The family that founded the Roche Bros. supermarket chain more than 70 years ago is selling a majority stake in the local company to its longtime supplier in Connecticut.

The Mansfield-based grocer confirmed Friday that Michael Bozzuto, owner of Connecticut-based grocery wholesaler Bozzuto’s, will acquire 51 percent ownership of its parent company RBSBW, Inc.

“This decision was made thoughtfully and with our team, our customers and our shared values ​​as our top priority,” Roche Bros. co-owners Caitlin, Ed and Rick Roche told the MetroWest Daily News in a statement. “After many wonderful years as a family business, this partnership will allow us to strengthen our stability, ensure quality and continue our positive impact on the community.”

The move will keep the grocer family-owned for nearly seven decades, but is expected to change little for consumers, who can expect everything to be the same at the 20 Roche Bros., Sudbury Farms and Brothers Marketplace stores in Massachusetts old remains.

Caitlin and Rick Roche will continue to serve in leadership roles, and an attorney who represented the grocer at a Boston Licensing Board hearing Wednesday said store operations will remain unchanged.

“No aspect of a location here or anywhere in Massachusetts changes,” said attorney Andrew Upton, who sought city approval for Roche Bros.’s ownership change. Shops in West Roxbury and Downtown Crossing.

The Mashpee and Westwood select boards will consider similar ownership changes for Roche Bros. stores in those cities next month.

Details of the deal were not available Friday. Upton said he was not authorized to comment further, and Bozzuto did not respond to requests for comment. Universal Hub first reported the news on Thursday afternoon

“Michael Bozzuto shares our passion for serving the community and supporting our employees,” the Roche family said in their statement. “We are grateful for this partnership, which we believe honors our legacy while providing exciting growth opportunities.”

Roche Bros. was founded when its founding brothers Pat and Bud noted that a sewing machine store in Roslindale Square was leaving its storefront in 1952. Her father and stepmother took out a second mortgage on the family home to finance the first location.

“We put $25 each into a bank account and called it Roche Brothers; That’s it,” Bud Roche said in 2002. He died in 2013, a year after his brother Pat.

Over the decades of ownership, the family donated millions to schools and nonprofits, including the Sacred Heart STEM School, the Boston Irish Famine Memorial and the Charles River Center for people with developmental disabilities. Until recently, the chain was largely controlled by Jay, Ed and Rick Roche, Pat and Bud’s sons.

The company has long held its own in New England’s crowded grocery landscape, competing with Stop & Shop, Market Basket and Whole Foods. In recent years, it has expanded into more urban areas, opening stores in Downtown Crossing and Kendall Square.

In October 2023, the company agreed will pay a $40,000 fine and change security policies at the downtown Boston store after complaints of racial profiling.

Roche Bros.’ New owner Bozzuto’s already supplies 1,180 supermarkets in New England, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania and has been supplying Roche Bros. since its early days. Last year, the company had wholesale sales of $2.6 billion.

Diti Kohli can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her @ditikohli_.