New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Brooklyn brothers bring new life to Ferraro’s site
Meat King Farms looks to make its mark on Elm City
“How often do you get an opportunity to get a space that has had the same business for 60 years? And if you get an opportunity like that, you’d better not pass it up.”
Orlando Cepeda
NEW HAVEN — When iconic city grocer Ferraro’s Market announced it was closing its Grand Avenue store and moving the business to North Haven, longtime customers were not happy.
But less than a week after Ferraro’s left the spot it had occupied for 60 years on Christmas Eve, a pair of brothers from Brooklyn, N.Y., already are in business as the city’s newest grocery store at the 664 Grand Ave. spot.
Orlando and Fernando Cepeda opened The Meat King Farms Monday morning.
“It’s a big step for us,” said Orlando Cepeda of the venture, including that the brothers plan to relocate from Brooklyn to the New Haven area.
Members of the Ferraro family announced in November that they were going to relocate to the North Haven Commons shopping plaza off Universal Drive. The new location, next to Target is scheduled to open in mid-February.
And The Meat King Farms is more
than happy to welcome its predecessor’s longtime customers. “We’re looking to bring back the people who used to shop here and bring in some new customers,” Cepeda said.
The shop’s offerings are similar to what customers may have been used to: fresh seafood and vegetables, bread and baked goods — and, of course, meat. Lots of it.
Other than the new owners, very little has changed about the market. Cepeda said he and his brother retained all of Ferraro’s former employees, about 50 in all.
If the new market’s name sound familiar, it’s because Ferraro’s spent the past several years establishing a meat delivery business focused on New Haven’s suburbs, launching its “Meat King” delivery business in 2016 and expanding to 13 locations earlier this year.
Cepeda said his business has used The Meat King name for about 20 years.
While the location and staff remain the same, Cepeda said he and his brother have plans to renovate the Grand Avenue store.
“We want to brighten it up, make it more modern,” he said.
Mike Piscitelli, New Haven’s economic development administrator, said he met with the new owners Tuesday.
“We are looking forward to working with them,” Piscitelli said.
Cepeda said the opportunity to expand his family’s grocery business beyond the borders of Brooklyn, where they have two Meat King Farms locations, was too good to pass up.
“How often do you get an opportunity to get a space that has had the same business for 60 years?” Cepeda said. “And if you get an opportunity like that, you’d better not pass it up.”
For more information, visit www.themeatkingfarms.com.