The Gristede’s supermarket chain could be forced to pay $25 million to more than 400 current and former managers who've successfully sued the company for refusing to pay overtime. Last week a federal judge sided with the employees, dismissing Gristede's argument that they were "salaried executives who, under federal and state law, are generally exempt from receiving time-and-a-half pay for overtime," the Times reports. In his decision, Judge Paul Crotty wrote that “Gristede’s clearly sought......

The billionaire owner of Gristedes is getting his ducks in a row for a possible mayoral run in 2009. NY1 reports John Catsimaditis is "hiring staff and launching an exploratory committee," per a letter to the city's GOP officials. Like the current billionaire mayor, Catsimaditis shed his Democratic affiliation for the Republican party. Last year, Forbes listed him at #220 on the Forbes 400, noting his estimated fortune of $2.1 billion. And for reference, Bloomberg......

Crain's reported some surprising supermarket news this week that would have made the Montagues and Capulets proud; Walter D’Agostino, one heir to the grocery store, has signed on with arch-rival Gristedes! He says he just wants to help save an ailing business, but his brother, the current president of D'Agostino, icily referred to his flesh and blood as “a competitor" when he heard the news from a reporter. Gristedes owner John Catsimatidis expressed confidence in......

Yesterday afternoon, a fire broke out at the Gristedes at Henry and Clark Streets in Brooklyn Heights. All shoppers and employees were evacuated and there were no reported injuries. According to Brooklyn Heights Blog, there was an electrical malfunction in the deli section. McBrooklyn found out from a police officer, "what the fire didn't get, the water from the Fire Department did" (the basement is flooded). There's also a large apartment building attached to the......