Key Food

History

During the 1970s and '80s, Key Food was connected to a trucking firm that committed $10 million worth of tax fraud.

In 1984, LAMM Food Corporation of Port Washington, New York – an affiliate that operated four Key Food stores at the time – was among three chains charged with price fixing for conspiring to stop redeeming discount coupons at double and triple their face value in 1981 and 1982. LAMM, Supermarkets General, and King Kullen each pleaded no contest.

On November 30, 1986, Key Foods president Camillo D'Urso went missing while fishing in Key Largo. He was never found and was presumed to have drowned. In February 1987, Pasquale Conte, owner of the affiliated Tapps Supermarkets and a director of the cooperative, was arrested for his involvement in the attempted murder of a defendant in the Pizza Connection trial. Long suspected of mob ties, Conte was involved in a heroin smuggling operation with the Sicilian Mafia. Though the disappearance of D'Urso was believed to be unrelated to the hit, the FBI did investigate a connection. In an unrelated case, Conte later pleaded guilty in 1994 to a 1990 mob-related murder and was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison.

In January 1997, nearly 100 workers were laid off from the co-op's warehouse in Canarsie when distribution operations were moved to New Jersey. Another 200 jobs were saved after a union agreement kept the Brooklyn facility open.

Key Food first experimented with home delivery in 1998, when two stores owned by Gemstone Supermarkets partnered with Homedelivery.com. In July 2000, Key Food began outsourcing its distribution and transportation operations to Grocery Haulers, Inc. As part of the deal, the company sold its fixed assets, including two New York-based warehouses and inventory to GHI. In November 2008, the cooperative names Dean Janeway as chief executive officer.

In 2011, Key Food expanded to Connecticut and New Jersey, with stores in Stamford and Jersey City. It also launched a new banner, Fresh n’ Save Marketplace, with two locations in Staten Island and Queens. In August 2012, the co-op reopened its South Street Seaport location as 55 Fulton Market, a 23,000 square feet, two-floor flagship store.

The cooperative took over two Queens CTown locations in January 2013, converting them to Key Food stores. In June 2013, Key Food opened several new locations in New York City within a two week period. These included two in Queens, four in Brooklyn, and another in Staten Island. In December 2013, Key Food debuted its upscale Urban Market concept in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. A second location opened in Long Island City a year later. In May 2014, the second Key Food location in New Jersey opened in Manalapan. Toward the end of 2014, the cooperative introduced the Food Universe banner with seven stores in New York City. In December, it opened the Olive Tree Marketplace in Staten Island.

In November 2015, Key Food completed the purchase of 23 stores from the bankrupt A&P, increasing its total number of stores to 212. The stores included three Pathmark, three A&P, 10 Waldbaum's, four Food Emporium, and three Food Basics USA locations in New York and New Jersey. Two of the stores opened as Food Universe locations under corporate operation, rather than cooperative ownership, for the first time in company history. The acquisition made it the largest grocer in New York City.

In July 2015, the cooperative debuted its Windsor Farms banner, opening a store in Brooklyn’s Windsor Terrace neighborhood. In December 2015, Key Food acquired the Food Emporium banner name and related intellectual property assets from A&P. The company also acquired the SuperFresh name and assets in February 2016. By October, another 10 former A&P locations had joined the cooperative. In total, it took control of 11% of A&P's 297 stores at the time of its bankruptcy. By June 2016, Key Food had rebranded three stores under the SuperFresh name. In October, the co-op introduced its Urban Meadow private label. At the end of the 2016 fiscal year, Key Food had gained 42 stores from Associated Stores Group over the previous 30 months. In January 2019, Key Food opened its first location in Florida.

When Fairway Market filed for bankruptcy in January 2020, Key Food purchased its Georgetown, Brooklyn store. In October 2020, the cooperative signed a 10-year contract with UNFI for the wholesaler to serve as the primary supplier for its 315 stores. In late 2020, the co-op moved its corporate headquarters from Staten Island to Matawan, New Jersey. By January 2023, Key Food had 62 locations in Florida and four stores in Pennsylvania. In 2025 the contract between UNFI and Key Foods was cancelled by mutual agreement with UNFI indicating that the contract was not profitable. UNFI intends to close its distribution center in Schnecksville, Pennsylvania, in September of 2025 laying off over 700 employees.

References

References

1. "Departments {{!".
2. "About us".
3. (2020-10-08). "UNFI Inks 10-Year, $10 Billion Wholesale Deal With Key Food".
4. (July 14, 1989). "Trucking Executive Indicted In a Scheme to Evade Taxes".
5. Kaplan, Morris. (January 11, 1972). "TRUCKER CHARGED WITH TAX FRAUD".
6. "Disgraced Accountant Connected to 'Millionaire Madam' Anna Gristina".
7. (October 2, 1984). "3 L.I. Chains File Price-Fixing Pleas".
8. Saxon, Wolfgang. (December 10, 1986). "SUPERMARKET EXECUTIVE MISSING AT SEA OFF FLORIDA".
9. Flannery, Joseph X.. (1987-01-28). "Mass Cites Philanthropic Husband of Ex-Area Woman". The Times-Tribune.
10. (February 4, 1987). "C. D'URSO, FOOD STORE FOUNDER". [[Sun-Sentinel]].
11. Gallagher, Tom. (April 30, 2012). "New York loses another Catholic benefactor".
12. JOHN M. DOYLE. (February 19, 1987). "Alleged Mastermind of "Pizza Connection" Hit Arrested". Associated Press.
13. Howard, Robert F.. (January 23, 1990). "'PIZZA CONNECTION' MASTERMIND CONVICTED IN VA.". Washington Post.
14. (1987-02-19). "Executive called the boss of pizza hit". Daily News.
15. Fried, Joseph P.. (June 21, 1994). "Guilty Plea In a Killing In a Mob Case".
16. (June 27, 1994). "TAPPS OWNER PLEADS GUILTY IN KILLING PLOT".
17. Fanelli, James. (2018-02-08). "Brooklyn supermarket with mob ties seeks $4M in tax breaks to build condo tower".
18. (1997-01-22). "200 JOBS SAVED, AFTER KEY FOOD LOPS OFF 100".
19. Purpura, Linda. (June 8, 1998). "TWO KEY FOOD UNITS TEST HOME SHOPPING VIA WEB SITE".
20. Ghitelman, David. (July 10, 2000). "KEY FOOD TO SELL FIXED ASSETS TO GHI".
21. (2000-07-07). "Key Food acquired by Grocery Haulers Inc.".
22. (November 4, 2008). "Key Food Names Janeway CEO".
23. Lee, Richard. (January 27, 2011). "Key Food arrives at Stamford's Prospect Street neighborhood".
24. Maher, Adam. (2011-10-26). "Family-owned 'Key Food Supermarket' brings fresh, organic foods and 22 years of food-distribution experience to Jersey City".
25. Panissidi, Anthony. "Key Fresh & Natural Supermarket opening first Jersey Shore store in Manalapan".
26. Springer, Jon. (September 27, 2011). "Key Food Member Launching New Banner".
27. amNY. (2012-08-22). "New Key Food reflects changing Seaport {{!}} amNewYork".
28. (January 22, 2013). "Key Food Converts Two C-Towns".
29. (June 14, 2013). "Key Food Expands in NYC".
30. Porpora, Tracey. (2013-04-08). "Key Food opening stores in Staten Island's Arden Heights, South Beach and Port Richmond".
31. Springer, Jon. (December 16, 2013). "Key Food Debuts 'Hybrid' Urban Market".
32. Springer, Jon. (November 12, 2014). "Key Food taking Urban Market to Queens".
33. (2014-11-25). "Key Food Introduces Food Universe Banner".
34. (2014-12-17). "Key Food Opening 1st Olive Tree Marketplace".
35. (22 October 2015). "Key Food confirms 23 A&P buys, will operate 2".
36. (October 22, 2015). "Key Food acquires 23 A&P stores, saves 1,800 jobs".
37. Springer, Jon. (29 October 2015). "Bolstered by new additions, Key Food CEO outlines growth plans".
38. (July 16, 2015). "Key Food to debut Windsor Farms banner".
39. (2015-12-21). "Key Food Acquires The Food Emporium".
40. (2016-02-09). "Key Food Acquires SuperFresh Banner".
41. Springer, Jon. (October 27, 2016). "Key Food CEO: Aggressive buying paying off".
42. (June 9, 2016). "Key Food to celebrate N.Y. SuperFresh debut".
43. Springer, Jon. (October 27, 2016). "Key Food launching Urban Meadow private brand".
44. (2016-11-21). "Key Food Continues Record Revenue Pace; Sees Retailer Sales Reaching $3B In 2019".
45. Metzger, Jeff. (2023-01-17). "Coming Off Record Year, Key Food Touts Geographic Expansion As Vital To Growth".
46. Duggan, Kevin. (2020-03-27). "Fairway sells Georgetown outpost to Key Food in bankruptcy auction".
47. (2020-10-08). "UNFI Inks 10-Year, $10 Billion Wholesale Deal With Key Food".
48. Burd, Joshua. (October 23, 2019). "Grocery co-op inks headquarters move to Old Bridge from Staten Island".
49. Blair, Gillian. (2020-12-30). "Award-Winning Design Firm Announces Completion of New Key Food HQ in New Jersey".
50. Wilson, Bill. (2025-06-13). "UNFI’s break with Key Food costs 700 jobs, one DC, and billions in potential sales". Supermarket News.