Market Basket Foods , under the trade name Market Basket, is a
chain
A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. A c ...
of 34 supermarkets that serves southeast
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
and
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
in the United States, with headquarters in
Nederland, Texas
Nederland ( ) is a city in Jefferson County, Texas, United States. The population was 18,856 at the 2020 census.
The city was settled in 1897 along what is now Boston Avenue and incorporated in 1940. It was settled by Dutch immigrants on land so ...
.
History
Johnnie Alford, Ed Hughes, Howard Hatfield, Roy Theriot and Bruce Thompson founded Market Basket in early 1962. Each was an independent grocer, owning one store each. The five grocers joined together to keep advertising costs low and pool their purchasing power. Three of the grocers remained one-supermarket operators while Hughes and Thompson formed a 50-50 corporation for joint expansion.
Thompson and Hughes bought four stores as partners in the 1960s. During the early 1970s they obtained former
A&P,
Kroger
The Kroger Company, or simply Kroger, is an American retail company that operates (either directly or through its subsidiaries) supermarkets and multi-department stores throughout the United States.
Founded by Bernard Kroger in 1883 in Cincin ...
and
Weingarten's
Weingarten's was a supermarket chain in the Southern United States until it was acquired by Safeway in 1983. J. Weingarten, Inc. had its headquarters in what is now the East End in Houston, Texas.
History
Hersch Harris Weingarten, a poor Jewish i ...
stores in
Lake Charles,
Beaumont
Beaumont may refer to:
Places Canada
* Beaumont, Alberta
* Beaumont, Quebec
England
* Beaumont, Cumbria
* Beaumont, Essex
**Beaumont Cut, a canal closed in the 1930s
* Beaumont Street, Oxford
France (communes)
* Beaumont, Ardèche
* Be ...
,
Port Arthur and
Orange
Orange most often refers to:
*Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis''
** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower
*Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum
* ...
. In 1983, Bruce Thompson purchased Hughes’ interest in their jointly held corporation.
During the 1980s, two new stores were constructed, and the chain grew with the acquisition of 14 more stores formerly operated by
Piggly Wiggly
Piggly Wiggly is an American supermarket chain operating in the American Southern and Midwestern regions run by Piggly Wiggly, LLC, an affiliate of C&S Wholesale Grocers. Its first outlet opened in 1916 in Memphis, Tennessee, and is notable f ...
,
Safeway
Safeway is an American supermarket chain founded by Marion Barton Skaggs in April 1915 in American Falls, Idaho. The chain provides grocery items, food and general merchandise and features a variety of specialty departments, such as bakery, d ...
, Theriot’s,
Winn-Dixie, and
Weingarten's
Weingarten's was a supermarket chain in the Southern United States until it was acquired by Safeway in 1983. J. Weingarten, Inc. had its headquarters in what is now the East End in Houston, Texas.
History
Hersch Harris Weingarten, a poor Jewish i ...
.
The next decade saw Market Basket begin an extensive remodeling and expansion program for half of the chain. More stores in the 1990s were acquired, including four
cash and carry locations and three
AppleTree
AppleTree is a Colombian rock band formed in Bogotá in 2012, consisting of Camilo Andrés Cárdenas (lead vocals, guitar), Alex González (bass) and Cristian Galeano (drums). Their music is inspired by indie rock bands with Lo-Fi aesthetics like ...
stores. The
Mauriceville location was replaced with a newly constructed store during this time.
During the summer of 2001, the company purchased two Hughes Market Basket stores, in Port Arthur and
Nederland. In 2002, the grocer purchased two
Price-Lo stores in
Vidor
Vidor is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Treviso, Veneto, north-eastern Italy.
Twin towns
Vidor is twinned with:
* Petritoli
Petritoli is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Fermo in the Italian region Marche, located abo ...
and
DeRidder. Stanley’s in
Leesville and Pair’s in
Winnie were added, as well.
External links
Market Basket Homepage
{{Supermarkets of the United States
Supermarkets of the United States
Companies based in Texas
Retail companies established in 1962
American companies established in 1962