Police are on the lookout for a middle aged robber who pulled off a brazen job at a Washington Heights Gristede's Monday evening. As you can see for yourself in the below surveillance video, the robber, described by cops as a black man between 50 and 60 years old with a gray beard and glasses, is as casual as can be when he walks into the store, seemingly chatting away on his cellphone. And then out comes the gun. more ›

Forget the 46.2 million Americans who are living in poverty—when one of our nation's precious "job creators" is hurt, a bald eagle commits suicide. Billionaire Gristedes owner and relative to Dick Nixon by marriage John Catsimatidis may have to close the supermarket chain if the company can't afford to pay a $3.5 million settlement to 300 employees for back wages and overtime. "Gristedes is suffering," he tells the Post, citing a "squeeze play" by his vendors after rival Food Emporium declared bankruptcy last year. A "squeeze play" is also the technique for testing the ripeness of Gristedes produce, which involves gripping it tightly, pressing it to your face for a deep inhale, then placing it back amongst its brethren. (This technique is also an effective "negotiating" tactic when dealing with money-grubbing employees.) more ›

In twenty years, we'll all be driving our "Rollback Riders" to Father Walton's reeducation camps to pick up little "Wally" from his daily Bargain Drills. And this future has taken a step toward becoming reality through councilwoman and Wal-Mart naysayer Christine Quinn's recent efforts to integrate the chain with the Hunts Point produce market, negotiating a deal that would require Wal-Mart to purchase a portion of its produce from the vendors there. Quinn tells Crain's, "Walmart, by its own admission, isn't interested in a single supermarket in New York; they're interested in growing into a much bigger part of the market." This is presumably because once the Wal-Virus is implanted in a community, it spreads with abandon. So why fight it? more ›

Gristede's billionaire John Catsimatidis has long been interested in being Mayor of New York, and recently he met with national GOP head, Reince Priebus, though not about local politics (maybe they were discussing the Nixons?). But he tells the Observer, "I've got mixed emotions about it now. Right now I am going to observe and see what is going on." more ›

Looking over Wal-Mart's recent poll, you'd think New Yorkers just can't wait until the big box store plops down and makes East New York a shopping destination. But could you believe that the data may be skewed? According to a poll of 300 small retail shop owners, Wal-Mart would be bad for business, and 73% of grocery and convenience store owners rejected the idea of a Wal-Mart in New York. Brad Gerstman of survey conductors Gotham Government Relations told the Daily News, "We decided to do this poll because the results of the Walmart one struck us as absolutely impossible." more ›

Considering "Subway Hero" Carlos Flores made his daring rescue because he wanted to make it to work on time, you'd think that his boss at Gristedes would be a bit more appreciative. But apparently he just gave Flores a commemorative certificate and said, "It takes somebody special to do that, and we want to recognize you as somebody special in our company and in our city." Ok, so he did give Flores's son a $500 check for a PS3, but the kid didn't even do anything! What good is being a subway hero if you can't even get a PS3 of your own? more ›

Last year, a pregnant mother of three walking on East 37th Street was killed when a Gristede's van driver jumped a curb and barreled into her. Another woman was injured and the driver, Keston Brown, was found with a 0.11 blood alcohol level. Yesterday, Brown went on trial for Ramos' death, and a prosecutor accused him of hitting the gas instead of the brakes when the van—"essentially a moving weapon"—hit the curb. more ›

Undercover cops have nabbed another would-be pedophile who thought he was meeting a minor for a sexual rendezvous. This time the alleged perv is an executive for the Gristedes supermarket chain, 59-year-old Michael Seltzer. Investigators say Seltzer, the chain's treasurer, had been exchanging salacious online messages with the "teen" for about a year and was finally supposed to meet her for the first time on Tuesday for a sexual encounter in Douglaston. But the 14-year-old girl didn't actually exist, and Seltzer, using the irresistible screen name LOVE775419, had been communicating with undercover cops the entire time. He was arrested when he approached an undercover female officer, and police have seized computers at his home and at Gristedes' Manhattan headquarters. Seltzer is being charged with attempted rape and could face up to four years in prison, the Daily News reports. And back in 1999, Seltzer was arrested for attempting to bribe a tax warrant investigator in return for eliminating nearly $200,000 in outstanding City and State taxes owed by the supermarket chain. more ›

Yesterday afternoon, two coworkers at an architecture firm were walking on East 37th Street between Fifth and Madison Avenues when a Gristede's delivery van, driven by an apparently drunk man, jumped the curb and slammed into them on the sidewalk. A 29-year-old mother of three, who was also three months pregnant, was killed while a 37-year-old woman was seriously injured. more ›

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 to treat workers as ‘hourly’ for some purposes, (i.e., docking them for hours not worked during the workweek), but ‘salaried’ for other purposes (i.e., not paying them overtime for hours worked in excess of the workweek).” Naturally, Gristede's plans to appeal, since billionaire owner John Catsimaditis (pictured) is going to need every cent to run for mayor. more ›

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 spent about $74 million to get elected in 2001. more ›

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 his new hire's abilities, and declared "that this focus will lead to a significant change in the performance at [under-performing] stores." more ›

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). more ›