Super King Markets is opening its seventh location in July in Santa Ana, California. The Los Angeles-based specialty chain is known for its selection of fresh produce, meat, seafood and deli products, as well as grocery products from all over the world, along with Heathy Directions, a line that includes organic, natural and gluten- and […]
Category: Independent Store News
SpartanNash Adds 50 Jobs As It Completes Gordy’s Market Transition
SpartanNash Co. has completed the transition of its newest independent customer, Gordy’s Market. The family-owned independent retailer operates 26 retail grocery stores in the central Wisconsin area, where the company has been headquartered for 50 years. “The process of bringing Gordy’s Market into the SpartanNash family was an exercise in teamwork and accountability, and we […]
Western Family’s Oregon HQ To Close With Topco Deal
On June 13, Western Family Foods Inc. and Topco Associates LLC reached an agreement that authorizes Topco to source three of Western Family’s brands that are sold through independent grocery retailers across the U.S. The brands are Western Family, Shurfine and Natural Directions. According to a statement from Western Family, “Under this arrangement, Topco will […]
Fareway Donates More Than 60K Dozen Eggs To Food Banks
Fareway donated a truckload of 21,600 dozen eggs to the Food Bank of Iowa in Des Moines on June 8, followed by donations of 10,800 dozen eggs each to the Northeast Iowa Food Bank in Waterloo, Food Bank for the Heartland in Omaha (Nebraska), Hawkeye Area Community Action Program Inc. (HACAP) in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, […]
Meijer Opens Supercenters In Wisconsin And Indiana
Meijer opened a new 192,000-s.f. supercenter in Sussex, Wisconsin, on June 7. The Sussex store is one of nine new Meijer supercenters to open this year, and part of an investment of more than $400 million in new and remodeled stores that will create 3,000 new jobs across the Grand Rapids, Michigan-based retailer’s six-state foot […]
Doc’s Food Stores Promotes ‘The Blend’ In Three Departments
Doc’s Food Stores, which operates as Country Mart, JB’s Market and Apple Market in Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma, has launched the Mushroom Council’s “Blend” in its deli, meat and produce departments at all of its stores. “The Blend” is mixing finely diced mushrooms into proteins such as beef, turkey, lamb or pork to make hamburgers, […]
Coborn’s And Foodtown Deploy Birdzi’s Shopper Engagement Platform
Minnesota-based Coborn’s and New Jersey-based Foodtown, have selected the Birdzi (sounds like bird’s eye) platform to provide personalized digital savings for their shoppers and increase customer engagement. The independent chains selected Birdzi for its ability to create personalized offers and drive loyalty at home, in store and on the go. The Birdzi platform allows retailers to […]
Founder’s Grandson Takes Helm Of Strack & Van Til
The board of directors of Midwest grocery operator Strack & Van Til has announced the appointment of Jeff Strack as president and CEO. Strack replaces Kenneth Diehl, who has stepped down to return home in the Western U.S. Diehl had led the company since October 2014. The change is effective immediately. Strack, the grandson of the […]
Butera Highest Bidder For Three Joe Caputo & Sons Stores
Three former Joe Caputo & Sons grocery stores in Algonquin, Palatine and Des Plaines, Illinois, soon will be under new ownership. Butera Finer Foods/Piggly Wiggly Midwest was the single, highest bidder in an auction held yesterday at the Hyatt Rosemont in Chicago. More than 100 people were in attendance. Joe Caputo & Sons and Anthony […]
Strong Results, Stronger Together: AWG Celebrates 90th Anniversary
Learn more about AWG’s proud past and its continued growth in a 40-page section, which appears below and in the June 2016 print editions of The Shelby Report of the Midwest, The Shelby Report of the Southeast and The Shelby Report of the Southwest.
Raley’s And iFoster Mark One-Year Anniversary Of Foster Youth Hiring Program
In conjunction with Foster Care Awareness Month, Raley’s Family of Fine Stores and iFoster commemorated one year of hiring foster youth by hosting 1,000 youngsters at the Sacramento River Cats game at Raley Field on May 7. The event marked the largest group of foster youth ever assembled for such a celebration. “We are so grateful […]
Piggly Wiggly Ala. Food Show Celebrates Piggly Wiggly’s 100th
Piggly Wiggly Alabama’s Food Show, coming up May 10-11, will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the first Piggly Wiggly store, which opened Sept. 6, 1916. Piggly Wiggly, which bills itself as America’s first true self-service grocery store, was founded in Memphis, Tennessee, by Clarence Saunders. In grocery stores of that time, shoppers presented their orders […]
Knowlan’s Wins Minnesota Grown Retailer Of The Year Award For Fifth Straight Year
The Minnesota Grown program, in conjunction with the Minnesota Grocers Association, has named Knowlan’s Super Markets a 2016 Retailer of the Year. This marks the fifth consecutive year the grocer has been chosen for the award, announced Tuesday at a special luncheon sponsored by the Minnesota Grocers Association. Knowlan’s operates six Festival Foods stores and […]
Portland’s Green Zebra Grocery To Unveil Second Store On Thursday
Green Zebra Grocery, which opened its first store in Portland, Oregon, in 2013, will debut a second location on Thursday, April 21, in the city’s Lloyd District at 808 NE Multnomah. Green Zebra was founded by Lisa Sedlar, former CEO of Portland’s New Seasons Market, who left the company in 2012 to develop Green Zebra, […]
C&S Veteran Joins Supervalu As Corporate Development And Chief Innovation Officer
Supervalu has appointed veteran wholesale executive James Weidenheimer, 57, to the newly-created position of EVP, corporate development and chief innovation officer, reporting to Supervalu President and CEO Mark Gross. Weidenheimer joins the company after having spent the last 16 years in senior leadership positions with C&S Wholesale Grocers. He is expected to start in his […]
Arizona Food Marketing Alliance Hosts Annual Golf Classic
The Arizona Food Marketing Alliance (AFMA) recently hosted its annual Golf Classic at the We-Ko-Pa Golf Club near Scottsdale. It marked the the sixth time the AFMA Golf Classic has returned to We-Ko-Pa. This year’s event attracted more than 300 golfers, including AFMA’s retail partners and their vendors. With 19 sampling holes on the course, […]
Hydro Flask Unveils First Retail Wall Display At Newport Avenue Market
Hydro Flask, an award-winning leader in high-performance, insulated stainless steel flasks that are now part of housewares segment of Helen of Troy Ltd., has unveiled its first retail wall display at Newport Avenue Market in Bend, Oregon. The display is the first to be rolled out nationwide by Hydro Flask. “We are excited to kick […]
Lowes Foods Introduces Next-Gen eCircular, Blending ‘Best Of Print And Digital’
Lowes Foods, with digital solutions provider Unata, has released a new 1-to-1 personalized, omni-channel eCircular for grocery retailers. The new eCircular currently is live with Lowes Foods as part of its Lowes Foods-To-Go website and will be live as a standalone online experience in May. According to the companies, until now, retailers have had significant […]
National Grocers Association Launches New Strategic Growth Program
The National Grocers Association (NGA) is introducing a new education program that will provide in-depth training to develop a strategic business plan that addresses multifaceted business issues faced by independent supermarket operators. The Sustainable Business Growth Strategies program, sponsored by Unilever, is designed to provide independent supermarket operators with the necessary tools and resources to […]
Festival Foods Debuts Smaller Format Store In Madison
Festival Foods opened a new store Friday in Madison, Wisconsin, and its 50,000-s.f. size makes it unique for the chain, said Mark Skogen, owner and CEO. “It is a departure from our normal format, a little bit smaller, and we have fresh product on one side of the store, dry product on the other, which […]
