By Madina Toure
An Ozone Park grocery store formerly owned by the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company is among five stores in the city that will be converted into Stop & Shop stores in the first round of conversions of supermarkets formerly run by A&P.
The Pathmark store located at 92-10 Atlantic Ave. is one of five stores that were temporarily closed. The others were Waldbaum’s stores in East Hampton, L.I. and Southampton, L.I. and Pathmark stores in the Bronx and Brooklyn. The grand openings for the five stores were scheduled for Friday.
“We are very excited to begin the store conversion process and we will strive to minimize the inconvenience to customers,” Don Sussman, president of Stop & Shop’s New York Metro Division, said in a statement. “Stop & Shop is committed to improving the overall shopping experience in these 25 stores to meet the quality, selection and savings that customers have come to expect from us.”
A&P owns Pathmark and Waldbaum’s. Stop & Shop is acquiring 25 A&P stores for $146 million. On Oct. 8, Stop & Shop announced it would begin converting the stores. During the process, groups of up to five stores will close temporarily for about seven days. The conversions are expected to be completed by Nov. 13.
Stop & Shop plans to make a charitable donation to a local non-profit organization that makes a positive impact on children’s lives at each grand-opening event. About 3,000 former A&P store associates will be working at Stop & Shop as well.
“Stop & Shop is committed to being a good neighbor in the communities where it does business,” Sussman said.
In July, A&P announced it had agreed to sell 120 stores for about $600 million. The company said it secured financing of $100 million and voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. An A&P spokesman declined to comment.
Stop & Shop currently employs more than 59,000 associates and operates 394 stores throughout Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York and New Jersey.
Offerings include an assortment of natural and organic products, including 1,400 Nature’s Promise products and gluten-free and special-diet selections. Peapod, an Internet grocer, will also be available to customers.
Reach reporter Madina Toure by e-mail at mtour
