Tops Friendly Markets — Local services in Town of La Grange

Very clean and organized TOPS HISTORY & HERITAGE

The story of Tops began in the early 1920s when Ferrante Castellani moved from a village outside of Rome, Italy to Niagara Falls, NY, where he opened his very first grocery store. Ferrante's sons, Armand and Alfred, eventually took over the business and opened two more stores under the name Great Bear Market.

Armand Castellani In the 1950s, Armand met Thomas Buscaglia, owner of T.A. Buscaglia Equipment Company. He asked Armand to partner with him and Armand agreed to join Thomas in a joint venture, Niagara Frontier Services. At that time, Savino Nanula was also a key member of their team.

Armand had great passion for food, people and his community. He was also a visionary, experimenting with ideas that were quite advanced for that time. Excited by the growth of modern day "supermarkets", Castellani and Buscaglia partnered with a group of independent Bells store owners, including Alfonse and Leonard DiMino, among others who joined them as key partners in their early and expanding retail grocery enterprise.

Tops breaking ground in 1962 for their first truly modern supermarket. In 1962, the group opened its first true modern supermarket, a 25,000 square-foot store on Portage Road in Niagara Falls, NY. That same year, Alfonse DiMino suggested the name Tops and the team chose that name because they were determined to give customers the best shopping experience possible. In the lingo of the 60s, that meant it was 'tops'.

The 1970s saw Tops, under the leadership of Armand Castellani and Savino Nanula, continue to grow in Western New York and thrive where competitors struggled. By the mid-70s, the company had expanded into the Rochester area. Store growth continued throughout the next decade and during this time, Tops opened its first Pennsylvania location in Bradford, PA.

1991 was a pivotal year when Tops was acquired by Ahold, a major international food retail conglomerate based in the Netherlands. In 2001, Tops formed an alliance with Giant Food stores, a fellow Ahold company, based in Carlisle, PA. That structure remained in place until 2007 when Ahold announced that they would sell Tops Markets to Morgan Stanley Private Equity. In the fall of 2007, then president and CEO Frank Curci, led the deal that returned Tops Markets back to local operation. In 2010, Tops acquired The Penn Traffic Company, a deal which resulted in bringing 64 new stores into its family. In July 2012, Tops announced its purchase of 21 Grand Union Family Markets stores.

One of the first Tops store locations.

Tops operates supermarkets & fuel stations in New York, Pennsylvania, and Vermont.

In November 2013, six members of Tops' executive team, led by Chairman and CEO Frank Curci, purchased the company from Morgan Stanley Private Equity, returning it back to complete local ownership.

In February 8, 2021 Tops Markets and Price Chopper/Market 32 announced that they entered into a definitive merger agreement that creates a powerful alliance between the two storied independent supermarket chains, as it nearly doubles their collective Northeastern footprint. This transaction unites two iconic New York based supermarket chains with deep ties to their local communities and shared commitments to service, savings and convenience. With increased scale across their almost perfectly contiguous footprints, the merged companies are expected to be better positioned to compete and offer even more value and outstanding services to their customers across the Northeast. Click here to learn more about...

We only live two miles away, so it's convenient for us. The building used to be Hannaford, and we really don't like the changeover, even though it's been several years. The size of the store makes it easy to get in and out quickly, especially if you're used to the layout, although sometimes things are changed around. However, the size also means they may not always carry what you want. Also I feel that, in general, they are on the pricey side. I don't usually buy their produce, though some of it is ok. They seem a little too finicky to me. They charge $1.99 per transaction if you use your debit card and get cash back. I don't know any other store that does this! I recommend you bring your own bags, even though they don't give you credit for them. They charge six cents for a somewhat flimsy paper one. The staff is friendly but doesn't always know how to tell you where to find items. I feel they all should be trained well in that department. The pharmacy staff is efficient and they have a good savings program, but the area is way too small! People sometimes wait in the supermarket aisles to pick up their meds or wait for vaccines. Yes, there are plenty of parking spaces, but I feel the parking lot could use more cleanup and maintenance. This next comment is not a reflection of the store, but shoppers, please clean out and return your carts! Parking them in the grass does not make things easier for the people who have to collect them. Thank you, and...

This place is a joke. I went there today. I was in the meat section and found a package of meat with mold all over it. I brought it to the front desk and the manager I talked to (Dawn E.) told me to bring it back to the deli manager. (They are the idiots that put it out in the first place. She didn't say sorry or offer a solution to the problem. And when I brought the meat back to the deli, the guy I gave it to acted very relaxed about it. Like it wasn't a big deal. Tops put out tainted meat and it's not a big deal? I could not believe they would put something like that out for customers to handle. And it's not like they didn't see it. The meat was sitting right in front, with the mold staring me right in my face. And what makes it even worse is it has a big sticker on it stating FRESHNESS GUARANTEED. They must have been talking about fresh mold. Sad excuse...