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Plant City grocer wins national award

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By DAVE NICHOLSON

dnicholson@tampatrib.com

Published: October 21, 2009

PLANT CITY - Local grocery store manager Henry Falcon, long known for his support for community causes, recently received national recognition.

Falcon was one of three winners at the 10th annual Food Marketing Institute store manager awards competition in Dallas. He won in the category for grocery chains with 50 to 199 stores.

Falcon has worked for 36 years for Sweetbay Supermarket and its predecessor, Kash n' Karry. Since 1992 he has been manager of the store at 205 W. Alexander St.

Falcon was greeted by family members, employees and Sweetbay officials when he returned Oct. 13 from the awards presentation.

Finalists for the institute's awards were selected based on stories submitted by their supervisors or store associates. The entries were judged on originality and creativity, and the nominee's impact on sales growth, customer satisfaction and community service.

The three grand prize winners were chosen from a group of nine finalists.

Falcon was nominated for "providing great customer service and enhancing the financial performance of his store by increasing comparable sales by 25 percent for the past year," a statement from Sweetbay stated.

Falcon also was recognized for excellence of his employees, whose service performance scores exceeded the company average in all 28 categories.

"He inspires team pride and offers a diverse and inclusive workplace for his employees, with seven associates promoted to management in the past year," the Sweetbay statement said.

Falcon is active in community organizations including the Lions Club, Boys & Girls Club, Greater Plant City Chamber of Commerce and Meals on Wheels. The store supports groups through events such as the Angel Christmas Tree Drive, school partnerships, a charity luau, golf tournaments and more.

Besides Falcon, the institute's award winners included Bob Gillick, store director of a ShopRite Supermarket in Yonkers, N.Y., in the category for companies with one to 49 stores; and Jeff Barricks, manager of a Safeway store in Corvallis, Ore., in the category for companies with 200 or more stores.

Reporter Dave Nicholson can be reached at (813) 627-4727.

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