Red Owl was a

grocery store A grocery store ( AE), grocery shop ( BE) or simply grocery is a store that primarily retails a general range of food products, which may be fresh or packaged. In everyday U.S. usage, however, "grocery store" is a synonym for supermarket, a ...

chain in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, headquartered in

Hopkins, Minnesota Hopkins is a small suburban city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, located west of Minneapolis. Hopkins was the headquarters of Minneapolis-Moline, which was a large manufacturer of tractors and agricultural equipment in the United ...

. Founded in 1922, it was initially owned and operated by a private investment firm affiliated with General Mills, and purchased in 1968 by

Gamble-Skogmo Gamble-Skogmo Inc. was a conglomerate of retail chains and other businesses that was headquartered in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. Business operated or franchised by Gamble-Skogmo included Gambles hardware and auto supply stores, Woman's World an ...

History

Red Owl started as a coal company in the 1920s. It opened its first store in

Rochester, Minnesota Rochester is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Olmsted County. Located on rolling bluffs on the Zumbro River's south fork in Southeast Minnesota, the city is the home and birthplace of the renowned Mayo Clinic. Acco ...

. Eventually there were stores throughout the

upper Midwest The Upper Midwest is a region in the northern portion of the U.S. Census Bureau's Midwestern United States. It is largely a sub-region of the Midwest. Although the exact boundaries are not uniformly agreed-upon, the region is defined as referring ...

, with one having opened in

Bismarck, North Dakota Bismarck () is the capital of the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Burleigh County. It is the state's second-most populous city, after Fargo. The city's population was 73,622 in the 2020 census, while its metropolitan popula ...

, in 1927. The chain briefly expanded into the Chicago area starting in late 1959, but in 1963 sold its Chicago area operations to National Tea Company. In 1980, Gamble-Skogmo was acquired by Wickes Corporation, which sold the chain to three executives of the chain in January 1986. At that time, the company operated 441 stores in Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and North and South Dakota. In December 1988, the rights to the Red Owl name were obtained by grocery wholesaler Supervalu Inc.,"Red Owl Logo Returns to LeRoy Grocery"
Laura Gossman, '' Rochester Post-Bulletin'', January 7, 2009 along with its warehouse and distribution operations. Supervalu phased out the Red Owl name.

In popular culture

From 1973 to 1977, the title sequence of ''

The Mary Tyler Moore Show ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' (also known simply as ''Mary Tyler Moore'') is an American television sitcom created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns and starring actress Mary Tyler Moore. The show originally aired on CBS from 1970 to 1977. Moor ...

'' featured the lead character in a Red Owl meat department. An independent grocery store in Saint Paul, MN, Cooper's Foods, was redecorated as a Red Owl to be featured in the 2009

Coen Brothers Joel Daniel Coen (born November 29, 1954) and Ethan Jesse Coen (born September 21, 1957),State of Minnesota. ''Minnesota Birth Index, 1935–2002''. Minnesota Department of Health. collectively known as the Coen brothers (), are American film ...

movie ''

A Serious Man ''A Serious Man'' is a 2009 American black comedy-drama film written, produced, edited and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. Set in 1967, the film stars Michael Stuhlbarg as a Minnesota Jewish man whose life crumbles both professionally and pe ...

''. In Season 3, Episode 1 of FX's '' Fargo'' a Red Owl is featured. In Season 9, Episode 9 of the '' Sci-Fi Channel's'' ''

Mystery Science Theater 3000 ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (abbreviated as ''MST3K'') is an American science fiction comedy film review television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on KTMA-TV (now WUCW) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 24, 1988. ...

'' which features the 1980 Italian film ''

The Pumaman ''The Pumaman'' ( it, L'uomo puma) is a 1980 Italian superhero film co-written and directed by Alberto De Martino, starring Walter George Alton as the title character and Donald Pleasence as the villain. It was featured in a 1998 episode of '' My ...

'',

Mike Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and docume ...

uses some of the movie's music which resembles commercial theme music to make up a jingle with the phrase "Dick's Red Owl, selection and service!". ''Mystery Science Theatre 3000'' originated in Hopkins, MN, which was Red Owl's headquarters. A pharmacy named Value Drug Mart in

Drumheller Drumheller is a town on the Red Deer River in the badlands of Central Alberta, east-central Alberta, Canada. It is northeast of Calgary and south of Stettler, Alberta, Stettler. The Drumheller portion of the Red Deer River valley, often ref ...

Alberta, Canada Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to t ...

, was redecorated as a Red Owl food store for the 2020 film, ''

Let Him Go ''Let Him Go'' is a 2020 American neo-Western film starring Diane Lane and Kevin Costner, and directed, written, and co-produced by Thomas Bezucha, based on the 2013 novel of the same name by Larry Watson. The film follows a retired sheriff ( ...

''.

Masons Red Owl

Founded on February 1, 1969, Masons Red Owl was the first franchised Red Owl store in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Three years later, the owners, Mervin and Jared Mason, purchased a second Red Owl franchise in

De Pere, Wisconsin De Pere ( ) is a city located in Brown County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 25,410 according to the 2020 Census. De Pere is part of the Green Bay Metropolitan Statistical Area. History At the arrival of the first European, Je ...

. At that time, Masons Red Owl was incorporated from a partnership into the MEJ Corporation. By 1985, the Green Bay area witnessed the introduction of several other grocery stores, including a

Cub Foods Cub is an American supermarket chain. It operates stores in Minnesota and Illinois. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of SuperValu Inc., based in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. History Beginnings Cub Foods was founded by Minnesota-based Hool ...

and a

Copps Food Center Roundy's Supermarkets (also known as Roundy's) is an American supermarket operator. It owns and operates stores under the names of Pick 'n Save, Metro Market, and Mariano's Fresh Market. The chain is a subsidiary of Kroger. Roundy's operates 14 ...

. At this point, the De Pere location was sold and efforts were refocused on the original franchise. In 1988, SuperValu Corporation purchased Red Owl's Green Bay warehouse, making it the supplier for Masons Red Owl. In 1989 the store expanded to include a full-service deli department, and remained in 2009 as one of the smallest full-service grocery retailers. Masons Red Owl faces competition in the Green Bay area from other grocers including Woodman's,

Wal-Mart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...

ALDI Aldi (stylised as ALDI) is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 10,000 stores in 20 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, when t ...

, and

Festival Foods Festival Foods is a family owned grocery company operating stores throughout Wisconsin. It was founded as Skogen's IGA (supermarkets), IGA by Paul and Jane Skogen in 1946 in Onalaska, Wisconsin, and is still owned by the Skogen family. Festiva ...

Red Owl Family Center

In the late 60's early 70's Red Owl opened a small chain of family centers, similar to what

Grand Union Supermarkets Grand Union Supermarkets, later known as Grand Union Family Markets and often referred to simply as Grand Union, is an American chain of grocery stores that does business in upstate New York and Vermont, and used to do business throughout most of ...

did with their Grand Way stores.

References

http://m.startribune.com/gone-30-years-red-owl-supermarkets-still-live-on-in-its-employees-memories/471333454/

External links