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Star Market is a
New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
chain of
supermarkets A supermarket is a self-service shop offering a wide variety of food, beverages and household products, organized into sections. This kind of store is larger and has a wider selection than earlier grocery stores, but is smaller and more limit ...
based in
Greater Boston Greater Boston is the metropolitan region of New England encompassing the municipality of Boston (the capital of the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the most populous city in New England) and its surrounding areas. The region forms the northern ar ...
. It was owned by the
Mugar family The Mugar family of Greater Boston, Massachusetts, is a prominent Armenian-American family in New England business and in philanthropy, both in the United States and in Armenia. The best known member of the family is Stephen P. Mugar, (1901-1982), ...
and started in 1915. The company was sold to The Jewel Companies, Inc. in 1964 and later to
Investcorp Investcorp is a global manager of alternative investment products, for private and institutional clients. Founded in Bahrain in 1982, the firm has offices in United States, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, India, China, ...
, which in turn sold the chain to
Shaw's Supermarkets Shaw's and Star Market are two American supermarket chains under united management based in West Bridgewater, Massachusetts, employing about 30,000 associates in 150 total stores; 129 stores are operated under the Shaw's banner in Maine, Massac ...
. As stores were remodeled, many adopted the Shaw's name, leaving only a handful of Star Market stores operating by the late 2000s. In 2008, Shaw's began to revive the name, a trend which was expedited after the parent company of both chains was sold to
Cerberus Capital Management Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. is an American private equity firm,Leaders Magazine"Providing Economic Opportunity: An Interview with The Honorable Dan Quayle, Chairman, Cerberus Global Investments, LLC". specializing in distressed investing. ...
. Today, both Shaw's and Star Market are administered as a single division.


History


Beginning

In 1915, Sarkis Mugar, an
Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
immigrant who had arrived in Greater Boston in 1906, paid $800.00 for the Star Market, a small grocery store at 28 Mt. Auburn Street in
Watertown Watertown may refer to: Places in China In China, a water town is a type of ancient scenic town known for its waterways. Places in the United States *Watertown, Connecticut, a New England town **Watertown (CDP), Connecticut, the central village ...
. His son Stephen P. Mugar (1901–1984) eventually went to work for him in the store. In 1922, Sarkis Mugar was killed in an automobile accident, leaving his son to take over Star Market to support his mother and sisters. In the early 1930s, Stephen hired his first cousin, John M. Mugar, who later became president and chairman of Star Market.


Pre-war and post-war expansion

The second Star Market opened in Newtonville in 1932, and the third store opened in Wellesley in 1937. John Mugar joined Stephen Mugar in management, but had to leave to serve in the U.S. Navy during World War II. After the war ended, John Mugar returned to the management of Star Market. With wartime restrictions and shortages over, Stephen and John were ready to expand throughout Greater Boston to meet the increased affluence and consumer demand. The second Star Market in Newtonville opened in 1948 and was the Mugars' 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. This kind of store is larger and has a wider selection than earli ...
. The new supermarket served as a prototype for the other modern supermarkets that they would soon open during this period. Meats and produce were packaged in cellophane wrappers to make them more appealing to consumers, and a conveyor belt carried bags of groceries to a central pickup station by the parking lot.


Sale to the Jewel Companies

In 1961, Star Market acquired
Brigham's Ice Cream Brigham's Ice Cream is a brand of ice cream and formerly a restaurant franchise. Brigham's is sold in quart containers throughout New England, and was served at franchised restaurants located in Massachusetts until 2013. It was founded in Newt ...
,Alternate Link
via
ProQuest ProQuest LLC is an Ann Arbor, Michigan-based global information-content and technology company, founded in 1938 as University Microfilms by Eugene B. Power. ProQuest is known for its applications and information services for libraries, provid ...
.
a popular ice cream shop in New England. In 1964, the Star Market Company was acquired by Chicago-based Jewel Companies, Inc.,Alternate Link
via
ProQuest ProQuest LLC is an Ann Arbor, Michigan-based global information-content and technology company, founded in 1938 as University Microfilms by Eugene B. Power. ProQuest is known for its applications and information services for libraries, provid ...
.
though Jewel chose to retain the original name and identity of Star Market. The Mugar family retained the real estate and codeveloped additional locations. Jewel also retained John M. Mugar as president, and later as chairman, until his retirement in 1978. While Jewel owned Star Market, it built many combination food and drug stores that it branded as Star-Osco, with common checkstands but separate management teams. Jewel also combined Star Market with
Turn Style Turn Style was a chain of discount department stores and was a division of Chicago-based Jewel, the parent company of the Jewel Food Stores supermarket chain. Some mid-western Turn Styles had an Osco Pharmacy, at the time very uncommon for a d ...
to form Turn Style/Star Market Family Centers, which included a Star Market, an
Osco Drug Osco Drug and Sav-on Drugs were the names of a pair of chain pharmacies that operated in the United States. Osco Drug was founded by the Skaggs family. Alpha Beta grocery store was purchased by American Stores in 1961. Skaggs Drug Centers boug ...
, a Turn Style, and a Brigham's Ice Cream Shop.


After the Jewel acquisition

After Jewel was acquired by
American Stores American Stores Company was an American public corporation and a holding company which ran chains of supermarkets and drugstores in the United States from 1917 through 1998. The company was incorporated in 1917 when The Acme Tea Company merged ...
in 1984, the Star-Osco stores were rebranded as Star Market and placed under a single management team. After the Jewel acquisition, American Stores had debt to pay off. In order to pay off this debt, American Stores chose to sell its less profitable stores, including the Star Market. They found a buyer for Star Market, and sold it to
Investcorp Investcorp is a global manager of alternative investment products, for private and institutional clients. Founded in Bahrain in 1982, the firm has offices in United States, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, India, China, ...
in 1994. The Star Market-Osco Drug connection was ended for a time. This particular sale was led by Henry Nasella, the former president of Star Market, who had previously spent six years as president and COO of Staples before returning to Star. After the purchase by Investcorp, Nasella served as the chairman and CEO of Star Market, expanding the supermarket chain to include specialty brands such as Wild Harvest. In 1999, Investcorp sold Star Market to
Sainsbury's J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is the second largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, with a 14.6% share of UK supermarket sales. Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company wa ...
for $490 million. Sainsbury's merged the chain with
Shaw's Supermarkets Shaw's and Star Market are two American supermarket chains under united management based in West Bridgewater, Massachusetts, employing about 30,000 associates in 150 total stores; 129 stores are operated under the Shaw's banner in Maine, Massac ...
to form Shaw's-Star Market. In 2004,
Albertsons, Inc. 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-large ...
bought Sainsbury's American supermarket assets, including Star Market, after which Star Market and Osco Drug were reunited under one corporate umbrella. On June 2, 2006, a partnership of SuperValu,
CVS Corporation CVS Health Corporation (previously CVS Corporation and CVS Caremark Corporation) is an American healthcare company that owns CVS Pharmacy, a retail pharmacy chain; CVS Caremark, a pharmacy benefits manager; and Aetna, a health insurance provi ...
, and several investment firms, including
Cerberus Capital Management Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. is an American private equity firm,Leaders Magazine"Providing Economic Opportunity: An Interview with The Honorable Dan Quayle, Chairman, Cerberus Global Investments, LLC". specializing in distressed investing. ...
, acquired Albertsons with the intent to divvy up the pieces. SuperValu received both Shaw's and Star Market. In 2008, Shaw's announced that their Boston area stores were reverting to the Star Market name due to local history. On August 22, 2008, the former Shaw's Market at 1065 Commonwealth Avenue in
Allston Allston is an officially recognized neighborhood within the City of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was named after the American painter and poet Washington Allston. It comprises the land covered by the zip code 02134. For the most pa ...
had its official grand reopening as a Star Market—more than eight years after its name had been changed from Star Market to Shaw's. The Brighton Mills store on Western Avenue, the Auburndale store on Commonwealth Avenue, and a new store in Chestnut Hill also were reopened as Star Markets in July 2008. A year later, in 2009, the Star Market on Beacon Street in Somerville reopened. As of August 2015, there are 22 stores that have been rebranded as Star Markets—primarily in the immediate Boston vicinity, but also on
Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...
and the South Shore.


See also

*
Brigham's Ice Cream Brigham's Ice Cream is a brand of ice cream and formerly a restaurant franchise. Brigham's is sold in quart containers throughout New England, and was served at franchised restaurants located in Massachusetts until 2013. It was founded in Newt ...
*
Jewel Food Stores Jewel-Osco is a regional supermarket chain in the Chicago metropolitan area, headquartered in Itasca, a western suburb. In 2007, the company had 188 stores across northern, central, and western Illinois; eastern Iowa; and portions of northwes ...
*
Osco Drug Osco Drug and Sav-on Drugs were the names of a pair of chain pharmacies that operated in the United States. Osco Drug was founded by the Skaggs family. Alpha Beta grocery store was purchased by American Stores in 1961. Skaggs Drug Centers boug ...
*
Shaw's and Star Market Shaw's and Star Market are two American supermarket chains under united management based in West Bridgewater, Massachusetts, employing about 30,000 associates in 150 total stores; 129 stores are operated under the Shaw's banner in Maine, Massach ...


References

{{Cerberus Capital Management 1915 establishments in Massachusetts 1964 disestablishments in Massachusetts 1964 mergers and acquisitions Cerberus Capital Management companies Retail companies disestablished in 1964 Retail companies established in 1915 Sainsbury's Supermarkets of the United States