Facts you didn't know about Stop & Shop

Stop & Shop history

Stop & Shop started out in 1914 as Economy Grocery Store in Somerville, Mass. In 1941, the first Stop & Shop opened in Connecticut. The chain celebrated the 100th anniversary of the first store in 2014.

Superstore concept

According to the company, Stop & Shop pioneered the superstore concept on the East Coast, opening the first Super Stop & Shop in Pembroke, Mass. in 1982.

Stop & Shop arrives on LI

Stop & Shop arrived on Long Island in 1995, when the company purchased Melmarkets' 17 Foodtown Supermarkets for $82 million.

Stop & Stop stores

Today, there are Stop & Shop locations in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island, totaling 416 stores. Those 416 locations are almost evenly split between its New England division (212) and its New York Metro division (204), which includes Long Island. According to the company's website, the New York Metro division employs 29,600 associates.

A top 10 private employer in NYS, LI

According to the New York State Department of Labor, Stop & Shop is one of the Top 10 private employers in the state as of August 2016, and also in the Top 10 of employers on Long Island as well as in the Hudson Valley.

Stop and Shop stores on Long Island

As of July 2017, there are 51 locations on Long Island -- 24 in Nassau County, 27 in Suffolk County, according to the company's website.

Stop & Shop buys former A&P stores

In 2015, Stop & Shop New York Metro acquired 25 A&P locations. According to Newsday research, nine of those were on Long Island, with three Pathmarks and six Waldbaum's being acquired in the deal.

Ahold Delhaize ownership

Stop & Shop is currently owned by Ahold Delhaize, a company based in Brussels, Belguim, which was formed in July 2016 from the merger of Ahold, which bought Stop & Shop in 1996, and the Delhaize Group. Among the companies' current U.S. properties are Giant of Landover, Md., Giant of Carlisle, Pa., Hannaford's, Food Lion and Martin's. All of these chains are located on the East Coast, spanning from Georgia to Maine.

A Giant similarity

If you're ever been to Delaware, the District of Columbia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, or Virginia, you may have noticed Giant Food stores have the identical "wedge design" logo to Stop & Shop. The two chains were combined in 2004 by then-parent company Ahold, and adopted the same new look in 2008. Although the two now are back to being different divisions after being split back up in 2011, they still both share the similar look.

11th in retail sales

According to Stores Magazine, Royal Ahold Delhaize was the 11th biggest retailer in the United States in 2016, with $44.153 billion in sales in the U.S. It was the third-largest among chains focused on groceries, behind Kroeger and Albertsons.

Consumer Reports ranking

In May 2017, Consumer Reports rated Stop & Shop and other grocery stores across the country in a dozen categories. Stop & Shop got a fair grade of 69, getting good marks for its store cleanliness and selection of healthy options, but earning poor marks for checkout speed and prices of organic options.

Stop & Shop New York Metro headquarters

In 2011, Stop & Shop established a headquarters in Purchase, N.Y. for the New York Metro division. The New England division headquarters is located in Quincy, Mass.