Skip navigation

GRISTEDE'S BOSS WANTS C-STORES TAXED

NEW YORK -- John Catsimatides, chairman and chief executive officer, Gristede's here, late last month launched a newspaper advertising campaign to pressure New York state to collect sales tax on purchases of tobacco and fuel products at American Indian-owned convenience stores.United Refining, which along with Gristede's is a subsidiary of the Red Apple Group here, supplies fuel to nearly 400 Country

NEW YORK -- John Catsimatides, chairman and chief executive officer, Gristede's here, late last month launched a newspaper advertising campaign to pressure New York state to collect sales tax on purchases of tobacco and fuel products at American Indian-owned convenience stores.

United Refining, which along with Gristede's is a subsidiary of the Red Apple Group here, supplies fuel to nearly 400 Country Fair/Red Apple C-stores in New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio. Catsimatides, who is chairman of Red Apple, told SN he will keep up his campaign to pressure the state to collect the taxes until "justice is done."

His specific target is the Seneca Nation of Indians, which has three reservations in upstate New York and a company, Seneca Nation Enterprises, Irving, N.Y., that owns and operates four upstate convenience stores. Catsimatides said, "I think it's unfair that they're selling cigarettes and gasoline without any taxes."

The advertisements have been running in New York City area newspapers. One of the ads declared that New York state can collect taxes on purchases by non-American Indians at the Seneca-owned stores. The ad noted that not collecting the tax costs the state $40 million a month.

A Seneca spokesman was not available for comment on the Gristede's/Red Apple ad campaign.