By Chris Rotolo |
With a new reduced pricing strategy in place, The Food Emporium invited customers to come take a second look inside the store, their first one in New Jersey.
Store Manager Hasan Zghari said their New York-style prices have been re-evaluated since the May opening. To lure customers back to the store in the Marlboro Shopping Plaza Zghari said the supermarket had dropped the price on an estimated 30,000 items.
“Prices were just too high,” said Zghari. “Customers thought we were robbing them, and I can’t blame them after going around and seeing what other stores were charging. That killed us. But we heard our customers. And we’ve adjusted.”
The Food Emporium replaced the A&P store at the shopping center, located on Routes 520 and 79 near the Holmdel border. Its four other locations are in Manhattan and Brooklyn. The New Jersey store competes for attention in a grocery shopper’s paradise, against stores like Whole Foods, Shoprite, Acme and several specialty Italian, Russian, Indian and Turkish markets.
But The Food Emporium hopes customers will take note of the quality of their product and local experts who manage it, like produce manager Claudio Pruscino.
Pruscino moved from an Italian farming village outside of Naples to Hazlet in 1975, before relocating to Marlboro. Since becoming a citizen, Pruscino has developed into a produce professional and, now at the helm of the Food Emporium’s produce department, has used his business partnerships to stock his section with quality, local fruits and vegetables.
“I love food and I’m ver y knowledgeable about local produce. If it isn’t high-end product I’m not putting it out. I’m passionate about this store and about this community and I have standards. My customers will only get the best,” Pruscino said.
Food Emporium is open every day 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. and has a fresh bakery, catering options, Kosher items, hot/cold food bar, in-store pharmacy, home delivery, and a floral department.
This article was first published in the Nov. 15-21, 2018 print edition of The Two River Times.
