The Fresh Grocer's closing in Oakdale will shift most workers to ShopRite stores, owner says

Most of the employees who will be affected by The Fresh Grocer closing in Oakdale this month will be taking jobs at sister chain ShopRite, the store's owner said.

The Fresh Grocer in Oakdale was the chain's first store in New York State when it opened in August 2024 but the short-lived store will call it quits at the end of this month because it is underperforming, he said.

K. Thompson Foods, the family-owned company that owns the Oakdale grocery store, also owns three ShopRite supermarkets on Long Island — in Deer Park, Riverhead and Uniondale.

The 60 full- and part-time workers at the Oakdale store have been offered jobs at one of the Thompson family’s three ShopRite stores on Long Island, Ken Thompson Jr., chief operating officer of K. Thompson Foods, said in an emailed statement Monday.  Most of the employees are taking those positions, he said.

The store will close because it did not meet sales expectations, he said.

“We thank the customers who supported us and our dedicated team members who worked to serve the community. Unfortunately, sales did not reach a sustainable level and as a result, we have made the difficult decision to close the store at the end of the month,” he said.

Most of the Oakdale store’s employees are members of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union.

“We’re currently working with the employer to ensure placement of these folks” in other jobs, Nikki Kateman, spokeswoman for the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union/UFCW Local 338 in Mineola, said in an email.

About 40 employees who work as cashiers or in produce, bakery and other departments in the Oakdale store are members of RWDSU/UFCW Local 338, she said.

Also, 13 employees who work in the meat, deli and seafood departments are members of UFCW Local 342, which is based in Mineola, said Keeley Lampo, spokeswoman for the local.

 'Battling' for customers, employees

There are 23 Fresh Grocer stores in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Located at 871 Montauk Hwy., the Oakdale store is a full-service supermarket that occupies 26,000 square feet in the Lighthouse Commons shopping center.

The store carries gourmet items, Italian specialty products, international cheeses, a hot-food bar, and full-service bakery, butcher, seafood and deli departments.

Both of the registered trademarks for The Fresh Grocer and ShopRite are owned by Wakefern Food Corp., a Keasbey, New Jersey-based cooperative with 45 member companies that independently own and operate more than 380 supermarkets in nine Northeast states.

The stores operate under eight names, but most, 276, are ShopRite supermarkets.

The Fresh Grocer and ShopRite are the only Wakefern banners on Long Island.

The Fresh Grocer’s stores are smaller than ShopRite stores, which range in size from 60,000 to 100,000 square feet, Wakefern spokeswoman Karen O'Shea said.

The smaller size gives Wakefern more flexibility with leasing space and opportunities for growth with store numbers, said Jeff Metzger, founder and publisher emeritus of Food Trade News, a Columbia, Maryland-based trade publication.

But Long Island's retail grocery landscape has become more of a battleground in the past few years, as more high-end and discount players enter the market and traditional supermarket chains shrink.

Newcomers include Rochester-based grocer Wegmans, which opened its first Long Island store, in Lake Grove, last February.

German discount grocer Aldi’s 18 stores on Long Island include 12 that have opened since early 2020. Traditional supermarket chain Stop & Shop closed four of its Long Island stores in 2024, but the retailer remains the largest grocer in the region, where it now has 46 stores.

King Kullen Grocery Co., the largest-family owned grocery chain on Long Island, has closed eight stores since 2019, leaving the Hauppauge-based company with 25 King Kullen supermarkets and four Wild by Nature natural food stores on the Island.

Thompson told Newsday in August 2024 that not only was fierce grocery competition on Long Island not new to him, but he welcomed it.

"It’s been that way as long as I’ve been in the business," said Thompson, a second-generation grocer who has been in the supermarket business more than 40 years.

What was more challenging to him was finding enough staff for his stores, which were offering higher-level goods and services, such as ready-to-eat meals, he said.

"We’re battling for customers and also employees now," he said.

By Tory N. Parrish

tory.parrish@newsday.comToryParrish1

Tory N. Parrish covers retail and small business for Newsday. She has worked at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and Observer-Dispatch in Utica, N.Y.