ABCO Foods was a chain of grocery stores in

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

and

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

for over 15 years, formed from a 1984 spin-off sale by the

Alpha Beta Alpha Beta was a chain of supermarkets in the Southwestern United States. Stores under this brand existed between 1917 and 1995. Former Alpha Beta stores have all been purchased by other grocery chains and rebranded. History Before Alpha Beta ...

division of

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 ...

. The Arizona regional management secured private financing to purchase the Arizona stores (most Alpha Beta locations were in California). Part of the sale agreement included a 5-year term to continue the use of the Alpha Beta brand in Arizona. The name "ABCO Markets" came about when the Alpha Beta branding agreement expired. The new name was derived from Alpha Beta's initials. The agreement also included a non-compete clause: American Stores could not reenter Arizona for a specified period of time. This agreement later allowed ABCO the first right of refusal when American Stores elected to sell the Arizona locations of Lucky supermarkets. The company was under the head of Edward Hill before being sold to the

Fleming Companies, Inc Fleming Companies was founded as Lux Mercantile in Topeka, Kansas, in 1915 by O. A. Fleming, Gene Wilson and Samuel Lux. In 1921 the company's name was changed to Fleming-Wilson, and in 1941, the company name was changed to The Fleming Company, ...

. in 1996. Under Fleming's leadership, ABCO changed its name to "ABCO Foods Desert Market" and converted all of its stores to a Southwestern-style desert exterior and interior design format, featuring facades of adobe and a very prominent pink color on its check stands. In 1997, ABCO Foods applied for licenses to sell liquor at nine Tucson locations.] When Fleming decided to pull out of the retail category, ABCO was one of the first chains put on the block. The result was the loss of these markets, consisting of 56 stores at the time of its closure. The last ABCO store closed in the summer of 2001. The stores were sold separately to many different companies, including

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 ...

Bashas' Bashas' is a family-owned grocery store chain, primarily located in Arizona, with two locations outside the state in Crownpoint, New Mexico, and Shiprock, New Mexico. Its headquarters are in unincorporated Maricopa County, Arizona, near Chan ...

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 many independent grocers operating as IGA stores. Over the past few years, many of these stores have, in turn, changed hands from their original buyers. There have been rumors that ABCO Foods re-launched in 2006, closing again by May 2007, however, these rumors are unsubstantiated.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abco Foods Retail companies established in 1996 Retail companies disestablished in 2001 Defunct supermarkets of the United States Retail companies established in 2006 Retail companies disestablished in 2007 1996 establishments in Arizona 2006 establishments in Arizona