Jay Santos, manager, Triple J Wholesale Foods, Triple J Super Fresh Market and Hertz, told Variety, “We are happy to let everyone know that indeed Triple J Super Fresh Market is not going out of business.”
He said, “Although everyone is well aware that the current business climate in the islands is very challenging, Triple J Super Fresh Market obviously faces the same challenges as every other business.”
Santos told Variety that they will continue to operate and to provide the freshest produce, the highest quality meat and services to their customers.
“We also look forward to the day just like every other business for better economy for everyone,” he said.
According to Santos, Triple J has done business in the NMI for over 25 years. It currently operates Triple J Motors, Tony Roma’s, Capricciosa, Truong’s, Five Star Wholesale Foods, and Hertz Rent A Car.
Aside from these businesses, the group also has investments including Sandy Beach Homes.
Santos said, “Our commitment to the CNMI has not waned. Like everyone else we hope the business climate improves.”
Variety inquired where he thought the rumor may have originated from but Santos had no idea in mind.
“It’s far from the truth,” he said.
The store opened in April 2009 and since then has been consistently providing the services and products it promised to provide its clients.
“What we want to do is become more consistent with the product we provide to our customers — products that our customers rely upon to find in our store,” Santos told Variety.
He admitted though that logistics remains a challenge not just to them but to other businesses as well.
It takes products 4 to 6 weeks to arrive on island.
Aside from logistics, the high cost of utility drives their expenses up.
But to cushion this, Santos said they made renovations to their main freezer in the hopes of reducing the utility expense.
They also changed the other freezers in the store so they won’t be consuming too much power.
Right now, the store employs 20 individuals.
Santos said, “We unfortunately had to reduce the number of staff which we didn’t like to do but didn’t have a choice.”
Despite making these tough decisions, Triple J Super Fresh Market continues to strive to keep their customers satisfied.
“We will continue to serve the community the best we can,” he said.
