Following the retirement of owners, Don and Mary Lynn Hart, Southampton Foodland has a new owner, Martino Catalano.
Born and raised in Hanover, Catalano comes with an extensive history in the grocery industry having been part of Wingham’s Foodland for 15 years and as the owner for six of those years.
As part of Sobey’s grocery chain, Foodland franchisees are chosen based on several criteria including how they ‘fit in’ with communities.
“When the Harts decided to retired and Southampton Foodland became available, I immediately put my name forward to acquire it,” says Catalano. “I wanted a franchise in a community where I wanted to also retire one day.”
He officially took over the store on May 4th (2019) and says that there will be no changes. “If it isn’t broken, why fix it? The staff here have been very welcoming and they have the store running like clockwork.”
The Catalanos recently purchased a home in Southampton and are looking forward to settling into the community full-time in mid-June.
