Balducci's
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail (specialty food) |
| Founded | 1946 |
| Founder | Louis Balducci and Maria Balducci |
| Headquarters | United States |
Area served | Mid-Atlantic region, United States |
| Products | Gourmet specialty foods |
| Owner | Albertsons |
Balducci's Food Lover's Market is a gourmet specialty food retailer with eight locations throughout the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Since 2020, it has been under the ownership of Albertsons.
History
The origins of Balducci's trace back to Louis Balducci, an Italian immigrant who began his family's involvement in New York City's food industry by selling produce from a pushcart between 1914 and 1925. After returning from Italy in 1939, Louis and his wife Maria established a fruit stand in Greenwich Village in 1946, which was later moved to a storefront on Sixth Avenue in 1972. Balducci's was among the first to introduce a concept that combined butcher, fishmonger, delicatessen, and greengrocer services within a single retail location, setting a precedent for specialty markets in New York City.
The business was passed down to their children, Andy and Grace Balducci, who further developed the brand. However, family disagreements led Grace to depart in 1985 to launch Grace's Marketplace. Another family member involved in management, Louis B., left in the late 1980s to work with a different specialty grocer. With no successors from the following generation, Andy and Nina Balducci sold the company in 1999 for $26.5 million to Sutton Place Gourmet, a Maryland-based company with combined annual revenues surpassing $130 million.
Although the flagship Sixth Avenue store ceased operations in 2003, other outlets continued serving customers. Later that year, Bear Stearns Merchant Banking led an investment group that acquired the company.
Separately, the husband of Andy and Nina’s daughter founded Baldor Specialty Foods, an East Coast produce distribution company named by merging the Balducci and Doria family names.
Balducci's after 2005
In December 2005, Balducci's opened a new flagship store located in the New York Savings Bank Building at Eighth Avenue and 14th Street in Manhattan. Shortly after its opening, Local 1500 of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union protested against the store’s non-unionized labor force. By April 2009, Balducci's had shut down both its New York City stores, including this flagship location and another on West 66th Street.
Presently, Balducci's maintains eight full-service retail outlets across Connecticut, Maryland, Virginia, and New York (Scarsdale). The company returned to New York City in 2012 with Balducci's Gourmet on the Go Café inside Hearst Tower, which offers prepared meals, soups, salads, and coffee. Additionally, four Balducci's Express stores operate—three at JFK Airport and one at Leesburg Corner Premium Outlets in Virginia. A Gourmet on the Go Café located at Johns Hopkins Hospital closed its doors in 2024.
In April 2009, ownership transferred to Kings Food Markets, part of Angelo, Gordon and Co.’s portfolio. Subsequently, Kings Food Markets and Balducci's were acquired by investment firm GSSG Capital in 2016. After encountering financial difficulties, Balducci's filed for bankruptcy protection in 2020 before being purchased by Albertsons.