D'Agostino Supermarkets
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
| D'Agostino's | |
| Supermarket | |
| Industry | Foodservice retail |
| Fate | merged by Morton Williams |
| Founded | 1932 in Manhattan, New York |
| Founders | Nicola "Nick" D'Agostino Pasquale "Patsy" D'Agostino |
| Headquarters | Larchmont, New York |
|
Number of locations
|
14 (2015) |
|
Area served
|
Manhattan Westchester County |
|
Key people
|
Stephen I. D'Agostino Nicholas D'Agostino, Jr., Chairman Nicholas D'Agostino, III, President and CEO |
| Revenue | $300,000,000 USD |
| Website | dagnyc |
D'Agostino Supermarkets is a family-owned supermarket grocery store chain in New York City area serving an upper income customer base. D'Agostino's operates at 14 locations in Manhattan and Westchester County. D'Agostino's earned the title "New York's Grocer" as it has been serving New York City since 1932. It was founded by Nicholas D'Agostino Sr. and his brother, Pasquale.[1][2][3][4][5][6]
History
1932-1980s
The founders of D'Agostino Supermarkets, Pasquale and Nicholas D'Agostino Sr., were born in Italy and immigrated to the United States in 1924 , settling in New York City, where they offered their dad with his some assistance with fruiting and vegetable handcar. Due to their depths of poverty, Nicholas and Pasquale received their education on the streets rather than in school.. In 1932 they opened a little dry merchandise and market on Manhattan's Upper East Side. Indeed, even in the profundities of the Depression, this was an area capable and willing to pay for quality goods.In 1939 the D'Agostino siblings moved their store from Lexington Avenue and 83rd Street to Third Avenue and 77th Street, exploiting more space to include a meat operation and calling their store the Yorkville Food Market. Prepared as a butcher, Nicholas D'Agostino went each morning to the city's principle produce business sector to locate the best meat, veal, and lamb accessible, yet he and his sibling kept their costs focused with those of their opponents. Prior to the innovation of the D'Agostino brothers, consumer's had to shop for produce at one store for meat, another for produce, and yet another for dairy. The D'Agostino's, however, decided to house all dairy items, prepared products, dry merchandise, and fruit under on roof, creating the supermarket. D'Agostino's flourished after World War II, and a second store was opened farther downtown, on the Lower East Side, adjacent to Peter Cooper Village. In 1960, Pasquale had died, Nicholas' son Stephen had become more integral in the operation. Nicholas remained CEO, Chairman, and President. At this time, there were seven or eight D'Agostino stores throughout Manhattan's East Side. Capitalizing on its reputation for quality meat, D'Agostino's ran highly successful advertisements in the 1960s that declared, "Please don't kiss the butcher." Nicholas D'Agostino turned over day-to-day operations of the business in 1964 to his two sons, Stephen and Nicholas, Jr. Nicholas Sr. had remained Chairman, however. Stephen was officially named president and chief executive officer in 1972.
D'Agostino's spread to Manhattan's West Side in the 1970s and issued extra-large, white plastic "D'Ag Bags" that publicized the store's name. Fashion models were especially fond of them for their size, and they used the bags to carry extra outfits and supplies, thereby giving the supermarket chain a cachet. The company's singing commercial, with the theme line, "Mr. D'Agostino, Please Move Closer to Me," was played routinely on radio in this period.
Popular culture
The chain also figures prominently in the 1974 film Death Wish. Aside from an early series of scenes within the store itself, numerous shopping bags and spoken references pop-up in the film. The chain is also where Will met Grace in Will and Grace and often featured in the T.V. show Friends. D'Agostino's is used in media, film, and other entertainment to encapsulate the New York setting
References
http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/d-agostino-supermarkets-inc-history/
