QuickChek Senior VP Works 41st Consecutive Christmas

“If I’m going to have people work that day, then I should be there, too.”

January 03, 2017

WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J. – For those weary-eyed residents who stayed up all night helping Santa deliver presents or for travelers on their way to grandmother’s house, the person serving up their fresh-brewed morning coffee at the QuickChek in Fairfield on Christmas morning might have surprised them.

No, it wasn’t St. Nick, but QuickChek Senior Vice President Mike Murphy, who worked Christmas Day for the 41st consecutive year.

“If I’m going to have people work that day, then I’ve always felt I should be there, too,” said Murphy, a Wayne resident who is based out of the chain’s support center in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey. “I work in different stores every year doing what I can to help out.”

Murphy worked in the company’s Fairfield store at 384 Passaic Avenue from 6:00 am to 10:30 am on Christmas day. “Whatever the store leader needs me to do, I’ll do,” said Murphy. His boss that morning: his son Matt.

Like most of the company’s vice presidents and all of its district leaders, Murphy began his career working in a local store. He notes that the first thing consumers want on Christmas is their morning coffee. Next? More batteries. Over the past few years he has seen an increase in the sales of QuickChek’s signature bakery products from their in-store ovens, freshly-made breakfast sandwiches to-go and handcrafted drinks.

“We have customers who come into stores in their pajamas, which is fitting as we’ve been their neighborhood shopping destination all year long,” added Murphy.

Among the convenience items that customers come to QuickChek for that they may not be able to get elsewhere on Christmas Day is gasoline, a must for those who need to fill up during their holiday travels.      

QuickChek operates 147 locations throughout New Jersey, New York’s Hudson Valley and Long Island, including 10 pharmacy stores and 61 locations with fuel. Most stores were open Christmas Eve until 10:30 pm and then re-opened Christmas Day from 6:00 am to 6:00 pm.

Most of the company’s team members’ shifts were limited to four hours on Christmas with those working receiving additional pay. Except for the guy in the Santa suit (Murphy), who served coffee in Fairfield.

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