Inserra Supermarkets recently marked its 60th anniversary by honoring 179 of its ShopRite associates who embody the family-owned company’s commitment to customer service, quality excellence and community. The honorees, who are employed at the Mahwah-based company’s 22 stores throughout New Jersey and New York, were recently recognized for their milestone anniversaries, ranging from five to 50 years of service.
Local honorees include:
• Kearny residents Nina S. Allaire (15 years); and Lori A. Happel and Gary J. O’Rourke (both 10 years).
• Lyndhurst residents Jean Garofolo (50 years); Julio Barrios, Kathleen Cella, Cira M. Elias, David J. Pawlikowski, Danny M. Vo dung (all 10 years); and Lisa R. Kostiner (5 years).
• North Arlington residents Thomas M. Panepinto and Vincente Saul Godo (both 10 years); and Jorge Andujar (5 years).
“Combined, our honored associates have logged 2,870 years of distinguished service on behalf of our customers and the community at large. Their role, from the stock rooms and the registers to working the floor, is invaluable to fulfilling our mission. We appreciate what they do each and every day and the lengths they go to in order to serve others and work as a team,” said Lawrence Inserra Jr., president and CEO. “These outstanding men and women have been – and continue to be – the foundation for our success.”
Established in 1954 by Patsy Inserra as a privately held business, Inserra Supermarkets remains true to its roots as a family-owned grocery chain committed to serving the communities in which its stores are located.
“I have been fortunate enough to work for Inserra Supermarkets for five decades – who can say that today?” said Jean Garafolo, who began working part-time at age 17 in the former Hasbrouck Heights store to pay off her car. Now a part-timer in the Lodi store, Garafolo said, “I really look forward to seeing my customers, many of whom I have gotten to know through the years. I’m not only happy to be a part of the Inserra family, I also feel like I am a part of my customers’ extended families too.”
Thanks to this sense of family and customer commitment, Inserra Supermarkets has been able to grow well beyond the company’s flagship Lyndhurst store without losing its personal touch. In 1980, under the entrepreneurial guidance of the late Lawrence Inserra Sr., the company expanded to eight stores and then, in 1981, to 14 stores. Today, the company owns and operates ShopRite supermarkets in Bayonne, Columbia Park, Emerson, Fair Lawn, Hackensack, Hillsdale, Hoboken, Jersey City, Lodi, Lyndhurst, New Milford, Northvale, Palisades Park, Passaic, Ramsey, Wayne and West Milford in New Jersey and in Rockland County, N.Y., in Garnerville, New City, Stony Point, Tallman and West Nyack.
As one of the region’s largest employers, Inserra Supermarkets provides full-and part-time positions to more than 4,000 employees who live throughout the bistate region. The company also is widely acknowledged as a good corporate citizen dedicated to making life better for local residents. One recent activity includes ShopRite Partners in Caring, which challenges employees to band together as part of National Hunger Action Month to raise awareness and funds to alleviate hunger in their local communities. The company also supports the Community Food Bank of New Jersey, based in Hillside, and Table to Table, the first food rescue program serving Northern New Jersey.
