Supermarket Billionaire Threatens To Cut Workforce, Move To Florida After Mamdani's Win

[UpInArms]

New York City supermarket billionaire John Catsimatidis went nuclear in June, when Zohran Mamdani, who had proposed opening a cheap city-run grocery story in each of the five boroughs, won the democratic primary for mayor. Catsimatidis held a press conference with Bodega owners; publicly threatened to shut down his 30-plus stores if the democratic socialist won the election; and ranted on TV. “He’s not qualified... this is silly,” he said on FOX News, comparing Mamdani to Fidel Castro. “It’s one big con game.”

He also called President Trump, who publicly backed his friend. “[Mamdani] actually wants to take over the grocery stores of John Catsimatidis, who’s a great guy, a rich guy,” Trump said of his buddy, whose net worth Forbes pegs at $4.8 billion, “He actually called me the other day, he’s concerned his stores are going to be taken from him, and they won’t be run like John runs them, believe me, he runs a good operation.”

Now that Mamdani has been elected, Catsimatidis is once again agitating. “I think a lot of business people are reducing their exposure to New York City,” he tells Forbes. Catsimatidis—whose $7.8 billion (revenue) Red Apple Group also owns a Pennsylvania oil refinery, some 400 convenience stores and a portfolio of real estate stretching from New York to Florida—had been looking to move Red Apple’s headquarters to New Jersey if Mamdani became mayor. He changed his mind after Tuesday’s election. “New Jersey didn't go the right way,” he says—after the state resoundingly elected Democrat Mikie Sherrill as governor. Now, he’s looking for “friendly states” to relocate operations, with Florida being the most likely candidate. “The key word is a common sense place to do business in,” explains Catsimatidis.

The nearly lifelong New Yorker, who immigrated to the city from Greece at six months old, dropped out of New York University his senior year to open the first Red Apple grocery store in 1971. Within four years, Catsimatidis had ten stores and was making $1 million a year. Today, Red Apple Group, which acquired Gristedes supermarkets in 1986 and recently gained a controlling share in D'Agostino stores, says it’s the largest supermarket chain in New York City, with most of its stores in Manhattan.

More at:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/martinadilicosa/2025/11/07/supermarket-billionaire-john-catsimatidis-threatens-to-cut-workforce-move-to-florida-after-mamdanis-win/

And a pass the paywall, if you get blocked


(He doesn’t look like he has missed any meals)



https://archive.ph/EOZmv

[Prairie Gates]

1. Bye

Fuck off!

Your filthy grocery stores are a disgrace anyway.

[legallyblondeNYC]

46. Agree.... they have always been...

rather gross - IMHO.

Lived in Manhattan for 20+ years. Yuck.

[LR3]

2. That shirt collar is doing heroic work

$4.8B is not enough for people like this

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

12. He looks like a movie's image of a store owner

[2naSalit]

3. Don't let the door hit ya...

On your way out!

From the looks of him, Mother Nature might have a say about this.

As a consequence, just think of the space freed up where small businesses can open and thrive, co-ops...

[orangecrush]

4. Good riddance, asshole

[Celerity]

5. fuck off Catsimatidis, you rancid piece of hog shit

[drmeow]

6. Losing money

"Catsimatidis claims it’s also his struggle. “We don't have any profit margins,” he says, explaining that his stores have been losing money for “at least two years.” "

Hmmm - why am I so suspicious about this claim? Maybe because he'd have closed the stores if he was losing money for that long cause he sure doesn't give a flying f**k about ensuring that people have access to good groceries where they live? Maybe because right wing assholes lie whenever they open their mouths? Maybe because I suspect there is some creative accounting going on that allows him to claim he's losing money so he doesn't have to pay NYC city taxes? Maybe because I don't trust douchebags? So many reasons!

[Iggo]

25. He's lying.

[FHRRK]

30. Easy

Have 500 million in profit, pay yourself 500 million plus in salary, that is “losing” money.

[TheProle]

7. Zohran Mamdani is pushing for New York City-run grocery stores. Here's what he envisions.

https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/zohran-mamdani-new-york-city-run-grocery-stores/

Zohran Mamdani championed the idea of New York City-run grocery stores throughout his successful campaign for mayor. He has said he views it as an opportunity to address affordability and to give the public a choice.

But in a city where capitalism reigns supreme, Mamdani's proposal has faced significant opposition. The democratic socialist's road to having it adopted will hinge on a variety of factors, including City Council and state support.

Mamdani has said his plan "is part of a vision of a public option for produce, an understanding that for far too many New Yorkers, groceries are out of reach, and the importance in city government of reasonable policy experimentation."

[Walleye]

8. Starting to remind me of the song from "West Side Story"

“I think I’ll go back to San Juan.
I know a boat you can leave on.
Bye-bye”

[MarineCombatEngineer]

9. ....

[Scrivener7]

10. See ya.

[Solly Mack]

11. They've gone from "they're going to take our guns" to "they're going to take our grocery stores".

[Baitball Blogger]

13. God, he looks like a fat cat.

[mwmisses4289]

16. A fat cat at least will curl up on your lap and purr.

[global1]

14. Really - How Much Money Is Too Much?.......

Let him move to Florida. Make room for city run grocery stores.

Looking at your picture - I don't think you can handle the heat/humidity in Florida.

[no_hypocrisy]

15. Hey Cats! Take WABC Radio with you to Florida.

[Doodley]

17. This is needed when you have an administration that is cutting SNAP benefits and increasing other living costs.

[Paladin]

18. How much will trump make off that compliment to the Red Apple billionaire?

As if trump has any notion of what "a good operation" is when it comes to grocery stores.

[Iggo]

27. He just learned the word "groceries" this year.

[mwmisses4289]

19. He looks kinda like a blob fish, doesn't he?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr_Blobby_(fish)

No insult to blob fishes meant.

[Iggo]

28. It's okay. Blob fishes are supposed to look like that.

Humans? Not so much.

[republianmushroom]

20. Da poor snowflake.

[travelingthrulife]

21. Billionaire quibbling over having to share.

[democratsruletheday]

22. Dude is the PICTURE of health....

just like his BFF, tOrange Shitter. God Repukes are ugly, whiney piss ants.

[allegorical oracle]

29. Yep -- thought that, too, when I saw him. Would advise him to choose a state

that's cooler and less humid than Fla. He'll become a large puddle of sidewalk grease in his first summer.

[maxrandb]

23. Don't threaten me with a good time

[Iggo]

24. He's lying.

[bucolic_frolic]

31. Love how all these billionaires are said to have super entrepreneurial skills

but the real question is always, HOW did they start their first business, where did the money come from? Businesses started on $100 that amount to anything are rare. If they borrowed or got an government loan, I suppose that's fair. But some inherited it. It's easy to move up in life if you get the capital at critical points in time. Not so easy for the ordinary folks who lack skills, insight, money, etc.

[Cha]

32. He looks Greedy.

[wolfie001]

33. If you're in the same room with this clown and the orange fatso......

.... you're gonna need one of these:

[img][/img]

[D00ver66]

34. Slob much?

This guy is gross. Maybe New York should take him over and kick him out of business in new York ? Not sure how all that works but Trump gets away with shit tons of illegal stuff, why not?

[Ray Bruns]

35. He looks just like I imagined he would.

[mountain grammy]

36. Ugly inside and out.

[BidenRocks]

37. Late night made him famous.

His fat cat ranting had me wishing he would stroke out.

Poor rich fuck. He hasn't missed any meals!

[popsdenver]

38. If

the Republicans start calling Mamdani some despicable name they think is cute........

We should start calling Trump: Mad Man Donnie.........

[C Moon]

39. He's 77 and worth almost 5 billion dollars.

Why do these bastards want so much money?
Wake up ace hole, cuz u can’t take it with you.

[dobleremolque]

40. Hyperbolic threats rarely work out in reality. He's not going to close all his stores. If those

kinds of threats actually worked, Rush Limbaugh and a whole bunch of "I'll-leave-the-country-if..." others would have died overseas. But good news. Limbaugh's still dead!

[Fil1957]

41. So many of these rich fucks are such crybabies...

[gulliver]

42. It's not smart to tell grocers you're going to compete with them using tax money.

I really don't see how it pays off, either for city residents or business owners. You say things that threaten the business model of existing grocery stores, quick marts, and bodegas before you build their replacements? I suspect almost everyone (including existing grocers, Mamdani, and most voters) knows that's ludicrous. Maybe, just maybe, New Yorkers will end up with something like subsidized private businesses, tax breaks, etc., that will get groceries more available.

Viable city-run grocery stores that provide high quality, nutritious groceries affordably? No way for that to happen. It's just an example of the "cheap guy" always ending up paying the most. It's hiring a handyman to do a root canal.

[MichMan]

53. The city run stores won't be paying rent, taxes or utility costs

[sop]

43. They used to call those food co-ops.

A lot of cities had them, many still do. I joined a community food co-op years ago in my college town. One could pay a small membership fee, or volunteer to work at the store a few hours a week.

[MichMan]

54. I doubt a city run grocery store will have volunteer staff

Pretty certain they will be represented by NYC unions

[Deminpenn]

61. We are talking about 5 stores max

Suppose each store has 20 employees, that's 100.
Suppose employees are paid $20/hr, 365 days a year. That amounts to 5.84M per year total. I'm sure the city owns buildings suitable for a grocery. They could be powered by renewable energy. Would there be initial start up costs? Sure, but hardly insurmountable.

Further these stores could serve as a buyer for local dairy and farm products, sustainable farming, a customer for those farms who lost contracts to supply food banks and likely more.

All it takes is a little imagination and can do spirit. What's more American than that?

[MichMan]

62. Mamdani campaigned on a $30 per hour minimum wage

Couple both working full time will earn over $100k per year. Of course that will apply to everyone.

Where is it stated that there will only be five?

[Deminpenn]

64. 1 store in each borough is in the OP

$30/hr is probably the minimum one needs to live in NYC unless you are in a grandfathered hard rent controlled apt, but I doubt that would happen right away in any event.

A quick search shows NYC and it boroughs rent for an average of 2k/mo, much more if you want to live in Manhattan.
That means just an apt costs $24k a year. If you are making $30/hr, your total income would be about $60k before local, state and federal taxes. Subtracting 24k off the top leaves one with $36k to pay for everything else including taxes, health insurance, transportation and food.

[Deminpenn]

55. Park Slope co-op sems to work well

and customers seem to love it.

[Joinfortmill]

44. Good riddance

[flvegan]

45. Florida? He wants to compete with Publix now? Ok.

Not a defense of Publix, just a question of his reality.

[dalton99a]

47. "Get in my belly!"

[Warpy]

48. Crybaby sore loser, typical GOP

Sorry he didn't get his pretty pony this time but what the hell does he expect to happen? Will New Yorkers suddenly stop eating?

What a complete dumbass!

[Rebl2]

49. Kansas City

tried this. There was one city run grocery store and it did not work out. They have also had free bus rides for several years and it has not worked out either. They will start charging again to ride the bus.

[UpInArms]

59. I know peeps who ride the bus

and love it

[musette_sf]

50. They don't call it Grislytedes these days for nothing

[mr715]

51. Oh No, NYC's worst supermarket nt

[Blues Heron]

52. All the money in the world and still a whiny little fuck. These people have pennies for brains

[Deminpenn]

56. 5 total city run grocery, 1 in each borough

NYC only has 5 boroughs.

Very scary competition for a grocery store magnate.

[MichMan]

68. One city owned store for over 2 million residents each in Brooklyn and Queens

Wonder how big are they going to be?

[Emile]

57. Cut your work force asshole! Cheap city run grocery

stores without the predatory capitalist Catsimatidis stealing your money, makes sense.

[SamuelTheThird]

58. That head would bounce well

Ok, I'm not serious...really....

[oasis]

60. Jabba the Hutt?

[electric_blue68]

63. Ah, you got to this waaay before me. Wasn't here much today.

[uponit7771]

65. Billionaire weirdo whining is the worst

[HAB911]

66. Rising costs drive nearly 50% of Floridians to consider leaving

BOCA RATON, Fla. — The rising cost of living in Florida is prompting about half of the state's residents to consider leaving the state.

That's according to a new poll released Monday by Florida Atlantic University, which surveyed 1,000 people over the age of 18 between Sept. 30 and Oct. 10.

https://www.wptv.com/news/state/rising-costs-drive-nearly-50-of-floridians-to-consider-leaving-state-fau-poll-says

[Emile]

67. He could buy Epstein Island and move there.

[OldBaldy1701E]

69. "The key word is a common sense place to do business in," explains Catsimatidis."

No, the key word is 'favoritism'. And you will no longer have it.