Baldor and Balducci's Matriarch Dies at 91

Nina Balducci, the mother-in-law of Baldor Specialty Foods' founder Kevin Murphy, has died of colon cancer at 91 years old.

Nina Balducci (nee D’Amelio) married Andy Balducci in 1952, and they went on to join Andy’s father, Louis Balducci, in running Balducci’s produce market in Greenwich Village.

Balducci’s market expanded from a small, open-air produce store to a full-service gourmet food market in 1972, and Nina helped every step of the way with store design, product assortment, branding and logos and PR and marketing.

Nina designed the first Balducci's catalog, the mail-order business went national, and the Balducci name became renowned throughout the country.

Andy and Nina's daughter, Ria, married Kevin Murphy in the 1980s. Kevin joined Balducci’s and soon learned every aspect of the produce and specialty food business. He expanded and finally took over Balducci's small wholesale division called "Baldor" in 1991. Today, Baldor Specialty Foods is currently run by Kevin and Ria’s son, TJ Murphy.

Nina’s husband Andy passed in March 2018 at the age of 91, and Nina died April 12, 2020. They are survived by two daughters, Marta, 65, and Andrea, 63, six grandchildren, and four great grandchildren. 

Bethesda, Md.-based Balducci’s Food Lover’s Market biw has 10 stores located in New York, Connecticut, Maryland and Virginia. Sister chain Kings Food Markets, based in Parsippany, N.J., has 25 stores in Connecticut, New Jersey and New York.