D’Agostino’s executive steps down in grocery chain shake up

It’s the end of an era for D’Agostino’s. 

Nicholas D’Agostino III — whose family founded their namesake grocery chain in 1932 — has quietly stepped down as president and chief operating officer of D’Agostino’s and its sister chain Gristedes, The Post has learned. 

Billionaire John Catsimatidis — who engineered the merger of the two iconic Big Apple chains in 2016 when D’Agostino’s was struggling to pay its bills, putting D’Agostino at the helm — disclosed the changes to employees a few weeks ago in a memo obtained by The Post. 

In an interview this week, Catsimatidis confirmed the shakeup, saying D’Agostino, 59, has been bumped to vice chairman and will be replaced by two executives. 

“We changed things up,” Catsimatidis told The Post. “Nick is less involved in the day-to-day operations,” instead overseeing real estate and special projects. 

Both businesses have shrunk dramatically over the years, with Gristedes down to 18 stores from 200 in its heyday and 11 D’Agostino’s stores, down from 26 at its peak in the New York metro area. 

D’Agostino took over the company from his father in the early 2000s and is the last of his four siblings to be involved in the business. 

“John was unhappy with the operations and profitability of the business,” an insider told The Post. 

Catsimatidis for his part said “we’ll use everyone’s strengths to make our company better.” D’Agostino did not respond to e-mails. 

Gristedes Senior Vice President Christopher McGrath was named interim president while veteran Kings supermarket executive Joseph Parisi was tapped as COO. The company did not issue a press release about the shakeup.