Like many who grew up in family-owned and -operated grocery stores, Crest Foods President Bruce Harroz got his start in the business at an early age. He was just 12 when he began working in his father’s store in Midwest City, Oklahoma, part of the Oklahoma City metro area.
“The apron was too long, so my dad tied a knot in it at the top and then would fold it over and bring it up. I used a milk crate to stand on to check because I was too short.”
His dad, Nick Harroz Jr., paid him 50 cents an hour and told him he could work as many hours as he wanted, “just write it down on a piece of cardboard,” Harroz recalled.
He said that was life growing up in the grocery business.
He never veered from the grocery path, returning to his father’s store after college.
“Ever since I was a little kid, I wanted to do what my dad was doing. I wanted to be in the grocery business,” he said.
He and his older brother, Gary, grew up in the business. Gary Harroz left for a while then returned. He was killed in forklift accident in 1982.
“You know, your parents are never going to get over that. We just started working harder so we wouldn’t have to think about it,” Harroz said.
The Harroz family legacy is one of hard work, dedication to customer service and a strong sense of community.
“The values instilled by my parents and my grandparents, such as treating customers like family and maintaining high standards, continue to guide the business,” Harroz said. “This legacy is about more than just running a grocery store; it’s about being a reliable and trusted part of the community.”
Growing grocer
Harroz was named president of the Oklahoma City-based company in 1999. At the time, Crest Foods operated three stores in the metro area.
From 2002-05, three more stores were added. Two of them were former Homeland stores that had closed. Crest Foods purchased the buildings and remodeled the locations.
In 2010, the company built store No. 7 from the ground up. The 105,000-square-foot location was named Crest Fresh Market, a slight change from the Crest Foods name. In 2013, another store was built in Norman, at 103,000 square feet.
The ninth store was constructed in Yukon, Oklahoma, in 2020, followed in 2023 with a new site built in Edmond, Oklahoma.
Harroz said Crest Foods is planning to build a store in north OKC in three to five years. “We’re waiting on the economy to get a little better,” he said.
Crest Foods also owns three warehouses. This allows the company to buy direct from manufacturers.
“It helps us be more competitive, because we’re in a very competitive market,” Harroz said. “We own all of our facilities. We don’t pay rent. My grandfather’s motto was ‘Stack it High – Sell it Cheap!’ That’s been our motto.”
The company now has about 2,350 employees, many of whom have been with the grocer long-term.
Strategy and vision
Harroz said Crest Foods’ long-term vision and mission are centered around maintaining its commitment to providing quality products at competitive prices while continuing to serve its communities with exceptional customer service.
“We aim to expand our reach and our impact, ensuring that we remain a trusted and beloved grocery store for generations to come,” he said. “Our mission is to uphold the values of family, community and dedication to excellence that have been the cornerstone of our success since 1946.”
One of the company’s biggest challenges today is maintaining its low prices.
“After all the inflation and price increases, it’s a fight to get those prices down like we used to have,” Harroz said. “We’re known for low pricing, and we’ve got buyers that take good care of us.”
He added that Crest Foods works with some companies to buy close-dated products, which it offers as special deals to customers.
“We have enough volume that we can sell it out in three weeks, and it won’t disturb the rest of our category,” said Harroz, adding that their customers “love those half-price deals.”
Crest Foods does not have a loyalty program and does not advertise, depending on word of mouth. “It takes a little bit longer, but it’s solid,” Harroz said. “No games and no gimmicks.”
Even without a loyalty program, Crest shoppers are loyal. Harroz noted they have several generations of customers who shop with Crest Foods.
“We’re not real flashy, we just work hard and hopefully get some good results,” he said.
Labor continues to pose a challenge for the company. Harroz said butchers are “a dying breed. It’s hard to find them. You almost have to train them yourself. That seems to be more successful.”
He also said they are beginning to cut back on sackers by having cashiers sack the groceries at the check stand.
“We’re going to promote the sacker to cashier, where they can make more money. We feel like we can pay the cashiers more if we don’t have sackers and get better quality,” Harroz said. “That’s what we’re doing, and it seems to be working out.”
Giving back
Community involvement also is important to Crest Foods. The company supports local schools and charities, along with daily donations to local foods banks.
It also hosts an annual golf tournament to raise funds for the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma to fight childhood hunger. The event raises between $80,000-$100,000 each year. Crest Foods has sponsored the tournament since 1987.
More than 300 golfers participate in the event, held at Oak Tree National, many of them Crest Foods vendors.
“Vendors and manufacturers come from all over the place,” said Harroz, adding that the donations have helped feed “thousands and thousands of kids.”
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Staying strong
Harroz, at 73, sees a bright future for the company. He continues to get out to the stores and can be seen at times sacking groceries for customers. He used to also do some stocking, but a bad back curtailed that activity.
“I’ll get out there and sack with them. I enjoy it,” he said.
Harroz received a kidney transplant in October 2023, but is doing well. He laughingly noted that he timed his surgery perfectly, right as they were opening the new store in Edmond.
“I didn’t have to do anything,” he said. “They did everything.”
While the company has stayed within the OKC metro area, Harroz said they have considered opening a store in Lawton, about 90 minutes away. He noted they try to locate near “great school systems, because that brings the large families that we cater to.”
He said they are open to considering new locations.
“I always say, I feel like I’m going down the highway about 40 miles an hour. I’m not going too fast, I’m not going too slow, just kind of easing down the street. If I see something, I might get out of my car and go get it.”
He continues to follow his father’s playbook, sticking to Nick Harroz Jr.’s “Five Big Reasons Crest Saves You Money on Your Food Bill:”
- No. 1: We buy direct from 150 manufacturers and the largest supplier in the state.
- No. 2: We do not spend large sums of money on advertising.
- No. 3: Low overhead. Pay no rent. Own our own facilities.
- No. 4: No games, no gimmicks or expensive frills.
- No. 5: Rock bottom prices every day.
Harroz said when his father started in the grocery business in 1946, he “gave away pots and pans and S&H Green Stamps. When he opened up the first Crest store, he said we’re going discount. We’re not going to play any of them games. It’s everyday low prices. And that’s where we’ve been.”
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