Gerrity's Supermarkets to give employees appreciation bonus
Oct. 22—WILKES-BARRE — The owners of Gerrity's The Fresh Grocer recently surprised their 1,300 employees with a bonus of up to $250.
Gerrity's Supermarkets has spent the past two months transitioning its stores to The Fresh Grocer banner and the project is now close to wrapping up.
"This has been a major effort for our teams." said Joyce "Mom" Fasula, President of Gerrity's Supermarkets. "It's a change that we know makes us better, but it's also a challenge that involved our entire staff and we'd like to say thanks with this bonus. Ultimately, we know the conversion is worth it because it will help our customers find even more great products and lower their grocery bill."
Fasula said the Fresh Grocer specializes in serving high quality, fresh prepared foods to communities in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and is a registered trademark of the retailer owned cooperative Wakefern Food Corp. She said the transition to the Fresh Grocer format means Gerrity's customers can expect new products, services and lower prices but can rest easy that their favorite aspects of the Gerrity's experience will remain, including Gerrity's ownership, recipes, people, and service.
The stores have converted one at a time each week since August.
The Fasula family has recognized that the process has required everyone to go above and beyond the call of duty. To show their gratitude for everything their team has done to help Gerrity's re-brand from Shursave to The Fresh Grocer, the Fasula family is giving associates a bonus.
Anyone employed for the four weeks of each store's conversion is eligible for an appreciation bonus of up to $250. Full-Time employees will receive $250, and part-time associates will receive a prorated amount based on how many hours they worked. The amounts received will be prorated based on a 40-hour workweek for each of the four weeks.
The total investment Gerrity's is making in their team will be over $350,000.
Fasula noted that the continuing labor shortage made the process even more challenging. Gerrity'sThe Fresh Grocer is hiring and a variety of positions are available, including full-time positions starting at $14 an hour and administrative positions such as assistant department managers, and pricing-coordinators starting at $16.
Skilled positions like cooks and bakers start at $17 and experienced butchers are $18.
Gerrity's is hiring for all full and part time positions. Anyone interested in applying can stop by any Gerrity's location or apply online at — gerritys.com/apply[1]online.
Gerrity's is a family-owned supermarket business that began in 1895 as a small meat market. Today, the company is the largest family-owned supermarket business in Northeastern Pennsylvania and is led by Joe Fasula and his mom, Joyce Fasula, known to customers as "Mom."
The company includes 10 supermarkets in Lackawanna, Luzerne and Northampton counties and currently employs over 1,300 associates.
Reach Bill O'Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.
