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   From: yourdime@outlook.com   
      
   Big Apple billionaire John Catsimatidis planned to move his business to   
   New Jersey if Zohran Mamdani was elected mayor. Now he’s reconsidering.   
      
   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.   
      
   Mamdani’s plan to set up city-sponsored stores – which would be exempt   
   from paying rent or taxes, would partner with farmers and small businesses   
   to offer groceries at wholesale prices and with no plans to make money –   
   is in response to soaring food costs. “Whether you are…a single mom still   
   waiting for the cost of groceries to go down, or anyone else with their   
   back against the wall. Your struggle is ours, too,” he said in his victory   
   speech Tuesday night.   
      
   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.” He blames the state of the city: “Shoplifting is up   
   to an all-time high. A lot of stuff is being closed up, which means that   
   it's not easy for people to shop, so sales are down.”   
      
   Catsimatidis, who employs a few thousand people, hasn’t decided how his   
   business will respond if city-run stores undercut its prices, but says   
   he’s “sure” he will need to reduce its workforce. “Can you imagine a tax-   
   free supermarket that pays no commercial rent tax, no sales tax… I mean,   
   how do you compete against that?,” he says. “You can’t fight city hall.”   
      
   Catsimatidis ran for mayor in the 2013 Republican primary but lost the   
   nomination to Joe Lhota who then lost the race to democrat Bill de Blasio.   
   “The way things are right now, we pay taxes on our taxes. I mean, it's out   
   of control,” he says, “No wonder people are yelling and screaming that   
   prices of food are too high.”   
      
   https://www.forbes.com/sites/martinadilicosa/2025/11/07/supermarket-   
   billionaire-john-catsimatidis-threatens-to-cut-workforce-move-to-florida-   
   after-mamdanis-win/   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)