By Dick Sterling
Another familiar Gouverneur business will cease operations in the next few weeks… but unlike so many others in the recent past, this one will reopen… but under new ownership.
The Gouverneur P&C Food Store, where Gouverneur area residents have shopped for generations at the familiar East Main Street location, will close down, reportedly in early April, and open again in late May as Price Chopper. The employment future of many folks who work at P&C, not only in Gouverneur, but at the stores in four other Northern New York communities, is uncertain. P&C operated with union workers and the new corporation hires non-union workers.
Beginning late last week temporary workers holding large signs were strategically placed around the village to alert customers to the start of the liquidation sale. A huge banner also was installed on the front of the store.
Many local employees said that they feared for their jobs, some have worked at the local grocery store for decades. None chose to speak with the Tribune-Press on the record after being warned through a memo sent out to the stores from the current store owner, Tops Friendly Markets, based in Buffalo, to avoid contact with media.
Tops purchased the entire P&C chain of stores through a bankruptcy proceeding earlier this year. It chose to sell six stores, including five in Northern New York, to Price Chopper, based in Schenectady for $14 million. The announcement of the Price Chopper deal was made officially on March 4.
Information from the official news release from Price Chopper follows: Price Chopper Supermarkets has announced that it has entered into an agreement to purchase six P&C stores from Tops Friendly Markets. This acquisition, which includes real estate and equipment, would grow the American-owned, family-managed chain to 125 stores.
Five of the six stores are located in northern New York State - Canton, Gouverneur, Massena, Potsdam, and West Carthage. The sixth store to be acquired is located in Lincoln, N.H.
"We look forward to serving the residents of the North Country of New York and in Lincoln, NH with our signature offers," said Price Chopper's President/CEO and Chairman, Neil Golub. "We expect to take possession of the facilities in early April, following the liquidation of inventory and the closing of the stores. We have placed a special priority on preparing these stores for re-opening as soon as possible," he added.
According to Mona Golub, the chain's Vice President of Public Relations and Consumer Services, "The conversion of these stores to Price Choppers will include: thorough cleaning and refreshing of the facilities, the replacement and addition of fixtures and production equipment, the replacement of all front end registers and computer systems, and the replenishment of all product on the shelves and displays."
Based in Schenectady, NY, the Golub Corporation owns and operates 119 Price Chopper grocery stores in New York, Vermont, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Hampshire. The family-owned company prides itself on longstanding traditions of innovative food merchandising, leadership in community service and cooperative associate relations. Golub's approximately 25,000 associates collectively own 52 percent of the company's privately held stock.
For additional information, visit www.pricechopper.com.