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GOURMET NEWS DECEMBER 2017 www.gourmetnews.com RETAILER NEWS 1 1 Untold Story Continued from PAGE 1 that Li-Lac's Master Chocolatier, Anwar Khoder, was the glue holding everything together. Khoder had originally come to the U.S. from Lebanon to study computer pro- gramming, but when the economy crashed in the late 1980s, his job as a Yellow Cab driver wasn't enough to support his educa- tion. In 1989, a family member got him a job at Li-Lac as a favor, and he fell in love with the company im- mediately. He climbed the ranks swiftly and used his natural affinity for business to make signif- icant contributions to the efficiency of the operation. When the candy maker at the time could no longer keep up, Khoder took over, adding chocolatier to his growing list of titles, and becoming fiercely protective of the original recipes. He ran the retail ef- forts and candy making under numerous owners, ensuring that Li-Lac's Old World standards and processes were upheld. When Cirone came into the picture, he rec- ognized Khoder's value and dedication, and made him part owner. Khoder's only con- dition was that Cirone leave the original recipes untouched and continue crafting in small batches by hand. The team has since grown Li-Lac to five locations: West Village, Greenwich Village, Chelsea Market, Grand Central Market, and the Sunset Park In- dustry City factory/store. The fac- tory is a buzzing chocolate wonderland where glass windows allow visitors to watch Li-Lac candy being made using techniques unchanged for nearly a century. From here, the chocolate is delivered daily to Li-Lac's other retail locations, ensuring that the product is uncommonly fresh. The front entrance of the factory is lined with gift boxes, sea- sonal treats and year-round mainstays like the popular New York-themed pieces, the Statue of Liberty and Empire State Build- ing, to name a few. A glass display show- cases classics including salted caramels, butter crunch, marzipan acorns, cream pat- ties, coconut clusters, glace orange peels and French mints. Aside from the visible treats at the counter, what most people aren't aware of is the sheer number of unique items available for pur- chase – more than 120, which is one of the largest se- lections in the country. And as Khoder will hap- pily divulge, the secret to his high- quality chocolate is comparatively high lev- els of real cocoa and cocoa butter in the recipe. PB&J Bars, Chocolate Oreos, non- pareils, Molasses Crunch and legendary fudge are just some of the other options, all handmade fresh to order, and completely kosher. Past the display and into the factory, two original, thick marble slabs transported from the Christopher Street location are still used daily for candy creation. Here, handmade ganache is mixed and pounded with a wooden beater to soften it, while marzipan is rolled into acorn shapes using an antique wooden apparatus. Large copper kettles like the ones George Demetrious used in the 1920s are still employed to painstakingly cook fudge. Hidden in a safe is Demetrious' original notebook containing his h a n d - w r i t t e n recipes. A team of 20 passionate em- ployees can be found at different stations squeezing nonpareils into shape, filling cus- tom molds, sprin- kling salt onto fresh caramels, hand-wrapping orders, and guid- ing fillings through the conveyor belt chocolate coating machine that runs the length of the front window. Li-Lac also has a large selection of spe- cialty molds, including some antiques that date back to the company's origins. The collection offers options tailored to a vast array of hobbies and interests, from choco- late lipstick to full chess sets, animals, cars, letters, numbers and more. They can pro- duce pocket-sized treats all the way up to life-size renditions of holiday favorites like turkeys and champagne bottles. GN Kroger Names Executive Leadership Team to Support Restock Kroger Plan The Kroger Co. named a new executive leadership team to support the company's "Restock Kroger Plan." "Kroger is fortunate to have a leadership team that combines deep experience with creative new talent as we strategically repo- sition the company through our 'Restock Kroger Plan,'" said Rodney McMullen, Kroger's Chairman and CEO. Fred Morganthall, Kroger's Executive Vice President of Retail Operations, retired on November 30 after 31 years of distinguished service. Mike Donnelly, previously Kroger's executive vice president of merchandising, is assuming responsibility for both opera- tions and merchandising as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. Kroger's key lines of business continue to be led by three Executive Vice Presidents who are driving execution of "Restock Kroger": Donnelly; Mike Schlotman, who serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer; and Chris Hjelm, who serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer. Fred Morganthall Retires after 31 Years of Service Morganthall retired after 31 years of service with Harris Teeter and Kroger, and 44 years in the food industry. "There are few people in our industry as widely respected as Fred," said McMullen. "He worked tirelessly to establish the Har- ris Teeter brand and, after our merger, to help position Kroger for future success. We've all benefited from Fred's passion for grocery retail and operational excellence. We are grateful for Fred's distinguished service and many contributions to Kroger and Harris Teeter, and we wish him and his family all the best." Morganthall's professional life began at Procter & Gamble in 1973. His career in grocery retail began in 1978 at Spartan Stores in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he was responsible for grocery, frozen and dairy purchasing as well as general mer- chandise and beauty care. In 1986, he joined Harris Teeter as director of grocery merchandising. With Harris Teeter, Mor- ganthall served in a number of executive management positions, including vice pres- ident of merchandising, vice president of distribution and vice president of opera- tions before being named president in 1997. Under his leadership, Harris Teeter grew and firmly established its identity as a retailer that provides exceptional cus- tomer service and in-store experience. After the 2013 merger of Kroger and Harris Teeter, Morganthall was named Kroger's senior vice president in June 2015. He was promoted to executive vice presi- dent of retail operations, in September 2015. Morganthall has been an active leader in industry organizations, including serving as chair of the Food Marketing Institute. In 2016, FMI honored him with its most pres- tigious leadership recognition, the Sidney R. Rabb Award. Mike Donnelly Named Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Donnelly assumed responsibility for the company's operations and merchandising as EVP and COO on November 1. "Mike and his team will help us redefine the food and grocery experience for cus- tomers and drive sales," said McMullen. "By bringing merchandising and operations together under Mike's leadership, we will build synergies between our teams and ac- celerate our efforts to establish a truly seamless customer experience." Donnelly began his career at Fry's Food Stores in California in 1978. He advanced to several leadership positions at Fry's, including district management. He was named vice president of merchandising for Fry's in 1995 and promoted to president of the Fry's divi- sion in 2000. He has served as Kroger's senior vice president of drug/GM, president of the company's Ralphs division, and senior vice president of merchandising before being pro- moted to executive vice president in 2015. GN Albertsons Companies Now Offering Apple Pay Apple Pay is now available in all Albertsons Companies banners and more than 2,300 stores nationwide. Apple Pay is transform- ing mobile payments with an easy, secure and private way to pay that's also fast and convenient for customers. Apple Pay is a new feature at check stands in the company's Albertsons, Safe- way, Vons, Pavilions, Tom Thumb, Randalls and Carrs stores. Apple Pay has already been available to customers at Jewel-Osco, Shaw's, Acme, Star Market, Haggen and United stores. "We are focused on meeting our cus- tomers wherever and however they like to shop," said Anuj Dhanda, Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer at Albertsons Companies. "We are pleased to enhance that experience by offering Apple Pay across all of our stores. Customers want faster, time-saving options that are stable and secure. Apple Pay satisfies that need and fits in well with our omni-chan- nel shopping solutions." Security and privacy are at the core of Apple Pay. When you use a credit or debit card with Apple Pay, the actual card num- bers are not stored on the device, nor on Apple servers. Instead, a unique device ac- count number is assigned, encrypted and securely stored in the secure element on your device. Each transaction is authorized with a one-time unique dynamic security code. Apple Pay is easy to set up and users will continue to receive all of the rewards and benefits offered by credit and debit cards. In stores, Apple Pay works with iPhone SE, iPhone 6 and later and Apple Watch. GN

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