Local produce adds to the vitality at Ancona's Market
Local produce adds to the vitality at Ancona's Market
RIDGEFIELD, CT -- "We want to run one store as well as we can and concentrate our efforts on this location."
That's the philosophy of Ancona's Market, an independent supermarket here in southwestern Connecticut, as outlined by co-owner John Ancona.
It is a philosophy that has served the retailer well from its beginnings way back in the 1920s as a soda fountain through its position today as a full-service supermarket offering produce from around the world.
The produce department is directly in front of shoppers as they enter the store, an indication of its importance, but when asked for a quick tour of the department, Mr. Ancona began by bringing this writer to the front of the store where old newspaper articles and other photos gave some of the history of the company, of which Mr. Ancona explained with a great deal of pride.
His father started the company in the 1920s near here as basically a soda fountain with gasoline pumps, Mr. Ancona said. This evolved into a more traditional supermarket of the times, and in 1960 moved into a building across the street from the current location. It operated at that location from 1960 to 1980, moving to its current spot in July 1980, where it has operated for 25 years.
Mr. Ancona's father died in 1958. His partner and older brother, Joe, are in charge of the supermarket, while their sister, Phyllis Taylor, works in the accounting department. And the next generation is already part of the scene, as Mr. Ancona's daughter, Gina, works in employee training.
Gina began helping out part time at the store when she was around 15 years old, she recalled. She attended the University of Massachusetts for a year-and-a-half, but returned in November 1996 to the bakery department. "I decided that the family business was where I wanted to be," she said, and has been here ever since. She is one of several rotating store managers, and on the day that The Produce News visited here, she was celebrating her 29th birthday.
Ancona's Market is a 25,000-foot-square store in the upscale community of Ridgefield, CT. The produce department is about 1,600 square feet. As a produce department in the modern age, it naturally stocks items from all over the world to meet its customers' demands, but in the summertime it likes to feature local items.
The cool wet spring in the state and most areas of the East Coast had set back Connecticut items by a week or two, but at the peak of the season, the store looked forward to handling good volumes of local tomatoes, corn, cucumbers and beans, to name a few. Even on this day in late July, some early Connecticut corn was being featured prominently in the produce department, as shoppers do look to support their local farmers, said Mr. Ancona.
"Mother Nature has her own twists and turns, " said Dan McAllister, a regional merchandiser for Bozzuto's Inc. in Cheshire, CT, the store's primary supplier. "All the items are a bit late but are becoming plentiful now with outstanding quality. "
Mr. McAllister visits the store every week to offer assistance on merchandising and new technology. Whlle Bozzuto's provides the vast majority of the store's produce and other items, Ancona's also has long dealt with local suppliers for items such as corn, tomatoes, flowers and honey. It also works with a wholesaler in New York as a secondary supplier.
But Bozzuto's "is our primary supplier and we work very closely with them on sales plans and support," stated Mr. Ancona. In fact, the two companies have worked together for 40-45 years, "a very long-term commitment," he said. "They are very energetic in their endeavors and support the retailer at this level. "
One example: Bozzuto's recently worked with Ancona's to categorize the produce department, and the retailer installed new air flow equipment, changing one section from a single-deck display to a four-deck and five-deck display "to increase the cut fruit and berry department," said Mr. McAllister. Work on that project was completed around mid-June.
Ancona's has also continued to build its organic section -- "an organic cove, which is fantastic," as Mr. McAllister put it.
"We made a strong commitment to organics," said Mr. Ancona. "Our customers are looking for it more regularly. A lot of young families seem to be bringing up their kids with organics from the get-go. So it would seem to be long-term growth. "
And Mr. McAllister called organics "the fastest-growing category in produce today, I think. "
Although Mr. Ancona preferred not to reveal specific sales figures, he did say that produce generally accounts for 16-18 percent of total store sales, spiking to 18-19 percent during the summer. The store's strongest produce sales usually come from May through the Fourth of July, then trend downward a bit as "people start going on vacation," he noted.
In addition to the family members here, the overall store manager is Paul Cesca, who has been with the retailer more than 30 years, and the co-produce managers are Zoila Furtado and Rob Perrottelli.
(The Connecticut Marketrack appears in the Aug. 15 issue of The Produce News.)
That's the philosophy of Ancona's Market, an independent supermarket here in southwestern Connecticut, as outlined by co-owner John Ancona.
It is a philosophy that has served the retailer well from its beginnings way back in the 1920s as a soda fountain through its position today as a full-service supermarket offering produce from around the world.
The produce department is directly in front of shoppers as they enter the store, an indication of its importance, but when asked for a quick tour of the department, Mr. Ancona began by bringing this writer to the front of the store where old newspaper articles and other photos gave some of the history of the company, of which Mr. Ancona explained with a great deal of pride.
His father started the company in the 1920s near here as basically a soda fountain with gasoline pumps, Mr. Ancona said. This evolved into a more traditional supermarket of the times, and in 1960 moved into a building across the street from the current location. It operated at that location from 1960 to 1980, moving to its current spot in July 1980, where it has operated for 25 years.
Mr. Ancona's father died in 1958. His partner and older brother, Joe, are in charge of the supermarket, while their sister, Phyllis Taylor, works in the accounting department. And the next generation is already part of the scene, as Mr. Ancona's daughter, Gina, works in employee training.
Gina began helping out part time at the store when she was around 15 years old, she recalled. She attended the University of Massachusetts for a year-and-a-half, but returned in November 1996 to the bakery department. "I decided that the family business was where I wanted to be," she said, and has been here ever since. She is one of several rotating store managers, and on the day that The Produce News visited here, she was celebrating her 29th birthday.
Ancona's Market is a 25,000-foot-square store in the upscale community of Ridgefield, CT. The produce department is about 1,600 square feet. As a produce department in the modern age, it naturally stocks items from all over the world to meet its customers' demands, but in the summertime it likes to feature local items.
The cool wet spring in the state and most areas of the East Coast had set back Connecticut items by a week or two, but at the peak of the season, the store looked forward to handling good volumes of local tomatoes, corn, cucumbers and beans, to name a few. Even on this day in late July, some early Connecticut corn was being featured prominently in the produce department, as shoppers do look to support their local farmers, said Mr. Ancona.
"Mother Nature has her own twists and turns, " said Dan McAllister, a regional merchandiser for Bozzuto's Inc. in Cheshire, CT, the store's primary supplier. "All the items are a bit late but are becoming plentiful now with outstanding quality. "
Mr. McAllister visits the store every week to offer assistance on merchandising and new technology. Whlle Bozzuto's provides the vast majority of the store's produce and other items, Ancona's also has long dealt with local suppliers for items such as corn, tomatoes, flowers and honey. It also works with a wholesaler in New York as a secondary supplier.
But Bozzuto's "is our primary supplier and we work very closely with them on sales plans and support," stated Mr. Ancona. In fact, the two companies have worked together for 40-45 years, "a very long-term commitment," he said. "They are very energetic in their endeavors and support the retailer at this level. "
One example: Bozzuto's recently worked with Ancona's to categorize the produce department, and the retailer installed new air flow equipment, changing one section from a single-deck display to a four-deck and five-deck display "to increase the cut fruit and berry department," said Mr. McAllister. Work on that project was completed around mid-June.
Ancona's has also continued to build its organic section -- "an organic cove, which is fantastic," as Mr. McAllister put it.
"We made a strong commitment to organics," said Mr. Ancona. "Our customers are looking for it more regularly. A lot of young families seem to be bringing up their kids with organics from the get-go. So it would seem to be long-term growth. "
And Mr. McAllister called organics "the fastest-growing category in produce today, I think. "
Although Mr. Ancona preferred not to reveal specific sales figures, he did say that produce generally accounts for 16-18 percent of total store sales, spiking to 18-19 percent during the summer. The store's strongest produce sales usually come from May through the Fourth of July, then trend downward a bit as "people start going on vacation," he noted.
In addition to the family members here, the overall store manager is Paul Cesca, who has been with the retailer more than 30 years, and the co-produce managers are Zoila Furtado and Rob Perrottelli.
(The Connecticut Marketrack appears in the Aug. 15 issue of The Produce News.)
