NEWYORK

A Creator

The Catsimatidis family, John, Margo, Andrea and John Jr. stand before the An Interview with John A. Catsimatidis, Founder, Red Apple Group soon-to-be-completed Ocean Drive luxury complex on the oceanfront in Coney Island.

EDITORS’ NOTE John Catsimatidis its terminals in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, Will you highlight Red Apple Group’s was born on the Greek Island of and Calverton, Long Island. United businesses? Nisyros in 1948 and 6 months later Energy Plus Terminals is headquar- Red Apple Group is in different sectors. It is his parents emigrated to tered in Philadelphia, , well-known for its supermarket business but this City in search of a better life. They and is a wholesale and commercial only represents a small percentage of our sales. settled on 135th Street in distillate gasoline supplier currently Roughly 50 percent of our business is in the oil and and his father found work as a bus- operating in 25 terminals throughout energy business and the other 50 percent is in real boy and his mother was a stay-at- Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland estate. We are also entering the media space as home mom. He is a true son of New and Virginia. Red Apple Real Estate well as investments and my son and my daugh- York; he was educated in both the owns, manages, and develops proper- ter manage our investment portfolio. parochial and public-school systems ties throughout the United States with What interested you to become involved earning his high school diploma a focus in . It is commit- in politics and to run for public offi ce in New from Brooklyn Tech. Catsimatidis John A. Catsimatidis ted to creating a residential experience York City? enrolled in to that features luxury living options and I thought there was an opportunity to make study electrical engineering, going to school dur- amenities, with convenient neighborhood retail, an impact and help the city. People have been ing the day and working in a small grocery store to meet the demands of today’s residents. Red urging me to run again but I haven’t decided. It on nights and weekends to help his parents pay Apple Real Estate projects such as The Andrea, feels good to be urged, but remember, I am 7 the bills. During his senior year, with just 8 cred- The Giovanni, The Margo, and 86 Fleet Place years older than last time. its remaining, he dropped out of NYU to work in are bringing new homes and new jobs to New Will you discuss your philanthropic the grocery business full-time. By his 24th birth- Yorkers. Red Apple Group owns Gristedes work and the areas you support? day, he was already a success with 10 Red Apple Supermarkets, the largest grocery chain in I enjoy people, and I decided many years Supermarkets scattered along on New York City. Gristedes has been feeding ago to be active in different charities. I am active ’s Upper West Sde. Now, four decades New Yorkers for over 100 years and offers the in 15 to 20 charities, and my main focus is with later, Red Apple Group has evolved into a diversi- freshest meat, produce, dairy products, baked the Police Athletic League. fi ed corporation that has holdings in the energy, goods, frozen foods, gourmet foods, and non- I am also very involved in supporting aviation, retail and real estate sectors with over food items. school and education in challenged communi- 8,000 employees, approximately 2,000 of which ties in New York. When I speak to kids, I say, are located in New York City. Catsimatidis is a “Look at me. I made it. If you work hard, you fi rm believer in giving back to the community can make it too.” and has been a strong supporter of the Police With all the success that you have Athletic League for nearly 30 years. He serves achieved, how important has it been that on the Board of Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, you never forgot where you came from? the Hellenic Times Scholarship Fund, and over It is very important, because otherwise the years has served in a variety of volunteer you become an arrogant SOB. I learned from positions in the Greek Orthodox Church. who, when he was doing a fund- raiser or hosting a party, always went into the COMPANY BRIEF Red Apple Group (ragny.com) kitchen and said hello to the waiters and the is a conglomerate that owns and operates busboys and the cooks. He valued people assets in the energy, real estate, fi nance, insur- no matter what their role or responsibility. ance, and supermarket industries. The fam- I thought that was great and I never forgot ily of energy companies within Red Apple that my father started as a lighthouse keeper in Group forms one of the leading refi ning, mid- Greece, and worked as a busboy in America. stream, and downstream integrated companies My father also worked as a waiter in an Italian in the Northeast. Through its subsidiary, United restaurant in Astoria on weekends, because he Refi ning Company, it operates a 70,000 barrel spoke Italian. per day oil refi nery and over 400 gas stations Are you able to enjoy the process and and convenience stores under the brand names celebrate the wins or are you always look- Kwik Fill, Country Fair, Keystone, and Red ing at what’s next? Apple. United Metro Energy is the largest sup- That is a part of my problem. I am a cre- plier of home and business heating oil in New ator. I’m always looking to create something York City. It supplies and delivers bioheat, bio- new. I try to teach that to my kids. This is why diesel, heating oil, ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel, we are looking to create a new media empire. natural gas, and gasoline throughout the New There is still so much to do that it is hard to step York Metropolitan Area and Long Island from John Catsimatidis’ 86 Fleet Eagle development back and refl ect, but it has been a great ride.• 80 LEADERS POSTED WITH PERMISSION. COPYRIGHT © 2019 LEADERS MAGAZINE, LLC VOLUME 42, NUMBER 4