 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Grocery |
| Founded | 1996 (29 years ago) (1996) inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Founder | Patrick J. Burns |
| Headquarters | , U.S. |
Number of locations | 24 (2024) |
Area served | New Jersey,New York,Pennsylvania |
Key people | Patrick J. Burns (president andCEO) |
Number of employees | 1,500 |
| Parent | Wakefern Food Corporation |
| Website | thefreshgrocer |
The Fresh Grocer is a supermarket chain based inDrexel Hill,Pennsylvania that operates twenty-four stores in the greaterPhiladelphia and the greaterScranton areas ofPennsylvania, as well as one store in the greaterPittsburgh area, and northernNew Jersey andLong Island, New York.[1] Founded in 1996 inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, as an independent company, the company became a member of theWakefern Food Corporation, aretailers' cooperative, in 2013.[2]
The Fresh Grocer opened in 1996 inPhiladelphia,Pennsylvania.[2] The Fresh Grocer has locations onChestnut Street andBroad Street inNorth Philadelphia.[3][4] On August 1, 2013, The Fresh Grocer became a member of Wakefern. One of the stores was converted to the ShopRite name while the others retained the Fresh Grocer name.[5] The Fresh Grocer location inWilmington, Delaware closed on December 9, 2019.
The chain opened four new Fresh Grocer stores in March 2016, all in formerPathmark stores that were purchased at auction. The stores are inWyncote,Upper Darby,Brookhaven, and Monument Avenue in Philadelphia.[6]
Since 2001, theUniversity of Pennsylvania made efforts to remove The Fresh Grocer from its Walnut Street location. In 2017, The Fresh Grocer was asked to vacate the property after failing to renew its lease. The grocery store sued University of Pennsylvania maintaining its intention to stay at the location.[7]
In 2018,Governor of Pennsylvania,Tom Wolf spoke at The Fresh Grocer regarding boost pay in Pennsylvania allowing "hundreds of thousands of additional salaried employees eligible for overtime pay".[8][9]
In 2019, Nicholas Markets, which previously operated as part of theFoodtown chain, joined the Wakefern cooperative, switching their stores to the Fresh Grocer banner, bringing the total stores under the banner to 13.[10] In 2022,Gerrity's Supermarkets announced that they would be transitioning their 10 stores from theShurSave banner to The Fresh Grocer banner, bringing the total stores under the banner to 23. Gerrity's Supermarkets completed this transition in late 2022.[11]
In 2024, The Fresh Grocer announced its entrance into New York through the opening of a new location inOakdale at the Lighthouse Commons shopping center onMontauk Highway, formerly home to aBest Market. The store, owned and operated by the Thompson family, spans 26,000 square feet.[12]