Albertsons Cos. has named Gineal Davidson president of its Portland, Oregon, division, which operates more than 140 stores in Oregon and Washington. She succeeds Greg McNiff, who was named president of Stater Bros. Markets in Southern California. Davidson started with Albertsons 30 years ago as a courtesy clerk in Boulder, Colorado, and was quickly promoted […]
Author Archives: Lorrie Griffith

Lorrie began covering the supermarket and foodservice industries at Shelby Publishing in 1988, an English major fresh out of the University of Georgia. She started as an editorial assistant and proofreader—and, in spite of herself, she still proofreads everything, everywhere. Over more than three decades with Shelby, she held a variety of editorial roles. After a detour into business development, she rejoined Shelby in June 2024. “It’s good to be back covering the greatest industry in the world,” she says.
Albertsons’ McNiff To Succeed Frahm At Helm Of Stater Bros. Markets
After more than 47 years of service to Stater Bros. Markets, President George Frahm, 66, has announced his plans to retire on Oct. 31. Food industry veteran Greg McNiff has been named to succeed him. “I have been blessed to work at Stater Bros. for my entire career and have had the opportunity to advance […]
Repurposing Deli To Meet Shoppers’ Needs
Sponsored content What is deli’s mission? Is it all about price cuts and product specials? Or should deli have a higher purpose? Shoppers have been telling us they want deli to do a better job meeting their needs when they’re short on time and menu ideas.¹ They’ve also asked us to deliver a shopping experience […]
Lancaster Local, Noluma Team Up To Offer Light-Protected Milk
Noluma International has partnered with Lancaster Local to roll out light-protected packaging that preserves the nutrients, flavor and quality of Lancaster Local’s new organic milk with A2A2 protein. Lancaster Local is a Lancaster, Pennsylvania-based community of farmers that produce Grade A milk. Research shows that in as little as an hour, retail and other indoor lights such […]
Boxed Names Former Amazon Executive Its First President
Boxed has tapped former Amazon executive Prentis Wilson as its first president. Founded in 2013, New York-based Boxed delivers warehouse club products direct to consumers. “Boxed brings convenience and savings to on-the-go consumers who don’t have the time, means, or patience to shop at a brick-and-mortar big box club, all with no membership fees,” according […]
Karns Quality Foods Store To Replace Darrenkamp’s In York, Pa.
Karns Quality Foods said July 25 that it will open a new location in the Newberry Commons Shopping Plaza in York County, Pennsylvania, in a space previously occupied by Darrenkamp’s, which announced last September that it would close its four stores. Darrenkamp’s had operated for more than eight decades. The new Karns Quality Foods store […]
Tops Taps Its Third Woman For Warehouse Leadership Role
Williamsville, New York-based Tops Friendly Markets has named Kelly Quigley GM of its Tops Grocery Distribution Center. Quigley becomes the third woman Tops has named to oversee a warehouse facility. In June, Tops announced the promotion of Sandy Macpeek to the role of GM of the Tops Frozen Distribution Facility in West Seneca, New York. […]
Big Y To Relocate Ansonia, Connecticut, Store To Derby
Springfield, Massachusetts-based Big Y said July 22 that it will relocate its Big Y World Class Market in Ansonia, Connecticut, to a location about three miles away, in Derby. The existing store sits at 403 Main Street in Ansonia. Construction currently is underway at the new “state-of-the art market” in Derby that is expected to […]
Wakefern, Takeoff Technologies Open Automated E-Commerce Center
Takeoff Technologies and Wakefern Food Corp. have teamed up to launch an automated micro-fulfillment center (MFC) in Clifton, New Jersey. With Takeoff, orders are placed online through retailers—whether using their existing e-commerce platform or Takeoff’s customized UI solution—and Takeoff’s automated technology fulfills the order using robots in MFCs. Takeoff utilizes advanced robotics in the MFC, […]
Weis Markets Expands Online Shopping To 61 More Stores
Weis Markets has launched Weis 2 Go online ordering, with pickup and home delivery (where available), in 61 additional stores. With the additions, Weis 2 Go is offered in 150 stores in the Sunbury, Pennsylvania-based grocer’s seven-state market area. That represented the majority of the company’s 200 stores in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New […]
Dollar General Opens Longview, Texas, Distribution Center
Dollar General employees, their families and local and state officials celebrated the official grand opening of the company’s 16th distribution center in Longview, Texas, on July 20. At full capacity, the state-of-the-art Longview facility is expected to employ more than 400 people and support approximately 1,000 Dollar General stores. “Today marks another growth milestone for Dollar […]
Recommended: Lunds & Byerlys To Close Twin Cities Pharmacies
Edina-based grocer Lunds & Byerlys will close all 14 of its Twin Cities pharmacy locations at the end of the business day Tuesday, after the company said it no longer could absorb “significant losses.” A spokesman said Friday that 27 pharmacy managers and staff pharmacists will lose their jobs, but technicians have been offered open jobs within […]
Cape Foods’ 4-in-1 Spice Shakers Set To Launch In U.S.
Cape Foods will launch its 4-in-1 Shakers products into the U.S. market, the company said July 15. The South African-based company with U.S. headquarters in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is a maker of herb, seasoning and spice products. It sells its private label spice blends in its signature grinders and shakers in more than 30 countries […]
Kimberly-Clark Names Alison Lewis Chief Growth Officer
Kimberly-Clark has appointed Alison Lewis to the newly created position of chief growth officer. Lewis joins Dallas, Texas-based Kimberly-Clark from Johnson & Johnson, where she had served as chief marketing officer (CMO) of the global consumer business since 2013. She will join Kimberly-Clark at the end of July. Kimberly Clark’s brands include Huggies, Kleenex, Scott, […]
Natural Grocers To Open New Store In Fredricksburg, Texas
Natural Grocers plans to open a new store in Fredricksburg, Texas, that will create 18 full-time jobs. The grocer held open interviews for the positions in late June for the store, which is located at 610 E. Main Street. Applicants also may apply for consideration at careers-naturalgrocers.icims.com. The Lakewood, Colorado-based company—a specialty retailer of organic […]
ON SITE: Publix Opens New Store In Its Hometown Of Lakeland
The Shelby Report‘s EVP Paul Hynson was on site this morning—Thursday, June 27—for the opening of Publix’s new store in the Grove Park Shopping Center in its headquarters city of Lakeland, Florida. The store, which is 47,144 s.f., is located at 1617 U.S. Highway 98 South in Polk County. It replaces an existing Publix in […]
Shenandoah Valley Organic Names Chief Sales, Marketing Officers
Shenandoah Valley Organic (SVO), an organic protein company in Harrisonburg, Virginia, has named Jefferson Heatwole chief sales officer (CSO) and Dorothy Muszynska chief marketing officer (CMO), effective June 20. In his new role, Heatwole will continue to lead the sales, supply chain and customer service teams. He also will be heavily involved in new product […]
Madhava Enters New Category With Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Madhava Ltd., a Boulder, Colorado, company that makes natural sweeteners, has released its first product in the olive oil category, Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil. The company also has rolled out a new logo and a refreshed packaging redesign designed to reflect its renewed focus on achieving the highest standard of purity for its products, […]
Exclusive: Buche Foods Opens Needed Store On Pine Ridge Indian Reservation
by Terrie Ellerbee/editor-Midwest (see more photos at end of story) The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota is home to the Oglala Lakota Tribe. It is located a little west of Buche Foods’ normal territory, but the grocery company always is looking to grow. Besides, Buche Foods already operates a grocery store on the […]
Food Lion To-Go Launches In Multiple Locations
Salisbury, North Carolina-based Food Lion is launching its Food Lion To-Go grocery pickup service at multiple area locations on Monday, June 24. For a full list of participating stores, click here. A ribbon cutting ceremony will be held at each location at 8:45 a.m. To help introduce customers to this new service, Food Lion is […]
