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Longo Brothers Fruit Markets Inc.
Longo's
Company typePrivate
IndustryRetail
Founded1956 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
FoundersTommy, Joe and Gus Longo
Headquarters
Vaughan, Ontario
,
Canada
Number of locations
37
Area served
Southern Ontario
ProductsBakery, dairy, delicatessen, frozen foods, general grocery, meat and poultry, produce, seafood, snacks, pharmacy (at six locations), flowers, Starbucks
OwnersEmpire Company (51%)
Longo family (49%)
Number of employees
5,000+
Websitewww.longos.com

Longo Brothers Fruit Markets Inc., commonly known as Longo's, is a Canadian chain of retail supermarkets and grocery delivery service that serves the Southern Ontario area. It is controlled by Sobeys parent Empire Company in partnership with the founding Longo family. Its corporate office is located in Vaughan, Ontario, and it operates locations mainly in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area.

History

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Longo's was founded in 1956 by Italian immigrant brothers Joe, Tommy and Gus Longo,[1][2] who immigrated to Canada in 1951 from Termini Imerese, Sicily.[3] They established their first store at the intersection of Yonge Street and Castlefield Avenue in Toronto, with the name "Broadway Fruit Market".[4] This store was about 139 square metres (1,500 sq ft), and it had eight family members working there.[4][5] After the Longo family joined Antonino in Canada, they opened a store on Yonge Street in 1956. A year after the father's death in 1961, the store moved to East York.[citation needed]

Their second location was in Malton, at the southeast corner of Airport and Derry. While a massive gas explosion in 1969 destroyed many businesses in the community, the Longo family cleaned up and reopened after just a few days. They sold their Toronto store in 1971, to focus on their Malton operations as increased expansion continued.[4] In 1998, Tommy's son Anthony became the president of Longo's.[6]

Eldest brother Tommy Longo stocking shelves at their storefront c.1960s

Longo's publishes a free magazine called Experience Magazine. In 2004, Longo's acquired the online grocery retailer Grocery Gateway.[7]

Longo's owns and operates 36 stores, mostly in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, including several smaller-format "The Market by Longo's" stores in downtown and midtown Toronto. A 4,500-square-metre (48,000 sq ft) flagship store opened at Maple Leaf Square in downtown Toronto. In September 2016, the chain's southwesternmost location opened in Ancaster, making it the first in Hamilton.[8]

Longo's employs more than 5,000 people,[6] and for nine consecutive years was one of Canada's Top 50 privately managed companies by the Financial Post newspaper (2000–2008), achieving platinum status.[9]

Joe Longo Sr. died on September 15, 2008, at the age of 70.[3] Tommy Longo died on January 30, 2011, at the age of 76.[10]

On March 16, 2021, it was announced that Empire Company, parent company of Sobeys, would buy a 51% stake in Longo's and its Grocery Gateway e-commerce business (which was acquired by Longo's in 2004)[11] for $357 million.[12] The deal, which closed in May 2021, includes a clause allowing Sobeys' share to increase in future years.[13][14] The Longo's stores and Grocery Gateway "will continue to be led by CEO Anthony Longo".[15] The plan was subject to review by the Competition Bureau.[16]

In September 2021, the Grocery Gateway delivery service was folded under the Longo's banner, with the transitional name "Longo's delivered by Grocery Gateway".[17] At the time of the Empire sale, the company said the Longo's delivery operation would continue as a standalone business, but that it might collaborate with Sobeys' own Voilà delivery brand.[14] On July 4, 2023, Empire announced that it was sunsetting the Longo's / Grocery Gateway delivery service, with customers gradually being redirected to Voilà, and additional Longo's private label products being available through that service.[18]

Locations

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Longo's First Canadian Place store.
Longo's in Markham
Longo's in Richmond Hill
Longo's in Vaughan

37 locations:[19]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Longo's to open cashless, convenience grocery focused on prepared meals and snacks – Produce Blue Book". Retrieved 2020-07-24.
  2. ^ "Tommy Longo listened to his father and co-founded a grocery empire". Retrieved 2020-07-24.
  3. ^ a b "Joe Longo: A life of food and family - The Star".
  4. ^ a b c "Family History". Longo Brothers Fruit Markets Inc. Archived from the original on 22 October 2006. Retrieved 23 December 2009.
  5. ^ "Gus Longo looks back on 60 years in groceries". thestar.com. May 19, 2015.
  6. ^ a b "Our History". Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  7. ^ "Longo's bets big on online grocery shopping". thestar.com. November 30, 2016.
  8. ^ "Longo's opening new grocery store in Ancaster". The Hamilton Spectator. 8 July 2016.
  9. ^ "Platinum Club members". Deloitte & Touche LLP, CIBC, National Post, and Queen's School of Business. Archived from the original on 13 December 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2009.
  10. ^ "Tommy Longo listened to his father and co-founded a grocery empire" – via The Globe and Mail.
  11. ^ "Sobeys' parent buying control of Longo's, Grocery Gateway". The Globe and Mail. 2014-08-25. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
  12. ^ "Sobeys parent company to buy 51% stake in Longo's, Grocery Gateway". cbc.ca. March 16, 2021.
  13. ^ "Sobeys' parent buys 51% stake in Longo's for $357 million". Global News. March 16, 2021.
  14. ^ a b Redman, Russell (May 13, 2021). "Empire closes Longo's acquisition, sets new FreshCo locations". Supermarket News. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
  15. ^ "Sobeys parent Empire agrees to buy majority stake in Longo's for $357M". thestar.com. 2021-03-16. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
  16. ^ "Sobeys' parent buying control of Longo's, Grocery Gateway". Bloomberg. 2021-03-16. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
  17. ^ "Frequently Asked Questions". Longos.com. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
  18. ^ "Empire finalizes integration of Voilà and Grocery Gateway". Canadian Grocer. July 4, 2023. Retrieved July 4, 2023.
  19. ^ "Find a store". longos.com.
  20. ^ "The Market by Longo's". Longos.com. Retrieved September 16, 2021.
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