- King Kullen Opens North Patchogue Store
- Former Waldbaum’s supermarket offers customers greater selection and expanded technology to enhance the shopping experience.
BETHPAGE, NY, 2015-12-9 — /EPR Retail News/ — King Kullen Grocery. Co., Inc. opened a new supermarket in North Patchogue on Friday, December 4, at the site of the former Waldbaum’s at 440 West Sunrise Highway, South Service Road. Acquired by King Kullen this autumn after Waldbaum’s parent company, A&P, declared bankruptcy, the new King Kullen provides customers with greater selection throughout, including store-made prepared meals, an expanded fresh produce section, and a bakery whose original offerings include store-baked artisanal banquettes…available in traditional and multigrain varieties.
“From the moment we acquired the store we’ve been focused on how to make it better and give customers everything they want in a modern supermarket,” explains King Kullen Senior Vice President Joseph Brown. “I’m happy to say that while shoppers will find many changes and improvements, they will still recognize most of the same employees they knew from Waldbaum’s. A proud union company, King Kullen offered employment to these men and women and also hired additional workers from nearby stores that had closed due to A&P’s bankruptcy. We’re committed to North Patchogue and the surrounding communities and are very excited to be here.”
North Patchogue Store Manager Joseph Notaro says one way the new King Kullen is addressing the needs of the surrounding community is by offering time-strapped shoppers a number of options, including specialty prepared meals that are ready to bring home and serve.
“We’re on the westbound South Service Road of Sunrise Highway,” he explains. “Many people pass the store on the way back from work or before turning down Waverly Avenue towards Patchogue Village. Now they can stop in and pick up great, healthy meal options prepared by our culinary team, with the selections changing daily.”
According to Notaro, the prepared items — which are available at the service counter or pre-packed and ready to bring home — include complete meals, such as London broil or roasted vegetable lasagna; nutritious salad options, ranging from grain-based harvest wheatberry to Thai coconut quinoa; and traditional hot and cold soups as well as more diverse choices, including shrimp and corn chowder or black bean with shredded pork.
Visitors to the new King Kullen will also discover a host of technological advances designed to facilitate ordering and enhance the shopping experience. For example, the deli department boasts two digital screens and four kiosks where customers can place orders and continue shopping. When the order is ready, they either receive a text message or are paged — whichever they prefer. During peak times a deli employee will come out from behind the counter and take orders via a tablet. Even the store’s full-service pharmacy department offers online prescription refills to save people time.
“The new store makes shopping easier and more enjoyable,” observes Brown. “It’s what King Kullen is all about. Since our founding 85 years ago, we’ve been locally owned and operated. We’re still going strong because we listen to customers to determine how we can serve them better. We know what they want in a supermarket and you see that reflected in the new store.”
The North Patchogue King Kullen is open 7:00 am to 11:00 pm Monday to Saturday; 7:00 am to 9 pm on Sundays. More information is available by visiting www.kingkullen.com.
Headquartered in Bethpage, New York, King Kullen Grocery Company, Inc. is recognized by the Smithsonian Institution as America’s first supermarket. Founded in 1930 by Michael J. Cullen, King Kullen operates 36 stores and five Wild by Nature markets across Long Island.
SOURCE: King Kullen Grocery Co., Inc.
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