Page 100 - December2018
P. 100

BOSTON WHOLESALE MARKET PROFILE
Anthony Sharrino of Glen Messinger of Eaton & Eustis Baldor Boston
updated all of our refrigeration systems to ensure we provide the freshest products to our customers.”
 e market’s location results in
e cient just-in-time turnaround
for customers. “ e fact that busi-
nesses, especially restaurants, can
order this morning and have stu 
delivered to them by mid-morning
or early afternoon is key,” says
Patrick Burke, co-owner of Garden
Fresh Salad Co. “It takes the guess-
work out of ordering and eliminates need for storage.”
 ough faced with challenges of an aging building, tightening markets and indus- try-wide weather and labor issues, the Boston merchants continue to draw signi cant customer tra c in both foot and truckload customers. “Over the decades, we’ve seen the disappearance of the smaller regional markets, so that tra c is coming here now,” says John Bonafede, chairman of J. Bonafede & Sons.
 e market is essentially the only terminal in the region now, agrees Robert DeAngelo, o ce manager for J. Cerasulo. “It’s the only place where people can get variety and price comparison in the same spot,” he says.
 is one-stop-shopping concept yields buyer bene ts in terms of relationships, pricing and  exibility. “Our merchants have long-standing relationships with suppliers,
Gene Fabio of J Bonafede Co.
John Bonafede of J Bonafede Co.
Butch Fabio of J Bonafede Co.
Jim Ruma of
Ruma Fruit & Produce Co.
Jimmy Piazza of Community Suffolk
chains coming into town — anything in fast-casual is really growing, but especially barbecue and healthy alternatives.”
 e biggest issue driving foodservice decisions right now according to Messinger is labor. “Labor is a huge problem, and a lot of owners are moving to simpler concepts to deal with the labor issue,” he says. “ at may be another reason for the
Stephen LaFauci of J Bonafede Co.
Patrick Burke of Garden Fresh Salad Co.
can buy in large volume and do a good job o ering competitive pricing,” says Rullo. “ e  exibility of volume and pricing on this market is an advantage for the customer because they can really respond to market changes.”
Glenn Messinger, general manager of Baldor Boston in Chelsea, MA, says the market is crucial to Baldor’s business. “We have an outstanding relationship with our produce vendors in the NEPC,” he says. “Many of my vendors there are our backbone and really support our business.”
A BOOMING MARKETPLACE
Market merchants  nd themselves in the midst of a roaring Boston food environment driven by foodservice. “Boston is booming,” says Messinger. “ ere is no shortage of new restaurants. We see a lot of new fast-casual
fast casual boom since you don’t need classi- cally trained chefs for these. Because of this, we’ve seen an increase in prepped and pre-cut demand to supply these types of operations.”
On the retail side, the Boston area continues to support a wide variety of stores. DeMoulas Supermarkets, with its Market Basket stores, and the Stop & Shop Supermarket Company hold the highest market share at 23 percent and 18 percent, respectively (according to Cain Store Guide’s Market Share Report). Albertson’s grabs a 12.7 percent share with its banners Shaw’s and Star Market.  e rest of the market is divided up diversely among many formats, including Whole Foods, BJ’s Wholesale, Walmart, Costco, Hannaford, Roche Bros., Trader Joe’s and Wegmans – all posting from a 7- to a 2-percent share. At less than 2 percent fall Big Y, Target, Dollar Tree, PriceRite, Cros- by’s and other small and independent operators.
100 / DECEMBER 2018 / PRODUCE BUSINESS


































































































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