Reasor’s has won two national Excellence in Merchandising awards from Associated Wholesale Grocers (AWG) for its work in the bakery and deli departments. As Reasor’s wholesaler, AWG recognizes a select group of its retailers annually with the Excellence in Merchandising Awards. AWG currently is home to more than 3,800 independent grocery retailers in more than […]
Category: Southwest
The Shelby Report of the Southwest covers grocery retailers, wholesalers and suppliers in Arkansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. Follow the latest store openings, remodels, leadership changes and market news from the region.
Actor DiCaprio Joins Love The Wild As Investor, Advisor
Boulder, Colorado-based Love The Wild, purveyors of farm-raised, freshly frozen seafood kits, and champions for sustainable aquaculture, has added new investors to round out its previously announced Series A funding round. Joining Aqua-Spark, an investment fund that seeks to address the planet’s health and food security, and existing angel investors were individuals, including Academy-Award winner […]
Niman Ranch Enters New Category With Artisanal Charcuterie Line
Niman Ranch has unveiled a line of artisan charcuterie alongside its participation at the 13th annual Good Food Festival & Conference, a sustainable food trade show held March 16-18 in Chicago. The 23-item line of Genoa Salame, Capocollo, Hot Sopresatta, Pepperoni and Pancetta was sampled at the festival’s industry networking reception. The new products are available […]
Whole Foods’ New Tuna Sourcing Policy Includes Grocery, Prepared Food Items
By January 2018, all canned tuna sold at Whole Foods Market will meet rigorous sustainability and traceability requirements that aim to reduce overfishing and bycatch, and support fishing communities, according to the Austin, Texas-based grocery chain. The new sourcing policy includes canned tuna items sold in the grocery aisle as well as the prepared foods […]
New Texas Walmart Features Chobani Café
A new Walmart Supercenter at 25800 Kuykendahl Road in Tomball, Texas, that opened last month features the first Chobani Café outside New York. The 2,000-s.f. space inside The Woodlands area’s newest Walmart features Mediterranean-inspired dishes. “We have lots of fans in Texas, and there’s such an interesting food culture happening, so it’s a perfect fit […]
Wholesome! Brand Rolling Out New, Revamped Products
Wholesome! brand is introducing several new candy items, relaunching its organic stevia and presenting new options with its sugar packets. Wholesome! Organic DelishFish Sugar Land, Texas-based Wholesome! says its latest innovation focus is on launching candy that tastes delicious and is made with clean ingredients. Organic DelishFish is the brand’s first candy item introduced from this focus. This […]
Hispanic Markets Abound, Reflect Diversity Of Dallas-Fort Worth Metro
by Terrie Ellerbee/editor-Southwest The population of Dallas-Fort Worth hit 7.3 million in mid-January. That is one million more people than were counted in the 2010 U.S. Census. The number also includes nearly a half-million unauthorized immigrants, according to the Pew Research Center. It found that most of the 11.1 million unauthorized immigrants living in the […]
Brookshire’s World Record Attempt Will Help Feed Thousands
Brookshire Grocery Co. (BGC) completed its attempt to break a world record on Feb. 24 at the East Texas Food Bank (ETFB) by building the world’s largest canned food pyramid. Community volunteers stacked 36,000 cans over a period of four days to create the 12-ft. pyramid. The cans used for construction were donated to the […]
Four Generations Open Fourth Edwards Cash Saver
Four generations of the Edwards family attended the grand opening of their new Edwards Cash Saver in Beebe, Arkansas, on Feb. 1. Patriarch Oral Edwards, founder of the Edwards grocery chain, cut the ribbon as company president, Steve Edwards, welcomed a crowd to the new store. The first 100 customers received a bag full of Best […]
Double Up Food Bucks Expands To Lowe’s Grocery Stores In New Mexico
Beginning this spring, New Mexicans who receive federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits can save money when they buy New Mexico-grown fresh fruits and vegetables at several Lowe’s grocery stores in New Mexico. SNAP, formerly known as food stamps, assists one in five people in the state. Double Up Food Bucks, a program of the New […]
Blue Bell Gets New President As Kruse Retires
Blue Bell Creameries’ Ricky Dickson has been promoted to president of the Brenham, Texas-based company as longtime leader Paul Kruse retires. While Kruse is retiring as president and chairman, he will remain on the company’s board. Kruse began working at Blue Bell in 1986 and was elected CEO and president of the company in 2004. […]
Tyson Foods Shakes Up Leadership Team, Unveils New Logo
Tyson Foods is making some changes—revealing a new senior leadership team, executives who the company says will “propel” it forward and accelerate growth, and unveiling a new corporate logo. The new appointments come as the company announces the departure of Donnie King, president, North American Operations; Sara Lilygren, EVP, Corporate Affairs; and Gary Cooper, chief […]
Luby’s Cafeteria Group Brings Fried Fish Entrée To H-E-B Freezers
As part of an exclusive partnership formed with H-E-B late last year, Luby’s says it is is “bringing one of its most iconic dishes off of the line” and into approximately 270 store locations around Texas—as the cafeteria group introduces its Fried Fish to freezer aisles across the state. “We’re excited to expand our offerings […]
WinCo Foods Opens DC In Denton, Texas
WinCo Foods opened a new distribution center on Tuesday—an 800,000-s.f. facility in Denton, Texas. The $135 million DC is located at 300 S. Western Boulevard. Boise, Idaho-based WinCo opened its first Texas stores in 2014 and now operates nine units in the state. The new DC, which will support stores in Texas and Oklahoma, includes […]
Brookshire’s Dairy Plant Sale Follows Bakery Closure
Tyler, Texas-based Brookshire Grocery Co. (BGC) has sold its ice cream, dairy and water plants to Springfield, Missouri-based Hiland Dairy. Chairman and CEO Brad Brookshire said BGC’s “focus has always been on our retail stores, which our manufacturing plants supported. “But with an abundant offering of quality products now available through the supplier community, we […]
El Rio Grande Latin Market Opens New Store In Mesquite, Texas
El Rio Grande Latin Market will host a grand opening for its ninth store in Mesquite, Texas, on Wednesday. The 48,000-s.f. full-service supermarket is located at 2106 N. Galloway Avenue between Galloway and Highway 80. The grocery chain, founded in 2005, serves the Dallas-Fort Worth market. The company says the new market places an emphasis […]
Whole Foods Market Adds Mochi Cases To Select Stores
Whole Foods Market is now offering self-serve mochi ice cream cases in some U.S. stores, including at its Austin, Texas, flagship store and at units in Wheaton, Illinois, and Fremont, California. The grocer’s three 365 by Whole Foods Market stores also feature mochi cases. The popular Japanese-American dessert is made by covering bite-sized balls of […]
J.M. Smucker Co. Plans Manufacturing Facility For Its Uncrustables Sandwiches In Colorado
The J.M. Smucker Co. plans to build an additional Smucker’s Uncrustables sandwiches manufacturing facility in Longmont, Colorado, near Denver. Construction will start this spring with production expected to begin in 2019. The new facility will help meet growing demand for Smucker’s Uncrustables sandwiches, which are pre-made frozen peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that consumers simply […]
Q&A With ‘Joe The Grocer,’ A Man ‘Too Ornery To Die’
Joseph Welsh is a lifelong grocer with nearly 40 years of experience, holding virtually every position there is in a retail operation and many at the wholesale level. He got his start in the family business, which first was established in 1926 in El Paso, Texas. Welsh made the decision to sell the business after […]
Stripes Unveils Next-Gen Stores With New Laredo Taco Co. Design
Stripes Convenience Stores has unveiled what it calls a “redefined customer experience” with the opening of Stripes’ next-generation stores across Texas and Louisiana. The next-gen units feature the company’s proprietary Laredo Taco Co. brand, with the new store design showcasing Laredo Taco’s fresh, authentic food offering as a restaurant destination, with both indoor and outdoor seating. The stores […]
