News

November 8, 2016

It's been a long process to reopen the Safeway store in Bel Air's Brierhill Shopping Center that was forced to close Jan. 23 after the roof collapsed that day under 30-plus inches of snow...

September 24, 2016

Baltimore-based Food King Supermarkets is in the midst of selling its business to Elido Torres, a New York based independent grocer with various banners and stores in New York, New Jersey and Florida, according to local industry observer Jeremy Diamond, citing conversations with Food King’s vendors...

September 24, 2016

Just days after Baltimore-based Mars Super Markets went out of business in July, five of its stores reopened as Weis Markets. The new name may be unfamiliar to some area shoppers but likely won't be for long. The Weis brand has proliferated around the state in a matter of weeks. Besides acquiring five stores from Mars, a family-owned fixture in Baltimore since the 1940s...

August 29, 2016

Would consumers be more likely to pick products off supermarket shelves if they knew they'd like the food before tasting it? Could identifying favorite flavors make planning meals more efficient? Such questions led the founders of Baltimore-based Vivanda to create what they bill as the first technology to digitize taste...

July 14, 2016

Weis Markets is expanding in the Mid-Atlantic with the purchase of 38 Food Lion stores, including half a dozen in the Baltimore region, as Food Lion's parent company looks to unload stores to satisfy antitrust regulators as part of its merger with the parent company of Giant Food. Food Lion parent Delhaize Group and Giant owner Ahold said Thursday they would sell 86 stores...

May 25, 2016

Mars Super Markets, which announced a deal to sell five of its stores to Weis Markets Tuesday, said its remaining eight stores would close by July 31 unless it can find a buyer for them. "As you all know the company has been struggling with declining sales for several years," CEO Chris D'Anna said...

May 25, 2016

Longtime Baltimore-area chain Mars Super Markets will go out of business on July 31, following its sale of five locations to Sunbury, Pa.-based Weis Markets for a reported $25 million, according to a May 24 memo to company associates from Mars CEO Chris D’Anna...

May 24, 2016

Wes Markets plans to buy five Mars Super Markets grocery stores, more than doubling Weis' footprint in Baltimore County as the Pennsylvania food retailer continues pushing into the region. Rosedale-based Mars, a family-owned independent grocer founded in 1943...

March 28, 2016

Tomatoes have been good to Pete Pappas & Sons. The Jessup-based produce distributor, a fourth-generation family business, has roots that date to the turn of the last century, when Greek immigrant Pete K. Pappas started selling tomatoes from a pushcart....

October 27, 2015

Construction is underway for Leg Up Farmers Market, billed as a "full-service, all-natural grocery store," in Manchester Township.The 18,700-square-foot supermarket will be at 3100 N. George St., next to the former Brown’s market building...

October 8, 2015

Mars Super Market has once again put itself up for sale. The D'Anna family, owners of the Baltimore-based chain, had previously explored selling the company in 2007, but did not get high enough bids. Since that time...

June 24, 2015

The $29 billion merger of the European owners of Giant, long the Baltimore region's dominant supermarket chain, and Food Lion would make both grocery brands more competitive with nontraditional grocers such as Wal-Mart, analysts said Wednesday...

June 17, 2015

The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. (A&P), which has experienced a steady stream of financial difficulties throughout the past two decades, is looking to sell as many as 137 of its 301 stores, according to published reports. According to The New York Post...

June 15, 2015

The name of the most popular beer produced by DuClaw Brewing Co. -- Sweet Baby Jesus! -- is edgy, the brewery's founder acknowledges, even for a company with brews called Devil's Milk and Hellrazer....

June 13, 2015

Th charred remains of Grace Lyo's store in Sandtown attract plenty of attention these days. Neighbors stop to offer hugs and sympathy. Someone driving by asks if it happened during the riots -- it did -- and says he's sorry....

May 18, 2015

Seasons, a small New York-based kosher supermarket chain, plans to expand to Maryland, with a grocery store slated to open in Pikesville as early as the end of the year. The upscale specialty grocer plans to move into a former Office Depot on...

February 14, 2015

Lotte Plaza Market is no traditional supermarket. Korean cabbages, Asian pears and Chinese eggplants create a bold palette in the well-stocked produce bins. Dozens of different noodles and soy sauce varieties line one aisle, and the deli offers salted squid and octopus, Vietnamese rice sticks and bean thread rolls...

January 13, 2015

Sonia Diamond, a Holocaust survivor and matriarch who helped establish a family grocery chain, died of respiratory failure Jan. 2 at her Pikesville home. She was 92.

January 8, 2015

For all the kindness and assistance she received during her fight to survive in Nazi-controlled Europe, upon emigrating to the United States, Sonia Diamond then offered that back to her family and community tenfold...

January 5, 2015

Services were held in Baltimore Sunday for Sonia Diamond, who co-founded the Food-A-Rama chain with her husband Paul Diamond and in-laws Ben and Devora Schuster...

January 5, 2015

Sonia Diamond, matriarch of the family that operated Baltimore’s Food-A-Rama grocery chain for many years, died on Jan. 2 at the age of 92. Arriving with her husband, Paul, in the United States in 1947 as Holocaust survivors with $10 in their pockets, Diamond helped build a single corner grocery store into a 48-unit Mid-Atlantic regional chain.

January 5, 2015

On January 2, 2015, Sonia Diamond (nee Beitch);beloved wife of the late Paul Diamond; devoted mother of Marvin (Linda) Diamond, Sidney Diamond, Susan Weiss (Jeremy) Ben-David and the late Abe Diamond (Adrian Diamond Wolf); dear sister of the late Molly Beitch and Herschel Beitch...

January 5, 2015

Paul and Sonia Diamond, z'l, typified an American dream. Emigrating from Europe after surviving the atrocities of the Holocaust - with a strong work ethic, strong convictions, and ten dollars in their pocket...

January 3, 2015

My grandmother, Sonia Baich Diamond, passed away last night--on the 21st yahrtzeit of her husband Paul. She was 92 1/2 years old. She was born in what is now Horochov, Ukraine (then Poland), survived the Holocaust, and immigrated to America...

December, 2014

The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) has denounced a new food ratings system announced by the Environmental Working Group (EWG), saying the EWG new Food Scores program is “severely flawed and will only provide consumers with misinformation about food and beverage products they trust and enjoy.”

Sep 24, 2014

Neilly's Foods will be carried in 234 Giant stores, including three in York County, by the end of this year.

Jul 28, 2014

Residents of one of Baltimore's many "food deserts" will gain more access to fresh meats and produce when what officials say is the city's largest grocery store opens Thursday in Howard Park.

Jul 23, 2014

Stop Shop Save may have catered to underserved Baltimore neighborhoods, but it never found a niche to help it compete against other grocers. The grocery chain has closed three of its last four stores in Baltimore and plans to shut down the last one at 1600 Harford Ave. soon.

Jul 23, 2014

Baltimore supermarket chain Stop Shop and Save is closing its last four stores, according to a published report, which noted that as a result, some neighborhoods will be left without a local grocery store.

Jul 22, 2014

An inner-city Baltimore grocery chain is closing its stores, delivering a blow to Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's efforts to eliminate the city's "food deserts" and provide more residents with healthy eating options.

Jul 17, 2014

Grocers are responding to consumer demand and threats to supply. The specialized market for sustainable seafood has gone mainstream. Even Wal-Mart is promoting its environmental credentials in the seafood aisle.

Mar 7, 2014

Conventional supermarkets are making way for smaller neighborhood-style stores. The $9.4 billion sale of Safeway to the owner of Albertson's announced Thursday could shift the Baltimore area grocery store landscape, potentially toppling Safeway from its spot in the area's second-largest supermarket chain.

Feb 24, 2014

The new relationship between Baltimore retailer Mars Super Markets and distributor Bozzino's Inc. is a complementary pairing with the potential to be more than the sum of its parts, officials say.

Feb 5, 2014

CVS Caremark plans to stop selling cigarettes and other tobacco products at its more than 7,600 CVS/pharmacy stores across the United States by Oct. 1, making the Woonsocket, R.I.-based company the first national drug store chain to do so.

Jan 28, 2014

Gmart International Foods, a five-store supermarket chain with two Maryland locations, will open in the next 60 days in the former Santoni’s Super Market site in Highlandtown, the shopping center’s landlord said Monday.

Jan 13, 2014

On the heels of the recent management shakeup at the Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. (A&P) resulting in the departure of CEO Sam Martin, industry observers with whom Progressive Grocer has spoken say it will take more than a change at the helm to improve matters at the financially embattled chain.

Oct 15, 2013

When Santoni’s, the 83-year-old independent grocery store in Highlandtown, announced it was closing a few days ago, chief financial officer Robert N. Santoni Jr. named the city’s five-cent bottle tax as the "sole" reason.

Oct 15, 2013

An independent grocer's profit margin is so slim that Baltimore's bottled-beverage tax may be to blame for the pending demise of Santoni's Supermarket, industry experts said Monday.

Sep 12, 2013

Another signficant development that will further alter the pressure-cooker Southeastern U.S. supermarket scene has been revealed with Charleston, S.C.-based Piggly Wiggly Carolina Co.'s hybrid deal to sell 28 corporate stores to two different retailers, 22 of which will be sold to Bi-Lo Holdings LLC – parent company of Bi-Lo and Winn-Dixie...

Sep 12, 2013

The Yucaipa Companies LLC is purchasing Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market from United Kingdom-based Tesco PLC, and plans to retool the operation into a more successful format. Just what that format will be – and its potential for success – is up for debate.

Jul 30, 2013

Kroger Co.'s planned acquisition of Harris Teeter Supermarkets Inc. will allow it to capitalize on Harris Teeter’s growing presence in the Baltimore-Washington market, but consumers will see few, if any, changes in existing stores.

May 17, 2013

While Wegmans' measured store growth — it averages around two to four new stores a year — doesn't result in sudden catastrophe for a market, its effects are there from the start, observers say.

May, 2013

Food-a-rama, a local Baltimore chain, bought the Prince George's Plaza Grand Union store along with other Grand Union and Basics stores in Maryland and D.C. in 1984

May 10, 2013

H&S Properties Development Corp. plans to push its Harbor East development east across Central Avenue with an expanded Whole Foods Market, a possible department store and apartments on two sites, baker-turned-developer John Paterakis Sr. said Friday.

Feb 15, 2013

On Wednesday, Harris Teeter announced that two private equity firms had "expressed an interest in purchasing the company" and had retained J.P. Morgan as a financial advisor...

Feb 14, 2013

As Matthews-based Harris Teeter confirmed Wednesday that it is exploring a sale of the company, analysts and industry watchers speculated that a private equity fund or rival grocer could buy some or all of the company.

Feb 13, 2013

Regional supermarket chain Harris Teeter is considering a sale, according to published reports. The Matthews, N.C.-based company has confirmed the hiring of New York-based J.P. Morgan Securities LLC to help it discuss "strategic alternatives" with "certain parties," but cautioned...

Jan 18, 2013

According to various reports, retailer Harris Teeter is said to be mulling over a sale. The regional grocery and supermarket chain is said to have hired J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. to investigate its options. The chain has refused to comment, citing its policy not to comment on speculated matters.

Jan 18, 2013

As Matthews-based Harris Teeter confirmed Wednesday that it is exploring a sale of the company, analysts and industry watchers speculated that a private equity fund or rival grocer could buy some or all of the company.

Jan 16, 2013

The current owners of Magruder's, a five-store Washington, D.C.-area supermarket chain that's been in continuous operation for 138 years, have sold one store and are in negotiations to sell the remaining locations.

Nov 14, 2012

With Thanksgiving just about a week away, we thought we’d talk about shopping for the big meal central to the holiday, and survey the ever-changing supermarket scene in Baltimore and central Maryland. Food prices have climbed considerably in the last two years...

Jul 13, 2012

Kenneth "Ken" Herman, who, with his older brother, Irving, founded what ultimately became the Shoppers Food & Pharmacy supermarket chain in Washington, D.C.; Maryland; and Virginia, has died at the age of 92. The Washington, D.C., native passed away on June 21...

Jun 29, 2012

Shalom Strictly Kosher, a longtime fixture on University Boulevard in Wheaton, plans to open a store in the Kemp Mill Shopping Center. The new location will be the current site of Magruder's...

Apr 2, 2012

Making it in Maryland has proven more difficult than expected for two relatively new names here. Village Super Markets and Natural Market Restaurant Group, which teamed to put together a winning bid for 10 stores when A&P's SuperFresh sites in the area went on the auction block last year...

Oct 24, 2011

The independent Connecticut senator was the keynote speaker during the Friends of the Israel Defense Forces Midatlantic Chapter benefit held Sunday in Pikesville...

Oct 13, 2011

Five notables from the food industry will make up the ninth class to be inducted into the Maryland Food Industry Hall of Fame. The 2011 inductees are: Bruce Bereano, Maryland lobbyist; Bob Burris, Burris Retail Logistics; William Hupfeldt, Esskay; Roy Marks, Shoppers/Food-A-Rama; and Jeff Metzger, Best-Met Publishing Co.

October, 2011

The Jewish Museum of Maryland last month hosted an event to spotlight its recent Jewish Grocers/Food Companies of Baltimore exhibit. Among those attending were Sonia Diamond (l) of Food-A-Rama Supermarkets, and Howard Saval of Saval Foods.

Sep 9, 2011

Baltimore, MD - Sept 9 - Last night I gave a presentation at the Baltimore Jewish Museum covering the history of Jewish owned food businesses from the early 1900's to the present. It was part of the current display at the museum on the theme "Voices of Lombard Street."

Sep 2011

On September 19 and 20, in Orlando, FL the Network of Executive Women (NEW) will celebrate the group's 10th anniversary by honoring the organization's first inductees into its CPG Retail Diversity Hall of Fame and raise money for the next generation of industry leaders.

Jul 1, 2011

Follow the link above to listen to Podcast Interview

Jun 1, 2011

The 50-year-old Homeland resident does the bulk of her grocery shopping at the Giant supermarket in the Rotunda shopping center in Hampden. The store is close to Hofmann's home...

Apr 25, 2011

S FANS of the HBO series "The Wire" know, the bodies are always falling in Baltimore, keeping the homicide detectives plenty busy. Now the supermarket industry is in the game. The latest victims are A&P's SuperFresh stores, many of which have been placed up for sale in Baltimore and the surrounding region. The question is...

Apr 13, 2011

In a move that could signal the end of the Superfresh grocery store franchise in Maryland, the chain's parent company, which operates more than two dozen stores in the state, said Wednesday it wants to sell most of its local outlets as part of a plan...

Apr 5, 2011

Fifty people attended the event hosted by Israel "Elgy" Elgamil to discuss the future of the city and learn first hand the background, experience and plans Otis Rolley has, should he become Mayor.

Mar 8, 2011

PriceRite's inaugural Maryland store is set to open in the Woodlawn section of Baltimore on Sunday, March 13 at 8 a.m. A formal ceremony marking the debut of the 37,000-square-foot location at...

Feb 27, 2011

Hundreds of workers at Giant Food distribution center in Jessup worry that their jobs are in danger because a New Hampshire company will take over operations of the facility next month.

Feb 12, 2011

Two Shoppers Food and Pharmacy stores in Maryland’s Baltimore County are set to close their doors permanently by the end of February, along with an Acme store in Harford County, according to published reports. The Shoppers locations are in Owings Mills and Timonium, while the Acme store is in Fallston.

Jan 19, 2011

SuperFresh didn't think certain stores in the Baltimore market were worth keeping open, but competing supermarkets have a different feeling. The Fresh Market and Mars will take over two of the closed SuperFresh locations later this year.

Jan 17, 2011

Abe Diamond, z"l, passed away 26 years ago today, 13 Shvat. I still miss him - his humility - his guidance - his intelligence - his warmth - his sense of humor - the list can go on and on.

Dec 8, 2010

U.S. fresh vegetable dollar sales rose 3.1% during the third quarter and consumers bought more lettuce, onions and peppers, while fruit sales gained 2.2%, according to a report from the United Fresh Produce Association, Washington, D.C.

Sep 22, 2010

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. plans to step up expansion efforts in large U.S. cities, adding smaller-format neighborhood stores offering fresh foods to prop up sagging sales.

Sep, 2010

Six notables from the food industry will make up the eighth class to be inducted into the Maryland Food Industry Hall of Fame. The 2010 inductees are: Don Bennett (Richfood); Anthony D’Anna (Mars Super Markets); Paul Diamond (Food-A-Rama)...

Aug 8, 2010

Shoppers Food & Pharmacy, currently based in Lanham, Md., will relocate its corporate headquarters to Bowie, Md., this October, according to a published report. The grocer’s new offices will be within the Maryland Science and Technology Center, a 466-acre business campus that, when finished, will offer 3 million square feet of office space, retail stores, shops and restaurants.

Jun 14, 2010

Gregg Steinhafel, Target Corp.'s chief executive officer, said adding fresh food has benefited Target. Target opened PFresh food departments in 108 stores last year and plans to add another 350 this year, the Minneapolis-based company said previously.

Jun 14, 2010

With Wal-Mart and Target ramping up their perishable food offerings, Meatingplace asked food industry consultant Jeremy Diamond, of the Diamond Group in Baltimore, to discuss the implications for the meat industry.

May 18, 2010

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. plans to expand price cuts on food and other grocery items as the world's biggest retailer tries to stop a sales slide that's reached four consecutive quarters.

Apr 9, 2010

Giant Food, the region's largest grocery chain, announced Thursday that is outsourcing its dry-goods distribution business to a Jessup firm. The Landover-based grocer said Jessup Logistics LLC, an affiliate of C&S Wholesale Grocers, will take over...

Mar 4, 2010

Seven Mile Market, a kosher supermarket in Pikesville that has drawn Jewish residents and others from around the region, plans to move and double in size - likely making it the largest operation of its kind in the nation.

Nov 9, 2009

There was an air of excitement, a feeling of pride and a hunger for innovation at Kosherfest 2009, which took place Oct. 27 and Oct. 28 at the Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus, N.J. The event showcased not only the biggest and best kosher products from around the world, but also the newest kosher products on the market.

Oct 23, 2009

For almost a century, two homegrown companies have dominated the small Pennsylvania town of Hanover: Snyder's, famous for its pretzels, and Utz, an expert in potato chips. Sometimes the family-owned companies competed with new products, but for the most part, they co-existed - until this week.

Aug 28, 2009

Jeremy Diamond approaches supermarkets a little differently than the rest of us. When Jeremy Diamond goes grocery shopping, he's not just squeezing fruit or checking for expiration dates. The 33-year-old Cheswolde resident is looking for...

Aug 12, 2009

Safeway is slashing the prices on thousands of items in its stores as the region's grocery market becomes more competitive and consumers look for deals to survive the recession.

Aug 10, 2009

RICHMOND, Va. - Since its founding in 1937, Ukrop's hasn't had to play by anyone's rules but its own. Although Sunday is the busiest shopping day of the week, customers looking to buy groceries at one of the supermarket pharmacy...

Jul 16, 2009

RICHMOND, Va. - Ukrop's, the iconic family-run supermarket chain founded here 72 years ago, could be sold within weeks, sources told SN Wednesday. The family that runs the 28-store chain is currently in talks with multiple...

Jul 14, 2009

Ukrop's Supermarkets is considering buyers for a potential sell-off of its stores, with Matthews, N.C.-based Harris Teeter said to be one of the frontrunners, according to published reports.

Jul 1, 2009

BALTIMORE, Md.-B. Green & Co., a family-owned and operated wholesale food company based here, launched its Web site, www.bgreenco.com, in April. The site features information on B. Green products, the company's two Food Depot Retail Supermarkets and more.

Apr 3, 2009

Great article on Ohr Hamizrach. The shul’s stone house (opposite the new shul building) that has been used for a long while to serve as a temporary shul for the Iranian community has some interesting history.

Jul 23, 2008

Grocery stores opposed the bill on the grounds that paper bags cost more, and also create litter. A proposed law that would have made Baltimore the second U.S. city to ban plastic bags at grocery stores and other...

Jun 18, 2008

Vito D'Anna, c.e.o. of the Baltimore-area Mars Super Markets chain, has apparently resigned from the company this month, citing "personal reasons," according to a local source. D'Anna became head of the...

May 28, 2008

Monumental events like World War II or 9/11 affect all of us. However, small "h" history can affect us more closely than the big "H" historical events do. Quite often, the routines of our daily lives reflect these phenomena and we are mostly oblivious to it. One of these routines is grocery shopping. Whether we know it or not...

Dec 10, 2007

Mars Supermarkets Inc., Glen Burie, Md., is on the auction block, according to an area retail consultant. eremy Diamond of The Diamond Group, Baltimore, Md., said the Brussels,Belgium-based Delhaize Group and...

Nov 29, 2007

Could Supervalu and Delhaize be eyeing Mars? Industry speculation has it that Mars Super Markets, a longtime presence in the Baltimore and Washington, D.C. markets...

Jun 7, 2006

Ben Schuster, co-founder of the Randallstown, Md.-based supermarket chain called Food-A-Rama, died June 4 after a long illness. He was in his late eighties.

What is Metro? Combines high quality and service with low prices – targeted at busy shoppers. Emphasis on best selection of perishables in the marketplace. "Take Away Café" offers gourmet meals ready to heat and serve. Full service banks, pharmacies and 24 hour operations at many Metro locations...

Note that this is not an exhaustive list of every supermarket chain ever, nor even of most of them. It is a work in progress. There is more attention to North Carolina and California, because these are the areas I know. I'm also more interested in LARGER regional and national chains and chains with some HISTORY...

In 1985 Rite Aid focused less on acquisitions than on internally generated growth. While Rite Aid that year acquired four Midland Valley Drug stores in Midland, Michigan, and eight State Vitamin discount stores in Lansing, Michigan, it opened five stores of its own, moving into the deep-discount drug market with the company's Drug Palace. Rite Aid further penetrated new markets by opening video rental departments in more than 160 of its drugstores...

Food-A-Rama was a Baltimore, Maryland based supermarket chain of 48 stores. The stores were located in Maryland and Washington, DC. They consisted of Food-A-Rama, Super-Super, Cost-Saver Warehouse, and Basics Food Warehouse stores. When the company was sold in 1985 to Super Rite Foods of PA, it was the second largest supermarket chain in Baltimore, MD behind Giant Food...