Fisher Foods, later known as Fazio's, was an American supermarket chain based in
Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
.
History
Beginning
Fisher Foods,
Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
’s largest supermarket chain for its 80-year history, was founded in 1907 as Fisher Brothers Company. The Fisher Brothers, Manning and Charles, were natives of
Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.[New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...]
at the end of the 19th century, when Manning worked for James Butler, a grocer who owned 150 stores in the city. The brothers were eager to start their own chain, and opened their first store in Cleveland at 4623 Lorain Avenue.
Post-war era
Fisher Foods was not doing well in the
post-war era
In Western usage, the phrase post-war era (or postwar era) usually refers to the time since the end of World War II. More broadly, a post-war period (or postwar period) is the interval immediately following the end of a war. A post-war period c ...
. By the mid-1960s, the 75-store chain was losing money on $86 million in annual sales, and held only 12% of the Cleveland market it had once dominated. In 1965, a group of investors that included two sets of brothers, Carl and John Fazio and Sam and Frank Costa, purchased a controlling interest in Fisher Foods for an estimated $3.1 million. The investors were all involved in the Stop-N-Shop Super Markets Association. The purchase merged Fisher Foods with the other investors' namesake chains, the Fazio's and Costa supermarkets.
Expansion
In 1968, Fisher Foods made its first acquisition outside the Ohio market, with the purchase of
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
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's
Dominick's
Dominick's was a Chicago-area grocery store chain and subsidiary of Safeway Inc. Dominick's distribution center was located in Northlake, Illinois, while its management offices were located in Oak Brook, Illinois.
History
Founding
Dominick DiMa ...
, an 18-store chain with locations throughout the city and near the suburbs. Dominick's was a family-owned business with a good reputation. Dominick's was a relatively small chain compared to Chicago market leader
Jewel Tea, other competitors
National Tea
The National Tea Company (NATCO, informally known as National) was a Midwestern United States grocery chain that operated during the 20th century.
Founding
Founded in 1899 by Danish immigrant George S. Rasmussen along with his brother Thorvald in ...
and
A&P, but that changed in the coming years as Dominick's grew tremendously under Fisher Foods, eventually making it number two in the market. Dominick DiMatteo, Jr., company president and son of Dominick's founder, was named as vice president of Fisher Foods.
Fisher Foods also acquired the Kanter's chain in
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
,
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
Fisher Foods entered the fast food business in 1969, when it acquired a stake in
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...
-based National Fast Food Corporation, owners of the
Arthur Treacher's Fish & Chips chain. As part of the agreement, Fisher Foods took over territory rights for Arthur Treacher's in the Cleveland and Chicago markets, then totaling over 100 restaurants. Another company Fisher Foods took over during the late sixties was ''Clabers'', a seven-store chain of department stores in the
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
, area.
The company expanded into the
Southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...
market in 1972 with the purchase of
Shopping Bag
Shopping bags are medium-sized bags, typically around 10–20 litres (2.5–5 gallons) in volume (though much larger versions exist, especially for non-grocery shopping), that are used by shoppers to carry home their purchases. Some are intended ...
, which was itself the combination of a chain that
Vons
Vons is a Southern California and Southern Nevada supermarket chain owned by Albertsons. It is headquartered in Fullerton, California, and operates stores under the Vons and Pavilions banners. It was owned by Safeway Inc. and headquartered in Ar ...
had to divest due to an antitrust ruling in the Supreme Court and the Southern California A&P operation. Following the merger, the stores were rebranded Fazio's Shopping Bag. These stores were later sold to
Albertsons
Albertsons Companies, Inc. is an American grocery company founded and headquartered in Boise, Idaho.
With 2,253 stores as of the third quarter of fiscal year 2020 and 270,000 employees as of fiscal year 2019, the company is the second-larg ...
, which bought 46 Fazio's stores in 1978 from Fisher Foods. Albertsons already operated 47 stores in Southern California, mainly in
Orange County
Orange County most commonly refers to:
*Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area
Orange County may also refer to:
U.S. counties
*Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando
*Orange County, Indiana
*Orange County, New ...
.
In the 1980s, the DiMatteo family became unhappy with the agreement and bought back the Dominick's chain for $100 million.
Downfall
In 1988, Fisher Foods was in financial problems, and merged with Rini-Rego Stop N Shop chain and Seaway Foods Wholesaler to form Riser Foods. In 1997, Riser Foods was absorbed into Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based
Giant Eagle
Giant Eagle, Inc. (Western Pennsylvania English: ) and stylized as giant eagle) is an American supermarket chain with stores in Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Indiana, and Maryland. The company was founded in 1918 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylv ...
for $403 million.
GIANT EAGLE TO BUY RISER FOODS FOR $403 MILLION - New York Times
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Chains
*Dominick's
Dominick's was a Chicago-area grocery store chain and subsidiary of Safeway Inc. Dominick's distribution center was located in Northlake, Illinois, while its management offices were located in Oak Brook, Illinois.
History
Founding
Dominick DiMa ...
(Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
)
*Fazio's (Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
)
* Fazio's Shopping Bag (Southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...
)
Sources
Fisher Foods History
References
{{Supermarkets of the United States
1907 establishments in Ohio
1997 disestablishments in Ohio
Defunct companies based in Cleveland
Retail companies disestablished in 1997
Retail companies established in 1907
Defunct companies based in Ohio
Defunct supermarkets of the United States