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Tom Thumb is a chain of supermarkets in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It operates under the name Tom Thumb for traditional
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 ...
s and Flagship Tom Thumb for higher end stores in affluent areas. It makes up part of the Southern division of
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 ...
. When combined with sister chains
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 ...
and
Market Street Market Street may refer to: *Market Street, Cambridge, England *Market Street, Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia * Market Street, George Town, Penang, Malaysia *Market Street, Manchester, England *Market Street, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia ...
, it is (as of May 2015) the number two supermarket group in the competitive Dallas/Fort Worth area (in terms of market share) behind
Walmart 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 ...
. The chain's distribution center is in
Roanoke, Texas Roanoke is a city in Denton County, Texas, United States and part of the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex. The population was 5,962 at the 2010 census. With a 2020 population of 10,537, it is the 236th largest city in Texas and the 2991st largest ci ...
.


History

Tom Thumb was founded in 1948 by J.R. Bost and Robert B. Cullum as Tom Thumb Food Stores after acquiring 6 Toro supermarkets (Cullum was grocery supplier to Toro when Toro folded, and the owner fled the country). It was once a publicly traded company on the
NYSE The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its liste ...
under the name Cullum Companies. By 1956 it had grown to 20 stores. They bought 34
Hinky Dinky Hinky Dinky was a supermarket chain based in Omaha, Nebraska, that operated mainly in Nebraska and Iowa. History The Hinky Dinky grocery store chain was started by Jule, Henry and Albert Newman, brothers, and Ben Silver, a cousin, in Omaha in 1925 ...
stores in the Midwest, 17 Pantry Food Markets in California, as well as Page Drug Stores (Tom Thumb added the "Page" to their store names after the acquisition). The freestanding Page stores were later sold to Eckerd. They also bought the gourmet specialty
Simon David Until its closing in 2010, Simon David was the oldest gourmet and specialty foods store in Dallas, Texas. Simon David was a long-time specialty retail brand and division of Tom Thumb Supermarkets. Tom Thumb became a division of Randalls in 199 ...
stores in 1963. Tom Thumb expanded its reach to
Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...
, in 1972 when the grocer entered that market. Tom Thumb partnered with Wal-Mart in 1987 to create Hypermart USA stores, but the initial lack of success led them to drop out in 1991. There were several locations including
Garland, Texas Garland is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is located northeast of Dallas and is a part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is located within Dallas County except for small portions located in Collin and Rockwall Counties. At the ...
, and Arlington, Texas. They were the early prototype for the current Walmart Supercenter concept, though they were much larger than today's Supercenters. In January 1989, Cullum Companies sold six of its Tom Thumb stores in Austin 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 ...
. The company was acquired by the
Randalls Randalls operates 32 supermarkets in Texas under the ''Randalls'' and ''Flagship Randalls'' banners. The chain consists of 13 stores located around the Houston area and 15 stores located around the Austin area as of May 2020. Randalls today form ...
chain of
Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...
in 1992 and adopted a logo similar to Randalls but retained the Tom Thumb name. Randalls converted the seven Tom Thumb stores in the Austin market to Randalls in January 1994, the same time it acquired and converted nine
AppleTree Markets AppleTree Markets was a supermarket chain in Texas formed in 1969 when Safeway opened its first stores in Houston, which were spun off under the AppleTree name in 1988. The division once had 100 stores in Greater Houston and Greater Austin. By Ja ...
. The Simon David in the Arboretum Market was not converted, but it would close in December 1996 and would be converted into a
Saks Fifth Avenue Saks Fifth Avenue (originally Saks & Company; colloquially Saks) is an American luxury department store chain headquartered in New York City and founded by Andrew Saks. The original store opened in the F Street shopping district of Washington ...
then to a Trader Joe's in June 2014. Though after many customers lamented the loss of Austin's only Simon David, Randalls decided in 1998 to make its Bee Caves store a Flagship Randalls supermarket, the first in the city and the eighth in the chain. In 1999, Randalls Food Markets was acquired by Safeway. Safeway retained the Randalls name in Houston and Austin and the Tom Thumb name in Dallas/Fort Worth but replaced many of the Tom Thumb/Randalls "Remarkable"
store brand A private label, also called a private brand or private-label brand, is a brand owned by a company, offered by that company alongside and competing with brands from other businesses. A private-label brand is almost always offered exclusively by th ...
s with Safeway
private label A private label, also called a private brand or private-label brand, is a brand owned by a company, offered by that company alongside and competing with brands from other businesses. A private-label brand is almost always offered exclusively by th ...
items. Randalls Food Markets became Safeway's Texas division, which today is legally known as Randalls Food & Drugs. By 2001, Randalls operated 69 stores in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area under the Tom Thumb and Simon David banners. In early 2005, Safeway was rumored to be attempting to sell the then 138-store Randalls division. Instead, Safeway announced by the end of the year it would close 15 Randalls stores in the Houston area, one in Austin, and nine Tom Thumb stores in the Dallas–Fort Worth area. Following the closures Randalls operated 62 Tom Thumb stores in Dallas. Safeway said the move would revitalize the Texas division and that it planned to remodel stores to fit its "Lifestyle" format and introduce proprietary products. The new Lifestyle format features an expanded selection of perishables and a number of unique offerings, including a large selection of natural and organic foods, full-service meat counters, full-service bakeries and floral design centers, as well as sushi bars and olive bars. Beginning in 2006, some Tom Thumb stores began operating under Safeway's "Lifestyle Store" concept. Lifestyle stores carry an expanded selection of finer foods, ready-to-eat meals, and have a more upscale decor.. In January 2015,
Safeway Inc. 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 ...
was acquired by Albertsons, and Tom Thumb (but not Randalls) was re-aligned under the Albertsons Southern Division. By this time, it had 57 stores operating under the Tom Thumb name. In March 2017, Albertsons announced that the Houston distribution center would close in late 2017 and all Texas stores (including Randalls) would be serviced from the Roanoke distribution center.


Loyalty program

Tom Thumb offers a loyalty card (Reward Card) similar to many shoppers’ card programs. The loyalty card is currently good at all Albertsons Companies-owned stores. During the period after Tom Thumb was purchased by Randalls but before Randalls was purchased by Safeway, the card was accepted at both Tom Thumb and Randalls locations. The original Reward Card program was based on the Promise Club program originally developed by Tom Thumb beginning in 1985. The Promise Club program included "Electronic Checks" (EFT)
special discounts
for card users, prizes based on points accrued while shopping with the card, and direct mail advertising to card holder's homes.


Notes


References


Cullum, Robert Brooks
The Handbook of Texas Online The ''Handbook of Texas'' is a comprehensive encyclopedia of Texas geography, history, and historical persons published by the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). History The original ''Handbook'' was the brainchild of TSHA President Wa ...
.


External links

*
Discussion forum of Tom Thumb locations over the years
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tom Thumb Food and Pharmacy Safeway Inc. Retail companies established in 1948 Superstores in the United States Companies based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex 1948 establishments in Texas 1992 mergers and acquisitions