Advertisement 'Great to be back together,' Artie says after Market Basket deal Market Basket hustling to stock shelves after deal reached Share Shares Copy Link Copy

Arthur T. Demoulas thanked supporters as he spoke out Thursday about the deal that gave him full ownership of the Market Basket supermarket chain. Images: Market Basket: A timeline of events | Uncut: Artie thanks supporters"I look out here and you are all so very, very special. All I can say is it's great to be back together again," Demoulas said.Watch the reportHe expressed thanks to the crowd gathered outside the company's headquarters saying, "words cannot express how much I love you.""Loyalty, courage and kindness for one another really prevailed, and in that process we managed to save our company," he said.Arthur T Demoulas walks around warehouse thanks workersIn a heart-felt speech, Demoulas spoke directly to the cheering crowd, telling them he's in awe of what they've done."You are an example for people across the region and country," Demoulas said. The feeling is mutual. After the speech, Artie T. toured the dry goods warehouse and headquarters, shaking hands and hugging his employees."Thank you for buying the company and saving out livelihoods," one worker told him.Because Artie T. is back, the eight supervisors who had been fired along with him are back too. Joe Schmidt is one of them."It's just such a great feeling to have everybody walk back in those doors this morning and have Arthur T out there," he said."Sad, happy, tearful, just full of joy," employee Rosie Hagopian said.Demoulas bought the supermarket chain for more than $1.5 billion and will have full authority to manage the business and stabilize the operations at the stores. After the deal was finalized Wednesday night, trucks with inventory started bringing products to the stores.Restocking the shelves and resuming operations will be a massive effort. According to the Boston Globe, it will require at least 12,000 cases of beef, 120 truckloads of produce, 15,000 boxes of seafood, 187 tons of chicken and more than 3,700 tons of dairy products.The 71-store Demoulas family-run New England chain has lost tens of millions of dollars since warehouse workers walked off their jobs in protest of the firing of Arthur T. Demoulas as CEO."He and his management team will return to Market Basket during the interim period while the transaction to purchase the company is completed. The current Co-CEO's, Felicia Thornton and James Good, will remain in place pending the closing, which is expected to occur in the next several months," the company said in a statement.Images: Market Basket standoffAfter Arthur T. Demoulas' June ouster, employees staged rallies and demonstrations supporting him. Many employees vowed they would not work for anyone other than "Artie T.," and urged customers to shop elsewhere unless he was reinstated.The protest resulted in stores with few customers, little fresh food and empty shelves."All associates are welcome back to work with the former management team to restore the company back to normal operations," Arthur T. Demoulas said in the statement.The goal now, he said, is to return Market Basket to the supermarket that its customers have come to rely on for service."Market Basket is a major employer in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, and an important local resource for the communities the company serves," Gov. Deval Patrick and New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan said in a joint statement Wednesday night. "We are delighted that the parties have reached agreement on terms of sale and resolution of operating authority, so that employees can return to work and customers will once again be able to rely on these stores to meet their needs."Arthur T. Demoulas offered to buy out his cousin, Arthur S. Demoulas, and other family members early in the standoff, but it took weeks for the two sides to reach an agreement.