Balducci's

Infobox Company
company_name = Balducci’s Food Lover’s Market
company_
company_type = Subsidiary of Bear Stearns Merchant Banking
foundation = 1916 Brooklyn, New York
1946 Greenwich Village
location = flagicon|USA Bethesda, Maryland
key_people = Louis Balducci (founder)
area_served = Connecticut
Maryland
New York
Virginia
Washington D.C.
industry = Retail
products = Specialty Grocery
revenue =
operating_income =
net_income =
num_employees =
parent =Bear Stearns Merchant Banking
subsid =
homepage = http://www.balduccis.com/
footnotes =

Balducci’s Food Lover’s Market is a specialty food company in the United States, with ten grocery stores and four restaurants. The company headquarters is in Bethesda, Maryland,

History

Balducci's was the first company in New York City to sell premium quality foods, with an excellent butcher shop, fishmonger, deli and greengrocer in the same store. It became a model for specialty markets all over that city.Marian Burros, [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A01E2DD1030F93BA15755C0A9669C8B63&scp=3&sq=balducci%27s&st=nyt "Balducci's: A House Divided Stands in Name Only"] , "New York Times", June 28, 2000]

In 1999, Balducci Enterprises - then consisting of an 53-year-old grocery store in the Greenwich Village neighborhood in Manhattan, a cafe, and a mail-order business owned by Andy and Nina Balducci - was purchased by Sutton Place Gourmet, which owned eight stores with that name, plus four Hay Day Country Farm Market stores in Westchester County and Connecticut. Sales for the combined company were more than $130 million per year.Florence Fabricant, ["Sutton Place, Balducci's in Partnership"] , "New York Times", June 23, 1999]

The company was purchased in November 2003 by an investment group led by Bear Stearns Merchant Banking.

The company's flagship store on 8th Avenue and 14th Street in Manhattan opened in December 2005. [Florence Fabricant, [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C00EFD71E31F937A25751C1A9639C8B63&scp=2&sq=balducci%27s&st=nyt "A New Balducci's, Back Downtown"] , "New York Times", December 14, 2005] Following its opening, Local 1500 of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union began protesting, outside the store, the non-unionized status of employees. [Liza Monroe, [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/12/nyregion/thecity/12bald.html?scp=1&sq=balducci%27s&st=nyt "Lining Up at Balducci's, and Not for the Salmon"] , "New York Times", March 6, 2006]

Marketing

The company markets its specialty products to a very affluent customer base: The average customer has an annual household income of approximately $185,000 USD per year. [cite news |first=|last=|title= Posh Americans enticed with Aussie food
url= http://www.smh.com.au/news/World/Posh-Americans-enticed-with-Aussie-food/2007/06/03/1180809317639.html|work= Sydney Morning Herald |publisher=Sydney Morning Herald |date=2007-06-03 |accessdate=2007-07-02 ] It has stores in Connecticut, Maryland, New York, Virginia, and Washington, D.C..

In fiction

In the popular sitcom Will and Grace, Will Truman regularly visited the store in New York City before it was closed in 2003.

References

External links

* [http://www.balduccis.com Balducci's Food Lovers Market]