Alpha & Omega

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Tropical’s Update.
Source: Boston Globe
The new owners of Tropical Foods in Roxbury? The employees.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2026/09/14/business/tropical-foods-roxbury-employee-owners-esop/

When brothers Ronn and Randy Garry started chatting about a succession plan for Tropical Foods, the grocery store they own on the outskirts of Nubian Square in Roxbury, they thought about selling to a competitor — maybe one of the big regional chains.

They worried, though, about what might happen to Tropical’s 100 workers if a chain purchased the company. So the two brothers decided to sell it to the employees instead.

To help line up financing for the deal, Tropical turned to Apis & Heritage, a foundation-backed investment firm that specializes in arranging employee buyouts to protect blue-collar jobs. Now the company’s newly created Employee Stock Ownership Plan holds a majority stake, with a trustee overseeing the shares for the ESOP.

A board of directors will be set up in the coming weeks, one that will feature two seats for Washington-based Apis & Heritage, one for Ronn Garry, and one for an outside adviser.

Ronn Garry said his brother will exit in six months, while he’ll leave in around 18 months, after helping to find a general manager to replace him. He plans to stay on the newly assembled board for five years.

Both brothers are looking for a break from the grind of the past 30 years in which they worked through many holidays and often got up at 5 a.m. Their goal, he said, was: “how we could step back and not have to work those hours but still keep Tropical Foods the way it is.”

Choosing the ESOP route gives employees a stake in the company’s future while also ensuring stability after the Garry brothers’ departure. In five years, Garry said, Apis & Heritage will sell its remaining stake back to the company as well, presumably at a profit. Individual employees, meanwhile, will be granted equity over time based on their longevity with the business.

The Garry brothers have owned the store since 2006, when they bought out their father, and moved into the new 26,500-square-foot location in 2015.

Rumors had circulated through the ranks that the brothers had put the business up for sale, so employees were understandably nervous when they headed over to the nearby Residence Inn in waves for meetings on Aug. 31. The relief, Garry said, was palpable when they were told not only was no one losing their job, but they’re now going to be owners in the company.

“By the end of the day, when the last group came in, and they heard from the previous groups what was going on, ... it was a very different feeling,” Garry said. “This is such a great solution, and such a great thing for us and the community. This is real wealth building in Roxbury.”

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FYI…Nike owns Converse. We sold both for decades & Nike has rarely given back to the 617 like Adidas. We begged them to help out with the basketball leagues in the 1990s. They declined but Adidas stepped up at Washington Park for years. The mom & pops like Alpha & Omega helped bail Nike/ Phil Knight out when they were about to bankrupt in the 1980s. They blew up and then forget about us all. Today, Karma has hit them and people now seeing them for who they are. TY & Let’s Go. 😎🚗

TBT. Thank you & Let’s Go!😎🚗

2008…TY & Let’s Go!😎🚗

Enjoy your weekend. TY & Let’s Go!😎🚗
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Saturday “Alpha & Omega Last Stop Shop” for 50th, restorations & customs…9-1pm, 182 Dudley St.