Keasbey, New Jersey-based grocery cooperative, Wakefern Food Corp., announced that Gerrity’s Supermarkets will become its 48th member. The Pennsylvania-based supermarket will see its 10 stores be rebranded as Gerrity’s The Fresh Grocer. The conversion to the new banner over the next several months will include the addition of Wakefern’s own-brand products, including Bowl & Basket and Paperbird labels. There are 11 Fresh Grocer stores in Pennsylvania and New Jersey currently – all independently owned by Wakefern cooperative members.
One of the oldest and local businesses, Gerrity’s opened in 1895 as a small meat market and became a supermarket in 1980. Today, the company has 1,300 employees, and its stores are led by co-owners Joyce Fasula, now better known as “Mom”, and her son Joe Fasula. Membership at Wakefern allows independent operators, like the Fasulas, to maintain their entrepreneurial spirit while benefiting from the scale and services the cooperative can provide.
Wakefern Food Corp. has grown into the largest retailer-owned cooperative in the United States, with members operating more than 360 stores in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island under the ShopRite, Price Rite Marketplace, The Fresh Grocer, Dearborn Market, Gourmet Garage, and Fairway Market banners.