Fairway Market
Encyclopedia
Fairway Market is a grocery chain. It is one of the United States' highest grossing food retailers per square foot with 14 million customers per year. It was founded in the early 1930s. The stores are known for vast selections of fresh products and every day groceries at a good value. The Fairway stores carry a wide variety of private label products in specialty and basic items. Fairway has had significant store expansion in the New York area, with 9 locations in the tri-state area including 7 superstores and 2 super wine and spirit shops.
The flagship store still occupies the original Broadway location at 74th Street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, with larger locations in Harlem, the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn, Paramus, New Jersey, Plainview, Long Island, Pelham Manor, New York and Stamford, Connecticut. In 2011, Fairway expanded even further with two more locations – one on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, which opened July 20th, and the other in Douglaston Queens with their grand opening on November 16th. The company currently employs about 4000 people.
Sterling Investment Partners bought a controlling stake in Fairway Market in 2007. The chain takes in $550 million in revenues a year.
Fairway claims a unique positioning within the regional retail grocery business, based on its long history, extensive offerings, dramatic store environments, and competitive pricing.
In January 2007, Sterling Investment Partners, Westport, CT private equity firm, acquired Fairway Market and committed to substantially expanding Fairway in the greater NY metropolitan area. Sterling made a $150 million capital investment in Fairway four years ago, and has thus far committed to in excess of $100 million for Fairway’s expansion, enabling Fairway to grow rapidly and generating 2,100 new jobs in the tri-state area in the last 18 months. Prices have also steadily risen, in increases that appear to be greater than inflation, as part of the Sterling strategy.
Sterling Investment Partners is a private equity fund that invests in companies with significant competitive strengths and growth potential. Founded in 1991, Sterling has completed investments, strategic or add-on acquisitions, and liquidity events with an aggregate transaction value of approximately $8.5 billion, representing over 80 transactions.
Charles Santoro, Managing Partner and Co-founder of Sterling, is now the Chairman of Fairway. Howie Glickberg, the grandson of the founder, remains active in the business. Herb Ruetsch, President, and a team of senior managers run the daily operations.
In 1995, Fairway's Harlem store opened in a significantly larger space. This store features a 10,000-square-foot (930 m) enclosed space, the "Cold Room", which contains the store's meats, seafood, dairy products, and beer. Silver coats hang nearby for customers who wish to keep warm while browsing the freezer.
In 2001, the company opened its first store outside the city, in the Long Island community of Plainview. In 2006, it opened its four store, in Red Hook, Brooklyn.
Fairway's fifth store opened on March 25, 2009, in the Fashion Center shopping mall in suburban Paramus, New Jersey
, its first store west of the Hudson River.
village of Pelham Manor
directly across The Bronx
border. This became Fairway's third location in the New York City
suburbs and sixth overall. The company signed a lease on a 75000 sq ft (6,967.7 m²) site formerly occupied by Kmart
.
Fairway’s seventh location opened in November 2010 in Stamford, CT, and the store employs over 500 people. The Stamford, CT store is the largest one to date at over 80,000 square feet. It features all of the items that Fairway shoppers are familiar with, such as Fairway label products, artisanal cheese, coffee roasted on premises, hot and cold prepared foods, and a wide selection of organic and natural and kosher foods. Additionally, the Stamford Fairway has a cafe with seating for 80, a full-service catering department, parking for more than 400 cars, and an adjacent 6500 square feet (603.9 m²) Fairway Wines & Spirits store. Further expansion of the chain on the Upper East Side of Manhattan is planned to promptly follow the opening of the Stamford store.
With the Pelham Manor opening, Fairway expanded its offering to its customers with their first 6000 square feet (557.4 m²) wine and spirit super store adjacent to the market. Their second wine and spirit super store is adjacent to the Stamford market and is 6500 square feet (603.9 m²). Both feature approximately 2,200 wines and more than 350 varieties of spirits from around the world. There is a temperature controlled room for the high-end wines, a tasting bar, and a staff of specialists and sommeliers on the premises.
Next year, Fairway will open two new locations, one on the upper Eastside of Manhattan on 86th Street, between 2nd and 3rd Avenues, and one in Douglaston, Queens, generating more than 1,000 additional new jobs in the tri-state region in 2011.
Fairway also maintains a Facebook and Twitter page for their main stores and one for their newly opened Wines & Spirits stores. Shoppers can find information on Facebook and Twitter about specials, quotes from Fairway personalities, food facts, event information, contests and giveaways, and the latest on store openings.
On February 26, 2009, Fairway Market was featured on MTV's The Real World. The cast of the show stopped by the grocer's Red Hook location during a demonstration on how to carve a turkey.
The flagship store still occupies the original Broadway location at 74th Street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, with larger locations in Harlem, the Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn, Paramus, New Jersey, Plainview, Long Island, Pelham Manor, New York and Stamford, Connecticut. In 2011, Fairway expanded even further with two more locations – one on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, which opened July 20th, and the other in Douglaston Queens with their grand opening on November 16th. The company currently employs about 4000 people.
Sterling Investment Partners bought a controlling stake in Fairway Market in 2007. The chain takes in $550 million in revenues a year.
Innovation and selection
Fairway Market's stores balance their presentation of everyday must-have staples, signature Fairway brand items, specialty foods and popular consumer brands. As Fairway Market expands its presence within the tri-state region, the stores get larger, often with in-store cafés. The typical Fairway features:- Huge selection of imported specialty items
- More than 600 artisanal cheeses
- Dozens of hot dishes prepared fresh in Fairway's kitchen
- More than 100 varieties of olive oils including unfiltered barrel oils imported exclusively from Italy, Spain, Portugal, Australia, and California
- Coffee from all over the world roasted on premises
- Aisles with more than 90,000 traditional, specialty, and organic groceries
- Vast selection of gluten-free groceries and frozen foods
- Homemade mozzarella, sushi, pastas and sausage
- Enormous array of smoked salmon, various smoked fishes, and Fairway house-smoked salmon
- Custom-cut meats and poultry
- In-house Kosher butcher (fresh Kosher meats and poultry produced in-store under rabbinical supervision)
- Hand-selected, dry-aged Prime beef
- Produce delivered fresh from farms to store, with no warehousing
- More than 70 types of olives
- Full line of organic produce
- Fresh, scratch-made baked goods
- Kosher bakeries
- Organic and natural health and beauty aids
- Floral and plant department
- Large upper west side cafe
- Full-service catering department
Fairway claims a unique positioning within the regional retail grocery business, based on its long history, extensive offerings, dramatic store environments, and competitive pricing.
In January 2007, Sterling Investment Partners, Westport, CT private equity firm, acquired Fairway Market and committed to substantially expanding Fairway in the greater NY metropolitan area. Sterling made a $150 million capital investment in Fairway four years ago, and has thus far committed to in excess of $100 million for Fairway’s expansion, enabling Fairway to grow rapidly and generating 2,100 new jobs in the tri-state area in the last 18 months. Prices have also steadily risen, in increases that appear to be greater than inflation, as part of the Sterling strategy.
Sterling Investment Partners is a private equity fund that invests in companies with significant competitive strengths and growth potential. Founded in 1991, Sterling has completed investments, strategic or add-on acquisitions, and liquidity events with an aggregate transaction value of approximately $8.5 billion, representing over 80 transactions.
Charles Santoro, Managing Partner and Co-founder of Sterling, is now the Chairman of Fairway. Howie Glickberg, the grandson of the founder, remains active in the business. Herb Ruetsch, President, and a team of senior managers run the daily operations.
Stores
The original Fairway Market, at West 74th Street on Manhattan's Upper West Side, was a modest produce shop. By 1997 it had expanded to a multistory operation. The store is characterized by floor-to-ceiling produce displays, plus the company's private-label brands of cheese, meats, fish, specialty foods, and organics. A store café serves sandwiches, burgers, and breakfast, becoming a steakhouse by night.In 1995, Fairway's Harlem store opened in a significantly larger space. This store features a 10,000-square-foot (930 m) enclosed space, the "Cold Room", which contains the store's meats, seafood, dairy products, and beer. Silver coats hang nearby for customers who wish to keep warm while browsing the freezer.
In 2001, the company opened its first store outside the city, in the Long Island community of Plainview. In 2006, it opened its four store, in Red Hook, Brooklyn.
Fairway's fifth store opened on March 25, 2009, in the Fashion Center shopping mall in suburban Paramus, New Jersey
Paramus, New Jersey
Paramus is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 26,342. A suburb of New York City, Paramus is located between 15–20 miles northwest of Midtown Manhattan and approximately west of Upper Manhattan.Paramus is one of...
, its first store west of the Hudson River.
Future expansion
On April 14, 2010, Fairway opened a new branch in the WestchesterWestchester County, New York
Westchester County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. Westchester covers an area of and has a population of 949,113 according to the 2010 Census, residing in 45 municipalities...
village of Pelham Manor
Pelham Manor, New York
Pelham Manor is a village located in Westchester County, New York, USA. As of the 2010 census, the village had a total population of 5,486. It is located in the town of Pelham.- Demographics :...
directly across The Bronx
The Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
border. This became Fairway's third location in the New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
suburbs and sixth overall. The company signed a lease on a 75000 sq ft (6,967.7 m²) site formerly occupied by Kmart
Kmart
Kmart, sometimes styled as "K-Mart," is a chain of discount department stores. The chain acquired Sears in 2005, forming a new corporation under the name Sears Holdings Corporation. The company was founded in 1962 and is the third largest discount store chain in the world, behind Wal-Mart and...
.
Fairway’s seventh location opened in November 2010 in Stamford, CT, and the store employs over 500 people. The Stamford, CT store is the largest one to date at over 80,000 square feet. It features all of the items that Fairway shoppers are familiar with, such as Fairway label products, artisanal cheese, coffee roasted on premises, hot and cold prepared foods, and a wide selection of organic and natural and kosher foods. Additionally, the Stamford Fairway has a cafe with seating for 80, a full-service catering department, parking for more than 400 cars, and an adjacent 6500 square feet (603.9 m²) Fairway Wines & Spirits store. Further expansion of the chain on the Upper East Side of Manhattan is planned to promptly follow the opening of the Stamford store.
With the Pelham Manor opening, Fairway expanded its offering to its customers with their first 6000 square feet (557.4 m²) wine and spirit super store adjacent to the market. Their second wine and spirit super store is adjacent to the Stamford market and is 6500 square feet (603.9 m²). Both feature approximately 2,200 wines and more than 350 varieties of spirits from around the world. There is a temperature controlled room for the high-end wines, a tasting bar, and a staff of specialists and sommeliers on the premises.
Next year, Fairway will open two new locations, one on the upper Eastside of Manhattan on 86th Street, between 2nd and 3rd Avenues, and one in Douglaston, Queens, generating more than 1,000 additional new jobs in the tri-state region in 2011.
Online presence
The main website at FairwayMarket.com features videos from Fairway's weekly segments on NBC LXNY with Dan Glickberg (fourth generation of the founding family), Chef Mitchel London, and other Fairway experts. The site includes information such as weekly specials for the Pelham Manor, Paramus, Plainview, Red Hook and Stamford stores, easy to follow and popular recipes from head chef, Mitchel London, links to catering services and shopping online.Fairway also maintains a Facebook and Twitter page for their main stores and one for their newly opened Wines & Spirits stores. Shoppers can find information on Facebook and Twitter about specials, quotes from Fairway personalities, food facts, event information, contests and giveaways, and the latest on store openings.
On February 26, 2009, Fairway Market was featured on MTV's The Real World. The cast of the show stopped by the grocer's Red Hook location during a demonstration on how to carve a turkey.