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 Longo's onYork Mills Road in Toronto | |
| Longo's | |
| Company type | Private |
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 1956 inToronto,Ontario, Canada |
| Founders | Tommy, Joe and Gus Longo |
| Headquarters | Vaughan, Ontario ,Canada |
Number of locations | 41 |
Area served | Southern Ontario |
| Products | Bakery, dairy, delicatessen, frozen foods, general grocery, meat and poultry, produce, seafood, snacks,pharmacy (at six locations), flowers, Starbucks |
| Owners | Empire Company (51%) Longo family (49%) |
Number of employees | 5,000+ |
| Website | www |
Longo Brothers Fruit Markets Inc., commonly known asLongo's, is a Canadian chain of retailsupermarkets andgrocery delivery service that serves theSouthern Ontario area. It is controlled bySobeys parentEmpire Company in partnership with the founding Longo family. Itscorporate office is located inVaughan, Ontario, and it operates locations mainly in theGreater Toronto and Hamilton Area.
Longo's was founded in 1956 by Italian immigrant brothers Joe, Tommy and Gus Longo,[1][2] who immigrated to Canada in 1951 fromTermini Imerese, Sicily.[3] They established their first store at the intersection ofYonge Street and Castlefield Avenue inToronto, with the name "Broadway Fruit Market".[4] This store was about 139 square metres (1,500 sq ft), and it had eight family members working there.[4][5] After the Longo family joined Antonino in Canada, they opened a store on Yonge Street in 1956. A year after the father's death in 1961, the store moved to East York.[citation needed]
Their second location was in Malton, at the southeast corner of Airport and Derry. While a massive gas explosion in 1969 destroyed many businesses in the community, the Longo family cleaned up and reopened after just a few days. They sold their Toronto store in 1971, to focus on their Malton operations as increased expansion continued.[4] In 1998, Tommy's son Anthony became the president of Longo's.[6]
Longo's publishes a free magazine calledExperience Magazine. In 2004, Longo's acquired the online grocery retailer Grocery Gateway.[7]
Longo's owns and operates 36 stores, mostly in theGreater Toronto and Hamilton Area, including several smaller-format "The Market by Longo's" stores indowntown andmidtown Toronto. A 4,500-square-metre (48,000 sq ft) flagship store opened atMaple Leaf Square in downtown Toronto. In September 2016, the chain's southwesternmost location opened inAncaster, making it the first inHamilton.[8]
Longo's employs more than 5,000 people,[6] and for nine consecutive years was one of Canada's Top 50 privately managed companies by theFinancial Post newspaper (2000–2008), achieving platinum status.[9]
Joe Longo Sr. died on September 15, 2008, at the age of 70.[3] Tommy Longo died on January 30, 2011, at the age of 76.[10]
On March 16, 2021, it was announced thatEmpire Company, parent company ofSobeys, would buy a 51% stake in Longo's and its Grocery Gateway e-commerce business (which was acquired by Longo's in 2004)[11] for $357 million.[12] The deal, which closed in May 2021, includes a clause allowing Sobeys' share to increase in future years.[13][14] The Longo's stores and Grocery Gateway "will continue to be led by CEO Anthony Longo".[15] The plan was subject to review by theCompetition Bureau.[16]
In September 2021, the Grocery Gateway delivery service was folded under the Longo's banner, with the transitional name "Longo's delivered by Grocery Gateway".[17] At the time of the Empire sale, the company said the Longo's delivery operation would continue as a standalone business, but that it might collaborate with Sobeys' own Voilà delivery brand.[14] On July 4, 2023, Empire announced that it was sunsetting the Longo's / Grocery Gateway delivery service, with customers gradually being redirected to Voilà, and additional Longo's private label products being available through that service.[18]
41 locations:[19]
