Giunta's Meat Farms Completes Purchase of King Kullen

Giunta's Meat Farms has completed its purchase of King Kullen Grocery Co., putting the Hauppauge-based chain in the hands of another Long Island grocery family, the companies said Saturday.

The deal covers all 24 King Kullen supermarkets and four Wild by Nature natural foods markets in Nassau and Suffolk counties, the companies said in their release. Oakdale-based Giunta's had 10 stores on Long Island before the deal, bringing the family's total to 38.

"We are excited to officially bring together two family-owned Long Island supermarket companies with deep roots in the communities we serve," the companies said in a joint statement. "We look forward to using our greater buying power to lower prices while providing the quality and personal service customers have come to expect."

The companies said there are no current plans to close any stores, that all existing union contracts will be honored and that they do not expect layoffs as a result of the sale. They said pharmacy departments will remain.

UFCW Local 1500 told members working in King Kullen and Wild by Nature stores in a post Friday night that the deal "is officially confirmed and has closed." "Nothing will change," the union said. "All contract and benefit terms and conditions remain in place." The union said it would keep members updated on Wild by Nature contract negotiations.

In the coming months, the companies said, they will decide which stores keep the King Kullen name and which switch to the Giunta's Meat Farms banner. The companies' announcement did not say what will happen to King Kullen's Hauppauge headquarters.

The sale was announced July 30 and had been expected to close in September, subject to customary closing conditions, the companies said in their joint statement at the time.

James A. Cullen, King Kullen's chairman, said in the July statement that Giunta's "is guided by the same principles that have defined our company since my grandfather founded King Kullen in 1930."

Michael J. Cullen opened the first King Kullen on Aug. 4, 1930, King Kullen says. The company says the Smithsonian Institution recognizes it as America's first supermarket, the first to meet five criteria: separate departments, self-service, discount pricing, chain marketing and volume dealing.

The Giunta family got into the supermarket business in 1952 in Queens and is now in its third generation, the companies said.

It is the second time in recent years that King Kullen agreed to a sale. Stop & Shop, an Ahold Delhaize USA company, signed a deal to buy the chain in December 2018 and announced it in January 2019. The two companies called it off in June 2020, citing "significant, unforeseen changes in the marketplace" driven largely by the COVID-19 pandemic, their joint announcement said.