer curbside pickup and delivery, the company said.

“We look forward to sharing our family recipes with you and giving you the experience you deserve,” Carl DelPrete, co-founder and CEO of Uncle Giuseppe’s Marketplace, said in a release. “You can look forward to sampling our food and listening to live singers on the weekends as you shop.”

Founded in 1998, Uncle Guiseppe’s operates eight stores in New York (East Meadow, Smithtown, Port Washington, Port Jefferson Station, Massapequa, Melville, North Babylon and Yorktown Heights), and one in Ramsey, N.J.