The Pathmark on Route 18 in East Brunswick is slated to close. MICHAEL NUNES/STAFF EAST BRUNSWICK — The East Brunswick Pathmark will soon be ringing up its last customer — a move many said they would regret, as they would miss the market and its staff.
“I think it stinks that they are going to close down the store. A lot of people are going to lose their jobs. The people here are always very helpful,” said East Brunswick resident Robert Sullivan.
The Greater Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (A&P), which owns Pathmark, announced it would close 10 of its New Jersey locations, including the Pathmark on Route 18 and Racetrack Road, where it has operated for more than 40 years.
A spokesman for A&P said there is no date yet for the closing, which could take place in the fall.
“I’m going to be very upset,” said Debbie Mattson, who has been shopping at the store since it opened.
“ I guess we give up eating,” she joked about Pathmark closing three locations in central Jersey. These include East Brunswick Pathmark, Old Bridge Pathmark on Route 9 and the Edison Pathmark on Route 1.
The closing of the major supermarket brand, according to Ron DeLuca, vice president/ principal of R.J. Brunelli & Company real-estate group, Old Bridge, is indicative of an industry trend.
“It’s a specific trend we are seeing in the supermarket business,” said DeLuca.
“What we’re seeing here is how competitive this business can be. The competition is stiff, the margins are often 2 percent or less.”
According to the group, lower-pricepoint grocery stores tend to beat out the competition.
“ShopRite tends to be the category killer in this business,” said Danielle Brunelli- Albrecht, senior vice president/principal of the real-estate group.
On July 20, A&P filed for bankruptcy protection with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, according to a press release.
A&P operates 296 food markets along the East Coast, primarily in New Jersey, New York, Delaware and Maryland.
Of the 25 stores A&P will be closing, 10 are located in New Jersey. In addition to Pathmark, these include A&P supermarkets, Superfresh and Waldbaums.
Shoppers also said they are concerned for the Pathmark employees.
“Everyone here has been so nice to me and helped me over the years. I’ve made lots of friends here. It’s a shame that they’re losing their jobs; it really is,” Sullivan said.
“The hardest part is for the people who are here. These big companies should be held accountable,” he said, adding that the company should help those who lost their job find a new one.
That was a concern shared among shoppers,
“ I feel sorry for the people getting [laid off]. Some of them have been working here a long time,” said a long-time shopper and South River resident, Ruth Byczkwsi.
“It’s hard to lose a job in this economy.”
Joyce Yung, who has been a long-time shopper at the store, said the closing doesn’t bode well for the town.
“It’s a shame, it really would be a loss. I’m sad because it would just be another empty space in East Brunswick. I think East Brunswick is going down the tubes,” she said.
A&P is expected to sell off 120 stores for approximately $600 million. According to the A&P website, the company has reached agreements to sell to Acme Markets Inc., Stop & Shop – Ahold and Key Food Stores Co-operative Inc.