By Ron Leir
KEARNY — Kearny is losing a supermarket.
The Pathmark store, located next to Marshalls on the west side of Passaic Ave. near Bergen Ave., will be closing in early March, according to an official notice sent to employees.
That leaves ShopRite as the lone remaining supermarket on the west side of town and A&J Seabra on Schuyler Ave. on the east.
Kearny’s Pathmark is one of 14 stores owned by the parent company, A&P, spread among four states that will be shuttered as part of an economic restructuring of the company.
A&P stores in Garfield and Bayonne are among the casualties. Others are: Pathmarks in Manahawkin and Egg Harbor, in East Islip and Mt. Vernon, N.Y, and in Upper Moreland, Pa.; an A&P in Danbury, Conn.; and five Waldbaums in West Babylon, Rockville Centre, Lake Ronkonkoma, Huntington Station and Commack, N.Y.
In October 2010, the Pathmark in Belleville shut its doors and the property owner continues to search for a replacement retail tenant for that Washington Ave. space.
Management representatives at the Kearny Pathmark deferred comment to A&P corporate headquarters in Montvale which issued a press release Jan. 9 saying that A&P “… has filed a motion with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York seeking approval to close 14 stores in (New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Connecticut) as the Company prepares to emerge from Chapter 11. The store closures are expected to be completed in the Company’s fiscal first quarter, subject to court approval.”
A&P President/CEO Sam Martin characterized the 14 stores as “underperforming locations.”
“While this was a very difficult decision that will unfortunately impact some of our customers, partners, (employees) and the surrounding communities, these actions are absolutely necessary as we continue to strengthen A&P’s operating foundation and improve our performance,” Martin said.
“As part of the store closing process, A&P will work to facilitate future store assignments based on (employees’) collective bargaining agreements,” he said.
No plans have been announced for what, if anything, will come to replace the 58,643 square foot retail property.
Vornado Realty Trust, which owns the land containing the store and parking lot, has declined comment on the situation, according to spokesman Mark Semer.
Kearny Mayor Alberto Santos called the pending closure “disappointing to hear. We’ll be losing a key retail establishment on Passaic Ave. I’m hoping we will work with Vornado to attract a quality retailer to that site.”
Santos added: “The supermarket industry in general is facing challenging times. When there were bankruptcies and a round of supermarket closings last year, we were all relieved that the Kearny location wasn’t on the list. The supermarket business tends to be competitive and we have a relatively high number for the small geographic area we’re in.”
A&P, once the owner of 16,000 stores in the 1930s, has a bit more than 300 left, according to Wikipedia. Faced with an increased debt load to complete the purchase of the Pathmark chain, it closed 25 stores in October 2010 and in December 2010 it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Thirty-two more stores closed in Spring 2011 and another 25 folded in July 2011. In November 2011, the company announced it would get nearly $500 million in debt and equity financing from private investors to facilitate a private restructuring, subject to Bankruptcy Court approval, by early 2012.
If A&P had been thinking of shedding its Kearny store, then one might wonder why the company only recently invested $65,000 in capital improvements to the facility, as reflected in records it filed with the Kearny UEZ (Urban Enterprise Zone) office in May 2011 when it looked to be recertified for inclusion in the UEZ zone.
UEZ files show that the Pathmark store employs 34 full-time and 82-part-time workers in various capacities but one union official said that as many as 129 employees, including managers and maintenance, would be affected.
Tommy Fuchs, a 38-year employee with A&P who has worked at the Kearny Pathmark since it opened 18 years ago and a shop steward with Local 1262, United Food & Commercial Workers union, which represents grocery and produce workers, said that members of his local and Local 464 (meat, deli and seafood) received federallymandated 60-day notices that the store will close March 10.
Fuchs, a Bloomfield resident, said that employees can exercise “bumping” rights by seniority to claim work in other stores “but there’s definitely going to be some job loss.”
Most of the workers live in Kearny, he said. “A lot of them drive,” said Fuchs, “but they could be transferred to stores in Ramsey or Elmora (a section of Elizabeth).”
Hourly wages range from about $10 to about $24 an hour, according to Fuchs.
Probably the most senior employee at the Kearny Pathmark is Belleville’s Frank Bambo, an assistant manager in the foods section now in his 41st year with A&P. “I never thought I’d see the day where they’d close,” he said. “The executives are still getting bonuses (but) in our last contract we gave back 4.8% of our pay because we were told if you don’t accept this, they’re going to close stores.”
It didn’t seem to matter.
Shoppers randomly interviewed at the store last week were all unhappy about the news.
Anne Caveney, who came with her twin sister Helen Caveney from Harrison, said: “I don’t want to see it close. It’s another loss for Kearny and for the economy and for the people working here.”
“It’s horrible,” said Newark shopper Yanya Lancaster, a loyal customer for the past 12 years. It’s her preferred store because “I know where everything is and I like the prices and the products.”
Kearny’s Dominique Zdichocki said she learned about the closing from two friends who work at the store, one for a decade and the other for about a year. Her friend Darlene Zuffanti added: “It’s just a shame it’s closing after all these years. It’s terrible what’s happening. The economy’s already bad and nobody’s hiring.”
Still, one employee managed to look back on his store experience with some pleasure.
Seafood clerk Paul Paternina posted this observation on Facebook: “As I speak with this elderly lady, as I steam her snow crab, I’m reminded why I stayed in this job in the first place: to help people, to help my customers, to make their lives a little better. It was never about the organization; it was always about helping others and putting smiles on their faces. No matter how small a position might seem, one is always in (a) position to make a difference in someone’s life.”
