A&P2The seafood department at A&P has been rebranded as the Great Atlantic Seafood Market. The company’s new seafood brand will work with a slogan “So Fresh, So Healthy and So Easy.” A&P made the announcement late last week in Montvale, New Jersey.

North Coast Seafood will be the source of many of the products for the new brand Great Atlantic Seafood Market. The department is open at Waldbaum’s, Pathmark, Superfresh and A&P. The department will have more emphasis on product and service knowledge.

A&P communications manager Joanne Fischetti said that the staff has been trained to clean, season, as well as steam the orders made by customers. The training also includes providing in-depth knowledge on the products and the variety of seafood that the company will be offering. The associates can also advise clients on how they can prepare the seafood and provide them with some recipes they can try at home.

Crain’s New York Business reported that A&P is expected to announce a deal selling off the Food Emporium stores it runs. Sixteen Manhattan stores are said to have been offered to several bidders, but the final agreement would be announced this week. The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea company, A&P’s full name, was founded by George Gilman and George Huntington Hartford in 1859. At the time, it sold coffee and tea, but introduced sugar later in 1880 and eventually other products.

At its peak some time 1930s, the retailer had 16,000 store locations. In 2011, the retailer had 338 locations. The company operates under the following brands; A&P Warehouse Liquors, Pathmark, Food Emporium, Best Cellars, Food Basics, Superfresh, Foodmart, A&P Foodmarket, Superfoodmart and Waldbaums.