Gerrity's Supermarkets Joins Wakefern Co-Op, Rebrands Chain

Pennsylvania-based Gerrity’s Supermarkets has become the 48th chain to join grocery cooperative Wakefern Food Corp. The chain will rebrand as Gerrity’s The Fresh Grocer, a Wakefern banner, and will sell the co-op’s own brand products.

First covered by Store Brands’ sister publication Progressive Grocer, Gerrity’s began in 1895 as a small meat market and grew to become a supermarket in 1980. Today, it’s the largest family-owned supermarket business in northeastern Pennsylvania, employing more than 1,300 people. 

The company operates in Lackawanna, Luzerne and Northampton counties and consists of 10 supermarkets, three Ace Hardware stores and a home office. Currently there are 11 The Fresh Grocer stores located in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, each independently owned by Wakefern co-op members.

“The Fasulas are a strong addition to our cooperative and another family-owned business that provides an exceptional experience and quality fresh foods for its customers and a great place to work for its associates,” said Joseph Colalillo, Wakefern’s chairman and CEO. “Membership in our cooperative allows independent operators like the Fasulas to maintain their entrepreneurial spirit while benefiting from the scale and services Wakefern offers.”

Keasbey, N.J.-based Wakefern comprises more than 40 members that independently own and operate 360-plus supermarkets under the ShopRite, Price Rite Marketplace, The Fresh Grocer, Dearborn Market, Gourmet Garage and Fairway Market banners in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island.

“Our family is excited to join the Wakefern cooperative, which is committed to helping family-owned businesses like ours gain a competitive edge in a rapidly changing and challenging industry,” said Joe Fasula, who owns Gerrity’s with his mother Joyce Fasula. “Wakefern will help us save our customers money and provide an enhanced assortment of products to our customers, including high-quality, on-trend private label foods, and [the] increased buying power of a cooperative."