Some Adirondack Tops locations will become Grand Union stores

C&S Wholesale Grocers will buy 12 Tops Markets as part of Tops, Price Chopper merger

By Mike Goodwin

SCHENECTADY — Price Chopper completed its merger with Tops Markets, a consolidation that will create a combined company with nearly 300 stores in the Northeast.

The stores will operate under the current names but will be owned and overseen by a new parent company, Northeast Grocery, Inc., that a news release issued Monday afternoon said would be based in Schenectady, Price Chopper’s hometown.

The merger was announced after being  approved by the Federal Trade Commission. But the regulatory review mandated the divestiture of 12 of the  stores. C&S Wholesale Grocers has agreed to purchase the stores, including stores in Cooperstown, Saranac Lake and  Warrensburg. Other stores that are being sold are located in Cortland, Norwich, Owego, Peru, Rome, Rutland, Vt., Sherrill, South Watertown and Watertown, and they will be operating as Grand Union stores.

While Price Chopper and Tops Markets stores in most New York regions aren’t toe-to-toe in competition, the state’s office of the attorney general (OAG) determined the merger would have  “eliminated a direct supermarket competitor” and  left consumers with limited options  in several areas, including the Capital Region, where the divestitures occurred. 

“By requiring the parties to sell the Tops stores in those cities to C&S… the OAG will help maintain competition in those areas,” the OAG said in a press release, noting that the deal will keep market competition safe and protect workers’ rights. 

Scott Grimmett, the current president and CEO of Price Chopper/Market 32, will lead Northeast Grocery. He will also serve on its board of directors as will Frank Curci, former Tops Markets chairman and CEO. 

“We’re appreciative of the FTC’s diligence in reviewing this merger and grateful to have received all of the necessary approvals. Now, we can dedicate ourselves to bringing these two storied grocery chains together, leveraging best practices, developing new opportunities, and finding efficiencies that will help us continue to deliver distinctive shopping experiences,” Grimmett said.

The new company said the merger “cements a powerful alliance between the two storied independent grocery chains, as it virtually doubles their collective footprint in the Northeast.

Price Chopper and Tops announced their merger plans in February. The announcement of the merger’s completion touted the cooperation the companies enjoyed with their unionized workers, saying it should protect their jobs.

Mona Golub, Price Chopper’s spokeswoman, said C&S Wholesale Grocers reached an agreement with the union to preserve all jobs at the 12 stores it will gain. When asked if there will be any layoffs as a result of the merger, Golub stated there are “no jobs being lost in the closure or completion of this merger.”

On the sale of the stores to C&S Wholesale Grocers, Curci said, in part, “We are pleased that we have an agreement with the new owner and they are committed to retaining all of the existing union jobs and contracts.”

Shayla Colon contributed to this article.