Gerrity's newest member of Wakefern cooperative family

Bill O’Boyle, The Times Leader, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
·2 min read

Jun. 27—WILKES-BARRE — Joe Fasula, co-owner of Gerrity's Supermarkets, said Monday that joining the Wakefern Food Group's cooperative will increase the assortment offered in stores and at lower prices.

"Customers will see a lot more opportunities to save money on their grocery bill," Fasula said. "And savings will be offered on just about everything in our stores."

Wakefern Food Corp. announced that Gerrity's Supermarkets, owned by the Fasula family, has become the 48th member to join its cooperative. The Fasula family operates supermarkets in Pennsylvania under the Gerrity's Supermarkets banner.

Upon their conversion, Fasula said the stores will be rebranded as Gerrity's The Fresh Grocer — a Wakefern trademark. Currently there are 11 Fresh Grocer stores located in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, each independently owned by Wakefern cooperative members.

Gerrity's is a family-owned supermarket business that began in 1895 as a small meat market. Today, the company operates 10 supermarkets in Lackawanna and Luzerne counties and is led by co-owners Joyce "Mom" Fasula and her son, Joe Fasula.

"Our family is excited to join the Wakefern cooperative, which is committed to helping family-owned businesses like ours gain a competitive edge in a rapidly changing and challenging industry," Joe Fasula said. "Wakefern will help us save our customers money and provide an enhanced assortment of products to our customers, including high-quality, on-trend private label foods, and increased buying power of a cooperative."

Joseph Colalillo, Wakefern's chairman and CEO, said the Fasulas are a strong addition to the cooperative and another family-owned business that provides an exceptional experience and quality fresh foods for its customers and a great place to work for its associates.

"Membership in our cooperative allows independent operators like the Fasulas to maintain their entrepreneurial spirit while benefiting from the scale and services Wakefern offers," Colalillo said. "We look forward to welcoming the Fasula family to Wakefern."

Customers can expect to see the exclusive line of private brand products — Bowl & Basket and Paperbird — in store as Gerrity's begins its transition to The Fresh Grocer banner over the next few months.

"We will start converting stores in August," Fasula said. "We will do one store per week. We will begin converting our Luzerne County stores in September."

Reach Bill O'Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.