Author Archives: Richard Turcsik

About Richard Turcsik

With more than 20 years of indus­try expe­ri­ence under his belt, includ­ing more than five with Gro­cery Head­quar­ters, Richard Turcsik is a walk­ing ency­clo­pe­dia of super­mar­ket knowl­edge. As exec­u­tive edi­tor he is respon­si­ble for much of the magazine’s con­tent, includ­ing the pop­u­lar Retail Spot­light fea­tures, cover sto­ries, news arti­cles, cen­ter store and per­ish­ables fea­tures, as well as the Trade Talk, In the Aisles and Pro­mo­tion Cor­ner sec­tions. If Richard didn’t write for GHQ he would be “work­ing undercover.”

Tootles to Pathmark

Posted on Oct 19, 2010 by .

  Amid a 90%-off sale, and little other fanfare, the Union, N.J., Pathmark closed its doors for the last time last week.The store, located … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogs

Dimwatted idea

Posted on Sep 8, 2010 by .

  How many politicians does it take to screw up a light bulb? Apparently just a simple majority of Congress. A couple of weeks … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogs

Better Circulation

Posted on Jul 20, 2010 by .

    Hy-Vee has found a new way to deliver its weekly circulars in Kansas City. Instead of placing them in the weekly food … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogs

Good to the Last Drop

Posted on Jun 15, 2010 by .

Last weekend I was washing my car windows and reached for a bottle of Windex. There was a good quarter-inch of it left in … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogs

The World Next Door

Posted on Apr 27, 2010 by .

I had the pleasure of attending the SIAL Canada convention in Montreal last week. As a first time visitor to Montreal I must confess … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogs

By Land and By Sea

Posted on Mar 17, 2010 by .

For the first time the International Boston Seafood Show and Seafood Processing America joined forces — sort of — with the New England Food … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogs

Butt Out!

Posted on Feb 2, 2010 by .

I don’t know if this is airing in other areas of the country, but here in New York there is an ongoing ad campaign … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogs

The Name Game

Posted on Dec 22, 2009 by .

Ahold purchased Richmond’s hometown Ukrop’s Super Markets chain last week and said it is placing it under the umbrella of its Giant Carlisle chain, … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogs

Management Material

Posted on Dec 1, 2009 by .

Supermarket professionals do a great job of selling milk, macaroni & cheese mix and rotisserie chickens. But when it comes to touting their own … Continue reading →

Posted in Cover Stories

Bagging the Green Movement

Posted on Nov 11, 2009 by .

    New Jersey’s supermarkets have been touting reusable bags as one of the best ways to reduce the carbon footprint and help the … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogs

Can-do attitude

Posted on Nov 2, 2009 by .

Supermarket front-ends are be­ing bombarded with Spam. But fear not, as this is no cyber attack. It is just proof that shoppers are seeking … Continue reading →

Posted in Center Store

Crème de la crème

Posted on Nov 2, 2009 by .

A popular World War I-era song is entitled “How ‘Ya Gonna Keep ‘Em Down on the Farm?” When it comes to Oregon Dairy—a thriving … Continue reading →

Fruit of the vine

Posted on Oct 1, 2009 by .

The dramatic drop in res­taurant and on-premise consumption has been tempered by an in­crease in supermarket sales, wi­neries say. Sales of “popular price” brands, … Continue reading →

Posted in Center Store

High on the HOG

Posted on Oct 1, 2009 by .

Forget that same-old chicken and chop meat. When it comes to answering the question “What’s for dinner?” an increasing number of consumers are finding … Continue reading →

Posted in Focus on Fresh

May I have the American-made envelope, please!

Posted on Sep 29, 2009 by .

I always assumed that envelopes, spiral notebooks, loose-leaf paper and Elmer’s Glue-All were quintessential American-made items. Reality struck me a couple of weeks ago … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogs

Fancy that!

Posted on Aug 1, 2009 by .

Wine importer Bill Binczak had a prob­lem at the 2009 55th Summer Fancy Food Show, one that many trade show operators can only dream … Continue reading →

Posted in Center Store

Trade talk

Posted on Dec 1, 2008 by .

Good morning, BaltimoreForest Hill, Md.-based Klein’s Family Markets is joining Wakefern Food Corporation, transitioning its seven stores to Wakefern’s ShopRite banner in the process. … Continue reading →

Common cents

Posted on Dec 1, 2008 by .

The “pastabilities” are endless: Spaghetti with meatballs, baked ziti, lasagna, fettuccini Al­fredo, linguine with clam sauce, tuna casserole, macaroni salad…. The number of dishes … Continue reading →

Posted in Center Store

Sunny Side Up

Posted on Dec 1, 2008 by .

Here comes the sun, the wind and tidal currents too. This past year’s skyrocketing fossil fuel costs have caused supermarkets to look at alterna­tive … Continue reading →

Posted in Cover Stories

Fresh talk

Posted on Dec 1, 2008 by .

Say “mini cheese!”Holland’s famous Beemster Premium Gourmet Dutch Cheese, which maintains U.S. headquarters in Jersey City, N.J., has made its first foray into exact-weight … Continue reading →

Posted in Focus on Fresh