The former Waldbaum’s located in the Mattituck shopping plaza is slated to open tomorrow under new ownership, and with a new name.
Last month, a federal bankruptcy court judge in White Plains approved the sale of the Mattituck Waldbaum’s to Key Food for $4.375 million.
As workers readied the store for the transition today, Steve Decarlo, operations manager, spoke to SoutholdLOCAL, explaining that the store is set to open as part of Dan’s Supreme Supermarkets.
The name of the new supermarket will likely be Mattituck Marketplace, he said.
The Long-Island based Dan’s Supreme Supermarkets, which has locations throughout the boroughs in New York City, is a member of Key Food Stores Cooperative, and was founded in 1948.
According to Decarlo, the aim is to try and open tomorrow. First up, the store will open, with a renovation planned. Decarlo said the goal is not to inconvenience customers while the renovation takes place.
One former Waldbaum’s employee reached out to SoutholdLOCAL this morning, stating that 14 employees had allegedly been let go, despite having been told initially that they’d keep their jobs after the store changed hands.
When asked about the alleged firings, Decarlo responded today by saying he did not know the “exact count” but said that the “majority” of employees had been retained; some employees had been kept on at “less” of a position, he said.
He added that currently, the unions are working to address the situation. “I’m sure we can come up with a solution to any issues we have,” he said.
While some rumors have persisted that Key Food is a “non-union” operation, Decarlo assured that the store is a “union shop.”
Key Food was the top bidder for the Mattituck supermarket, which was sold at auction in the Manhattan law offices of Weil, Gotshal & Manges. The Mattituck store was one of 72 that were the subject of a sale hearing in bankruptcy proceedings before Judge Robert Drain last month.
The privately held Key Food Stores Cooperative Inc. is acquiring 16 stores in the bankruptcy sale, according to court filings. Its purchase of the Waldbaum’s store in Center Moriches was also approved by the court last month, Newsday reported. The Riverhead Waldbaum’s was not sold and closed last month.
Ryan Anderson, who was an employee at the Mattituck supermarket for the past eight years, said recently he was looking forward to the transition.
“I think it will be a good thing for this store and this town,” Anderson said outside the supermarket last month. “I feel like we need a change and this will be for the better for the employees and for the town itself,” he said. “Key Food has better prices, better deals and people I know who work for Key Food said it’s a very good company to work for.”
Anderson, 24, who started working at the Mattituck Waldbaum’s while still a student at Southold High School, said it is his understanding that Local 342 of the United Food and Commercial Workers will be representing the Key Food employees at the Mattituck store. The Mattituck Waldbaum’s, which employs about 40 people, is currently a Local 342 shop. Labor union representatives could not immediately be reached for comment, but Local 342 does represent workers at many Key Food Stores, according to the union’s website.
“I’m really hoping for the best,” Anderson said.
