19 hours ago
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Season’s eatings.
An Italian supermarket chain on Long Island takes the cake for spreading holiday cheer with in-store carolers, parking lot chauffeurs, and Christmas decorations as far as the eye can see — including garland draped near hanging meats.
“There’s no other kind of shopping experience like this on Long Island,” Massapequa mom Geralynn Townsend told The Post of Uncle Giuseppe’s in December.
“It probably almost doubles in the amount of people that are in there this time of year.”
The local franchise that started in East Meadow in 2001 grandly decks its halls, or, rather, aisles, for a simple reason.
“The business plan was, let’s just do something that we think is fun,” said CEO Carl DelPrete.
“We don’t want to be just a supermarket, we want to be an experience.”
DelPrete spends “in the significant five-figure” range each year on decorations like life-size Santas and wooden soldiers for each of the chain’s 12 locations, which are uniquely decorated from one another.
“It’s our Super Bowl,” added the grocery boss. “And everyone gets excited about it.”
Even those far from one of the 12 stores admire the dedication. Uncle Giuseppe’s has amassed an Instagram following of nearly 120,000 and commenters often plead for new locations in their hometowns.
The stores’ parking lots get so congested during the holidays that select locations began using six-seat golf carts to provide customers with safe passage from the door to their vehicles this year.
“The parking lot can be chaotic. It can be a little intense, there’s people rushing,” Townsend said.
“But once you get in the store, it’s really nice…I absolutely love it. I think it’s adorable. The other shoppers do too, you can tell even in the crowded aisles that everyone is in a good mood, smiling.”
To keep up the festive mood, the grocery store recruited more than a baker’s dozen Sinatra-style singers on weekends to serenade customers as they shop for their seven fishes, struffoli, and other staples from the boot.
“We have people who call the stores and ask, ‘Is the singer going to be there?'” said vocalist Tony Della, who’s been belting out favorites like “The Christmas Song” for nearly 20 years.
While he’s in the stores on weekends year-round, Della, a 77-year-old from Aquebogue, said there’s something about Christmas that hits differently with the clientele.
“I’ve had shoppers in the store for an hour, and I would say, ‘Wow, I didn’t think you were still here.’ They said, ‘Oh, we’re enjoying the music, so we just keep going around the store.'”
Others often call or FaceTime out-of-state relatives to show how exceptional the experience is and some say the live music helps make stressful holiday shopping a peaceful experience.
“I’ve had people actually come up to me getting off the line, or even before they get on the line, and say, ‘You were doing some songs that I remember my mom or my dad used to sing,'” said Della.
“And then they say, ‘I feel so much better now,'” added the singer, whose tunes get streamed to the golf carts and are never interrupted by announcements.
Spreading joy — along with schmears, dips, and cannoli filling — is a core principle at Uncle G’s after all.
“All the workers are really, really kind, upbeat, and happy,” Townsend said.
“It’s just a nice place to shop, so much better, I feel, than a big box supermarket.”
English (US)