Howard Glickberg, who took his
grandfather's fruit and vegetable stand on 74(th) and Broadway in New York
City and, as the longtime Chief Executive Officer and more recently as Vice
Chairman of Real Estate Development, build it into the iconic Fairway Market
FWM with 15 locations across the tri-state New York/New
Jersey/Connecticut region, will retire from the company effective
immediately.
The announcement was made today by Jack Murphy, Fairway Market's CEO, who
added that Mr. Glickberg would remain on the company's Board.
"Howie has been indefatigable and indispensable to Fairway's growth over the
past four decades," said Mr. Murphy. "It was his vision to bring together
the corner butcher, bakery, cheese monger, fish market, and farmer's market
all under one roof, and add in an unparalleled selection of traditional,
specialty and organic groceries at the best prices. All this has brought
Fairway iconic status and enabled the company to truly earn the moniker
"Like No Other Market."
Fairway's Executive Chairman Charles Santoro echoed these sentiments and
added, "On behalf of all of us at Fairway, I want to extend a heartfelt
thank you to Howie for his great contributions and support over the many
years we have all worked together in building Fairway. Although Howie has
stepped down from his every day duties, we are pleased he will continue to
play an important role on our Board."
Mr. Glickberg, who began unofficially "working" at Fairway as a child when
he would accompany his father to the original 74(th) St. and Broadway
location and then officially while a college student, said it was simply
time to step down.
"I've dedicated the past 40 years of my life to building the world's
greatest food store," said Mr. Glickberg, who is a "young 67" years old.
"It's been my life's work 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In the past
when I would take a little vacation, I would somehow wind up visiting a
supermarket. And if I saw an apple out of place I would fix it. So I've
never traveled anywhere without Fairway on my mind."
Mr. Glickberg said that he plans on spending the next 40 years doing just
that--traveling -- as well as fishing, playing golf and "just relaxing.
I've earned the right not to have to fix that out-of-place apple anymore."
He noted that his grandfather Nathan would be "amazed" and "proud" that the
"small fruit and vegetable stand he opened more than 80 years ago has
evolved into a company that is beloved by so many people across the
tri-state region."
Mr. Glickberg said he shares Fairway's success with the "tens of thousands
of dedicated employees and the millions of dedicated customers" with whom he
has had the pleasure of working and serving the past four decades, and
stressed that "without all of them, Fairway would not have become the icon
that it has."
Mr. Glickberg began his full-time involvement with Fairway Market in 1974 -
six years after he graduated from C.W. Post College and after a stint as a
stockbroker and a part-time staff member at a fish market. In 1975, to
build the company, he partnered with David Sneddon and Harold Seybert. They
began adding specialty items, expanding the space and emphasizing fresh
fruit and vegetables that is at the core of all Fairway Markets.
For the next three decades, he and his dedicated team helped to make Fairway
Market an icon in New York City and the food store with the highest volume
per square foot of any in the country. When he decided to open a store in
Harlem, he "ignored anyone who said he was crazy," believing that high
quality merchandise at the best prices is what every consumer wants. Fairway
was welcomed into its neighborhood in 1995, where it continues to thrive.
Locations in Plainview, Long Island and Red Hook, Brooklyn followed over the
next several years, before Sterling Investment Partners acquired a
controlling interest in the company and infused it with capital in order to
facilitate greater expansion. There are now 15 Fairway Markets and three
Fairway Wine and Spirits locations.
Mr. Glickberg said he is "especially proud that we've always been more than
just a grocery retailer. We've always been -- and I know we will always
continue to be -- a friend, a neighbor, a family."
He pointed to Fairway's commitment to supporting charitable organizations in
the neighborhoods in which the stores are located, as well as its ongoing
programs benefiting police, fire, and military personnel.
His proudest moments, he said, came in the wake of the 9/11 tragedy, when
Fairway provided food and meals to first responders for at least a month,
and following Hurricane Sandy when, despite its own Red Hook store being
destroyed, Fairway donated truckloads of food and prepared thousands of free
Thanksgiving and holiday meals for displaced families, and kept all 300 Red
Hook Fairway employees on staff by providing free transportation to other
Fairway stores.
Mr. Glickberg and Fairway Market have earned accolades and awards along the
way including Entrepreneur of the Year from Deloitte & Touche, Business of
the Year by the Westside Chamber of Commerce, Top 50 Influential Businessman
in NYC by Crain's, Top 50 Retailer by The Gourmet Retailer, Outstanding
Specialty Food Retailers from Specialty Food, and Consumer Deal of the Year
by M&A Magazine. Fairway was also listed on Inc.'s top 5000 fastest growing
private companies for 2008, 2009, and 2010.
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