Tops Markets to maintain headquarters in Williamsville

Tops Markets LLC will add as many as 140 jobs in Western New York and has signed a long-term lease to remain in its current operating headquarters at 6363 Main St., Williamsville.

Tops received a $1.2 million grant from the Empire State Development Corporation to assist with the job growth initiative.

The announcements were made Thursday at the Buffalo headquarters of the EDSC on Perry Street in Buffalo. Participating in the announcements were Tops President and CEO Frank Curci, New York State Gov. David Paterson and Daniel C. Gundersen, upstate chairman of the ESDC.

"Ever since the sale of Tops Markets to Morgan Stanley Private Equity was announced last December, our goal has been to once again make Tops a local company," Curci said. "We now have a long-term commitment to a local headquarters and a growing local workforce. Today's grant announcement by the Empire State Development Corporation is a significant piece in our plan to handle all facets of Tops' operations here."

The ESDC grant will assist Tops with costs associated with information technology and the acquisition and installation of equipment and machinery at the headquarters. Tops has pledged to add as many as 140 jobs to its headquarters and has committed to retaining the 145 employees who currently work at the headquarters. Tops will invest more than $5.4 million to create the jobs.

"The increase in jobs will be gradual as we assume responsibility for all operations and the Tops leadership team makes final decisions on areas within our business that are in need of additional staff support," Curci said.

Tops leases 33,000 square feet of office space from National Fuel Gas Corporation. As part of the new lease agreement, Tops will add an additional 7,000 square feet of space on the second floor of the building to accommodate the employee growth. Terms of the lease agreement were not disclosed.

"We found it to be in the best interests of Tops and our valued customer base to stay local," Curci said. "After considering several possibilities, it became clear that our best option was to remain and grow in our current location."

Tops' operating headquarters have been based at the Main Street location since 1994.

Previously, the Amherst Industrial Development Agency approved an incentive package for Tops Markets to assist with office renovation and expansion and equipment acquisition.