Wakefern Food Corp. buying NYC grocery chain Morton Williams

Wakefern Food Corp. is expanding its portfolio.

Wakefern, the nation’s largest retailer-owned cooperative, has entered into an agreement to acquire New York City supermarket chain Morton Williams, which runs 17 stores in the metropolitan area, with 15 in Manhattan, one in the Bronx and one in Jersey City, N.J. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Wakefern will retain the Morton Williams name. As a wholly owned subsidiary of Wakefern, the acquired stores will have an emphasis on fresh prepared foods, produce and Wakefern’s private label brands.

Morton Williams was founded in 1952 by brothers Joe and Irving Sloan. Joe’s sons, Morton and William, expanded the business to supermarkets in the New York City area, and in the 1970s began opening “reimagined” supermarkets under the Morton Willi