Paul and Cy Bresette have reached an agreement to sell the Price Chopper in Platte City to the Cosentino family of Kansas City. The co-owners informed staff of the decision last week, and Paul Bresette said he expects the sale to close in late December after the holidays. No changes are planned in staffing outside of the ownership. Bresette made the retention of employees a condition of the sale, and the Cosentinos indicated they liked the way the store was run and wanted to keep that intact.
According to Bresette, the Cosentinos are in a growth mode to expand their reach in the grocery store market and made an offer that was too good to pass up.
“It was a very difficult decision for us because the city has been highly receptive to us and supportive beyond our wildest dreams,” Paul Bresette said.
The Bresettes purchased the Country Mart store in Platte City and took over its operations in April of 2007 at the current site of Hillcrest Thrift Shop on Highway 92. About 18 months later, they opened the Price Chopper located at 2600 Ensign Hill Dr., giving Platte City its largest grocery store option. An email sent to Cosentino’s Food Stores last week was not returned.
According to the group’s website, the family currently operates 26 stores located throughout the Kansas City Metro area on both sides of the state line. Those include 19 Price Choppers, three SunFresh Markets, two Apple Markets and two Cosentino’s Markets, the flagship stores located in downtown Kansas City.
Locations run from as far north as Smithville and Kearney to Belton, Raymore and Pleasant Hill to the south.
Dante Cosentino, Sr. started the grocery business with a small fruit stand in downtown Kansas City, and the current generation of the family currently operates its regional operation. Donnie, David, Victor, Jamie, Jimmy and John Cosentino are listed as the leaders of the business.
“They all take great pride in being a part of a company their father and uncles started in 1948,” the Cosentino’s website says. “The three founding brothers Jim, Jerry, and Dante Sr., understood what it took to run a business. They taught their employees the importance of personal service and commitment to the community. Indeed, building relationships — one customer at a time — is woven tightly into the fabric of the company.”
There are no planned interruptions to business at the Platte City Price Chopper. The Bresettes plan to take a step back and consider their future business endeavors after completing the sale to Cosentinos.
“We know the family well,” Paul Bresette said, “and we wouldn’t have sold to someone that I didn’t think would take care of the community.”