CANASTOTA, N.Y. -- Fun. Fearless. Genuine. And, of course, nice.
Is there any CEO in our industry aside from Nice N Easy's John MacDougall who could be described in all those ways?
MacDougall, who passed away Saturday after a long illness, is remembered for a business he built from the ground up, and for a chain that embraced foodservice long before many others in our industry did. But he's most fondly recalled for his generous, larger-than-life personality and spirit, which was on full display at CSP's Retail Leader of the Year Dinner and Toast last October (watch the video below). He was also honored as the cover feature for the Dec. 2013 issue of CSP magazine.
"He had fun. I don't know if I knew anyone who truly loved life the way he did," said Fran Duskiewicz, Nice N Easy's senior executive vice president. "I don't think he regretted anything he did. He had a great time--and anyone who was around him had a great time.
"He was the soul of Nice N Easy," Duskiewicz continued. "He had the flattest organization chart you ever saw. Everyone in this company had a special relationship with him."
That special relationship extended to customers and people who saw MacDougall on commercials or throwing out the first pitch at a triple-A baseball game. "We couldn't go anywhere without people coming up to him," Duskiewicz said. "They loved his commercials, and they loved him. They wanted to hug him."
MacDougall founded Nice N Easy Grocery Shoppes in 1980, at a time when he said he "didn't have two nickels to rub together." In what he considered an unbelievable opportunity, he was offered a 50% stake and the opportunity to run Canastota, N.Y.-based Clark Petroleum. And so began the chain that would become Nice N Easy.
"From my earliest years in c-stores, John was always the happy, big-handed guy to give me a great big handshake and resounding 'Great to see you' at so many meetings and events," said Scott Hartman, president and CEO of Rutter's Farm Stores, York, Pa. "The industry has lost a true leader, as well as a genuinely nice person."
MacDougall knew understanding his customer and differentiating the offer were critical to his stores' success. Early on, he adopted a pantry-style model for the sites--hence "Grocery Shoppes"--including an extended grocery line and limited foodservice.
"John's response to hard winters, Native American tax advantages, lower population and smaller traffic counts was to produce a superior food and service offer," said Bill Douglass, founder of Douglass Distributing, Sherman, Texas. "That is the essence of a great retailer."
"It takes a special kind of guy to take the risk, and he was that guy," said Jack Cushman, executive vice president of foodservice for Nice N Easy. "You can have all the PhDs in the world, but it doesn't mean anything--you need to have someone to stick their neck out and take a risk.
Cushman joined Nice N Easy in 1999, and he has worked with many of the same people for the past 15 years. That's not typical, he said.
"He kept everybody together," Cushman said of MacDougall. "He kept everyone focused and moving things forward. To work so closely with him was incredibly rewarding to me. You just don't get that at other jobs. He was kind of like a football coach: He put the right people in the right place to make the magic happen. That was his strength."
For now, Duskiewicz is handling day-to-day operations of the company, as he has been since the beginning of the year, when MacDougall's health began to fail.
"Since New Year's Eve, we have become a much tighter group, a much more supportive group to each other, all of which made John very proud," Duskiewicz said.
A memorial service will be held in Cleveland this week, and the company also is planning a service closer to Nice N Easy headquarters. It may take a big venue, Duskiewicz said: "He had a pretty big fan club!"
"John was just an authentic human being," said Jeff Miller, president of Miller Oil Co., Norfolk, Va. "He was easy to talk with, had a genuine sense of caring, had a keen business sense, and folks were better off for having encountered him."
Douglass concurred: "John was a prince of a man who seemed to enjoy life and everyone's company."
"He was a pretty fearless guy," Cushman said. "He did what he wanted to do."
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