Kohl’s Food Stores was a Milwaukee-area

grocery store A grocery store ( AE), grocery shop or grocer's shop ( BE) or simply grocery is a retail store that primarily retails a general range of food products, which may be fresh or packaged. In everyday US usage, however, "grocery store" is a synon ...

chain and subsidiary of

The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company, better known as A&P, was an American chain store, chain of grocery stores that operated from 1859 to 2015. From 1915 through 1975, A&P was the largest grocery retailer in the United States (and, until ...

. Kohl’s Food Stores distribution center was located in Waukesha, while its management offices were located in

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

History

Early history

Maxwell Kohl, who had operated traditional grocery stores since 1927, built his first

supermarket A supermarket is a self-service Retail#Types of outlets, shop offering a wide variety of food, Drink, beverages and Household goods, household products, organized into sections. Strictly speaking, a supermarket is larger and has a wider selecti ...

in 1946, the first in what would become a southeastern Wisconsin chain known as Kohl's Food Stores. In September 1962, after building Kohl's Food Stores into the largest supermarket chain in the Milwaukee area, Kohl opened his first department store in

Brookfield, Wisconsin Brookfield is a city in eastern Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States. It had a population of 41,464 at the 2020 census. The city is adjacent to the Town of Brookfield and is part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area. History Brookfield i ...

. He positioned Kohl's between the higher-end department stores and the discounters, selling everything from candy to engine oil to sporting equipment.

Sale to A&P and closure

In 1972, the

British American Tobacco British American Tobacco p.l.c. (BAT) is a British multinational company that manufactures and sells cigarettes, tobacco and other nicotine products including electronic cigarettes. The company, established in 1902, is headquartered in London, E ...

Company's U.S. retail division, Batus Inc., bought a controlling interest in Kohl's Corporation, which at the time operated 50 grocery stores, six department stores, three drug stores, and three liquor stores. The Kohl family, led by Allen Kohl and

Herb Kohl Herbert Hiken Kohl (February 7, 1935 – December 27, 2023) was an American businessman, philanthropist, and Democratic politician from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He served 24 years as a United States senator from Wisconsin, from 1989 to 2013, and ...

, continued to manage the company. Herb Kohl left the management in 1979, eventually becoming a

United States senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

and owner of the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), East ...

. The firm then expanded Kohl's presence from 10 to 39 stores in Wisconsin. The grocery stores were sold to A&P in 1983, operating under the name Kohl's Food Store, and later Kohl's Food Emporium. In February 2003, A&P put the Kohl's Food Stores up for sale, as part of an effort to reduce debt. That same year, A&P closed all Kohl's Food Stores locations and the Kohl family left remaining management. Jewel was rumored to buy Kohl's, but that deal fell through. The Madison area stores were sold to Roundy's.

References

External links

A&P corporate website
{{Supermarkets of the United States Defunct supermarkets of the United States American companies established in 1946 Retail companies established in 1946 Retail companies disestablished in 2003 Supermarkets of the United States The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company 2003 disestablishments in New York (state)

History

Early history

Sale to A&P and closure

See also

References

External links