Giunta’s Meat Farms has agreed to acquire King Kullen Grocery Co., bringing together two family-owned Long Island supermarket operators in a transaction expected to close in September. The deal covers all 24 King Kullen supermarkets and four Wild by Nature natural foods stores, giving Giunta’s control of 28 additional locations across Nassau and Suffolk counties. Financial terms were not disclosed. The companies will continue operating separately until the transaction closes, subject to customary closing conditions. For customers, immediate changes should be limited. Giunta’s has said it intends to keep all 28 acquired stores open and retain King Kullen and Wild by Nature employees after the sale is completed. The companies have not disclosed whether either banner will eventually be converted to the Giunta’s Meat Farms name or detailed plans for changes to store layouts, assortments or services. The acquisition substantially increases the size of Giunta’s existing business.
Founded in 1992 by Philip Giunta and Peter Levantino, the Oakdale-based grocer currently operates 10 Meat Farms locations on Long Island, including stores in Bohemia, Commack, Farmingdale, Hauppauge, Holbrook, Lake Ronkonkoma, Middle Island, Northport, Patchogue, and Port Jefferson. Its stores emphasize fresh meat and produce alongside deli, bakery, dairy, prepared foods, and conventional grocery departments.
King Kullen has a much longer operating history. Michael J. Cullen opened the first King Kullen in Queens in 1930, a store widely recognized for helping establish the modern self-service supermarket format. The company later shifted its operations east and is now headquartered in Hauppauge. Its current stores stretch across both Nassau and Suffolk counties, with locations in communities including Manhasset, Bellmore, Wantagh, Rockville Centre, Bay Shore, St. James, Wading River, and Bridgehampton. The supermarkets offer traditional grocery departments including meat, seafood, produce, deli, bakery, and floral, along with online ordering for pickup and delivery.
The transaction also includes Wild by Nature, King Kullen’s natural and organic grocery subsidiary. The four stores are in Hampton Bays, East Setauket, Huntington, and Oceanside. King Kullen established the banner in 1995. The pending sale follows an earlier attempt to sell King Kullen to another supermarket operator. Stop & Shop reached an agreement in 2019 to acquire what were then 32 King Kullen supermarkets and five Wild by Nature stores. That transaction was terminated in June 2020, with the companies citing changes in the market. King Kullen remained independent and has since reduced its store count. The latest agreement keeps ownership of the business with a Long Island-based grocery company.
Giunta’s itself traces its family’s supermarket history to the 1950s, when Joseph Giunta opened a grocery store in Queens. The current Meat Farms business is operated by the third generation of the Giunta family. King Kullen also remains a multigenerational family operation. Tracey Cullen, a fourth-generation member of the founding family, was named president and chief operating officer in June, shortly before the agreement with Giunta’s was disclosed. Both companies have built their businesses around conventional supermarkets with sizable fresh-food operations, although their existing store networks differ. Giunta’s current locations are concentrated in Suffolk County, while the King Kullen acquisition adds stores farther west in Nassau County as well as additional locations across eastern Long Island.
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