D'Agostino Supermarkets
Westchester County | |
Key people | Nicholas D'Agostino Jr., Chairman Nicholas D'Agostino III, CEO G. Robert James, President |
|---|---|
| Revenue | US$200,000,000+ (peak) |
| Website | www |
D'Agostino Supermarkets once a family-owned
Founding and expansion
The founders of D'Agostino Supermarkets, brothers Pasquale and Nicholas D'Agostino Sr., emigrated from the mountain village of Bugnara, Italy, arriving separately in New York City as teenagers in the 1920s. Due to their poverty, they skipped high school and instead furthered their education by assisting merchants including their father's fruit-and-vegetable pushcart business.[4][5][6]
In 1932, the brothers bought a small shop on Manhattan's
Pasquale died in 1960 and Nicholas ultimately bought out his share of the business, to serve as CEO, chairman and President, and to resolve the family succession issue. At this time, there were eight D'Agostino stores on Manhattan's East Side. With its reputation for quality meats, D'Agostino's ran popular ads in the 1960s that teased, "Please don't kiss the butcher.โ Nicholas D'Agostino relinquished daily management to his sons, Stephen and Nicholas Jr., in 1964. With Nicholas Sr. continuing as chairman, Stephen became president and CEO in 1972, and Nicholas Jr. succeeded him in 1982.[4][5][6]
During the 1970s, D'Agostino's expanded to
Difficulties and downsizing
During the 2000s, D'Agostino's and similar stores experienced worsening competitive pressure from
Since the acquisition of a controlling interest of D'Agostino's by Gristedes(see above), D'Agostino's food and product selection and price points have largely changed to mirror Gristede's offerings. The meat counter, which often featured on-site butchers able to cut meat to customers' orders have almost entirely been removed and replaced by a "meat clerk." This, too models most Gristedes supermarkets, where meat and fish are pre-packaged and shipped to the individual stores. D'Agostino's once respected for its broad offerings high-quality in cheese has also been transformed largely to mirror the Gristedes chain.
Popular culture
D'Agostino's has long used the slogan "New York's Grocer" and has often appeared in entertainment media to convey the New York setting. The chain figured prominently in the 1974 film
References
- ^ D'Agostino Supermarkets. "Locations". Archived from the original on February 20, 1999.
- ^ D'Agostino Supermarkets. "Store Locator". Retrieved June 3, 2019.
- ^ "Catsimatidis' Expanding Supermarket Holdings with the d'Agostino Chain". The National Herald. September 21, 2019. Archived from the original on August 4, 2020.
- ^ a b c d Greenhouse, Steven (June 25, 1996). "Nicholas D'Agostino Sr., 86, Founder of Grocery Chain". New York Times.
- ^ a b c d Grant, Tina, ed. (1998). "D'Agostino Supermarkets Inc. History". International Directory of Company Histories Vol. 19, FundingUniverse.com.
- ^ ISBN 978-0199397020.
- ^ D'Agostino Supermarkets (c. 1970). Love That D'Agostino (Television commercial). New York.
- ^ Fickenscher, Lisa (April 20, 2015). "'New York's original grocer' struggling to survive". New York Post.
- ^ Fickenscher, Lisa (June 5, 2016). "City's last original grocer quietly shopping Manhattan stores". New York Post.
- ^ Morgan, Richard (August 26, 2016). "Red Apple rescues rival supermarket chain D'Agostino". New York Post.
- ^ Kaysen, Ronda (November 6, 2016). "Where Did My Supermarket Go?". New York Times.
Further reading
- Hamstra, Mark (March 26, 2007). "3rd Generation Survivor". Supermarket News.
- Murphy, Mark (May 15, 1943). "Profiles: If Trouble Can Be Avoid". New Yorker.
- Schmitz, Paul (2006). D'Agostino Supermarkets, from Pushcart to Product: Family and Ethnicity as Cultural Currency (Ph.D. thesis). Boston University. Archived from the original on 2015-07-04. Retrieved 2015-07-03.
