by Terrie Ellerbee/associate editor With a name like Gus, he’s got to be a grocer. Gus Buche, that is, the seven-year-old son of fourth-generation grocer RF Buche. Gus is named for RF’s great-grandfather, August Francis Buche, who started the family business 110 years ago in Lake Andes, South Dakota. GF Buche Co. and the state […]
Category: Shelby Signature Content
Posted in, Independent Store News, National, ROFDA Reports, Shelby Content, Shelby Signature Content, Special Section
The 2015 ROFDA Report
Each year, Shelby Publishing Co. publishes a special section about Retailer Owned Food Distributors & Associates, better known as ROFDA. This special showcases the group’s work, its leadership and member-owners, as well as the independent grocery industry. The 2015 special appears below and also in the upcoming December print editions of The Shelby Report and The […]
Posted in, Independent Store News, Market Profile, Midwest, Shelby Content, Shelby Signature Content
Tony’s Fresh Market Is IFRA’s 2015 Industry Retailer Award Recipient
Tony’s Fresh Market is the Illinois Food Retailers Association (IFRA) 2015 Industry Retailer Award recipient. The company was honored during the IFRA-Grocery Merchandisers Association (GMA) Annual Conference and Expo, which was held earlier this month at the Drury Lane Conference Center in Oakbrook Terrace. “The IFRA board of directors unanimously chose Tony’s Fresh Market as […]
Posted in, Independent Store News, Market Profile, Shelby Content, Shelby Signature Content, Store News, West
Food Industry Vet Lamprecht Makes Wyoming’s Valley Foods A Unique Destination For Locals, Tourists Alike
by Kristen Cloud/staff writer Tim Lamprecht has more experience in the food industry that most. This year, in fact, marks his 50th year in the business. His career has spanned from “carryout boy” to supplier representative to today being the owner and GM of Valley Foods and Liquor in Saratoga—located about 7,000 feet in elevation […]
Posted in, Produce News, Shelby Content, Shelby Signature Content, West
When Size Matters: Calif. Drought Raises Questions About How We Buy, Grow Food
by Karen Caplan/Special to The Shelby Report It always bugs me when I go into a produce department and all the fruits are so large. You know what I mean—strawberries the size of billiard balls, apples and oranges (or even bananas) so big that you could split the fruit with a friend! And these big […]
Posted in, Albertsons, Guest Contributors, National, Shelby Signature Content
The Path To Chapter 11 Can Follow One Of Several Roads
Events leading a business to file for protection under Chapter 11 can take different forms and move at different speeds. The retail food business has recently served up two examples of polar opposites in their trip to Chapter 11. A&P’s trip, by some accounts, began in the 1950s. Haggen, on the other hand, had barely […]
Posted in, Shelby Content, Shelby Signature Content, West, Women In The News
WAFC’s Christianson Has Devoted Her Career To Mentoring, Education
Carole Christianson started her career at age 18 with a family-owned bottling company, National Drinks in Gardena, California. Thus began a 40-plus-year career in the grocery industry that has led to many significant accomplishments and awards. From National Drinks, to Dr Pepper, to Coca-Cola Enterprises, to the establishment of her own company, Christianson West, in […]
Posted in, Corporate Store News, Shelby Content, Shelby Signature Content, Southwest, Special Section, Store News
Special—H-E-B At 110: From Humble Beginnings To A Texas Icon
It was Nov. 26, 1905, to be exact, when Florence Butt opened the C.C. Butt Grocery Store with her savings of $60 to support her ailing husband and three children. For $9 a month, she leased the 450-s.f. store on the ground floor of a small frame building on Main Street in Kerrville, Texas. Sales […]
Posted in, National, Produce News, Shelby Signature Content, Women In The News
Vegetable-Centric: More Than ‘Meats’ The Eye
by Karen Caplan/Special to The Shelby Report Once upon a time, vegetables were served as a side dish or in a side salad. They were something you cooked to go with your meat. I even remember a time when fresh kale was used solely as a garnish! This is no longer the case. For the […]
Posted in, Deli News, Independent Store News, Meat/Seafood/Poultry, Midwest, Shelby Signature Content
Giovanni’s Meats & Deli: Different Owners, Same Tradition Of Customer Service
by Sudie Crouch/contributing writer Taking over an established business can be a daunting task, especially when the business has been part of the community for as long as Giovanni’s Meats & Deli. But it was a task Matthew and Priscilla Palesh happily dug into. Founded in 1968, the Cleveland, Ohio-based market had stayed in the […]
Posted in, Market Profile, Shelby Signature Content, Southeast
Kentucky Sees Steady Store Activity, But Implementation Of Internet Lottery Creates Concern For Retailers
by Kristen Cloud/staff writer Ted Mason, executive director of the Kentucky Grocers Association and Kentucky Association of Convenience (KGA/KACS), isn’t hearing much from the group’s members these days, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, Mason considers the relative silence a positive sign that Kentucky’s economy, specifically its retail industry, is on the […]
Posted in, Independent Store News, Market Profile, Shelby Signature Content, Southwest, Store News
Odell Bringing Back Stores For Communities After Buyer Goes Bankrupt
by Terrie Ellerbee/associate editor “Somebody told my wife the other day that we had flunked retirement, because I’m 82 and my wife is right behind me,” said Leroy “Perk” Odell, owner of Super’s stores in Akron, Wiggins, Haxtun and Walden, Colorado. Perk and Betty Odell are back in the business so that communities in Colorado […]
Posted in, Independent Store News, Market Profile, Shelby Content, Shelby Signature Content, The Independent Perspective, West
Independent Spotlight: Foods Etc IGA, Susanville Supermarket IGA More Than Grocery Stores
Dennis Darling started bagging groceries at his local independent grocery store while still in high school. It’s where he says he not only discovered a career but met his wife of 41 years, Ruth. At the store, he was promoted quickly up the ladder and started managing for that same company at age 23. Eventually, […]
Posted in, National, Shelby Content, Shelby Signature Content, The Independent Perspective, Women In The News
As First Woman Supermarket Manager, Carole Bitter Has Led Industry For Women
Carole Bitter grew up in a time when opportunities in management for women in the grocery industry did not exist. Even as the daughter of supermarket owners, she never considered running the family business because the heir apparent was a male cousin. Bitter’s grandfather came to the U.S. from Austria-Hungary at the turn of the […]
Posted in, Beverage News, Center Store, Industry News, Market Profile, Shelby Signature Content, Southeast
Tennessee Food Retailers Face Challenges In Readying For Wine Sales Next Year
by Kristen Cloud/staff writer A referendum to allow food retailers in Tennessee to sell wine passed everywhere it was on the ballot last year. While getting that referendum on the November ballot was a long and oftentimes arduous process, the challenges aren’t over. Grocery stores in the 78 municipalities where wine sales will be allowed in […]
Posted in, Grocery News, Independent Store News, Industry News, International Foods, National, Shelby Signature Content
AWG Continues To Strengthen Focus On Hispanic Business
by Kristen Cloud/staff writer It would probably be an understatement to say that Associated Wholesale Grocers (AWG) puts a special focus on its Hispanic business. The Kansas City, Kansas-based wholesaler has been growing its Hispanic segment over the last four years and has seen a more than 500 percent increase in sales, according to Carlos […]
Posted in, Guest Contributors, Industry News, National, Shelby Signature Content
For A Healthy Return, Invest Executive Time In New Hires
If your company does not arrange for a member of senior management to spend time with new hires during basic training you are missing an opportunity. The opportunity to help newly hired employees get a clear understanding of your company’s brand character as well as the financial drivers that make a retail grocery business successful. […]
Posted in, Merchandising News, Midwest, Perishables, Shelby Signature Content
Dutch Farms Grew From Basement Into Award-Winning Business
Company stays on trend with egg traceability technology It all started in 1987 in the basement of Brian Boomsma’s house in Highland, Indiana, where Dutch Farms’ first office was set up. Initially, the company offered only eggs, which is worthy of note, considering a revolutionary technology regarding eggs debuted at the Dutch Farms buying show […]
Posted inWoman Executive of the Year, Marketing News, Shelby Content, Shelby Honorees, Shelby Signature Content, Special Section, West, Women In The News
2015 Woman Executive Of The Year: Tanya Domier
While she always aimed high, Tanya Domier never really set her sights on being a CEO. “I never grew up or even went through the business feeling like I needed to be number 1 in the organization,” she says. Today, however, Domier leads Advantage Sales & Marketing as its CEO. And there’s plenty of reasons […]
Posted in, Amazon Fresh, Deli News, Feature, National, Perishables, Shelby Content, Shelby Signature Content, Special Section, Whole Foods
Millennials Come In All Shapes And Sizes…And Have Varied Shopping Habits
Millennials are, without a doubt, one of today’s most influential demographic groups when it comes to marketing. The reason so much attention has been given to this group of 18- to 34-year-olds is because of sheer numbers: There are about 74.3 million of them, or about 30 percent of the U.S. adult population. With numbers […]