Gerland Corporation was a retail company headquartered in

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; the company operates various

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, gas stations, and check cashing stores within the

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History

A. J. Gerland founded the ''Gerland's Food Fair'' chain in 1967. The first store was located in the Spring Branch area in northwest Houston. Following the success of the

Weingarten's Weingarten's was a supermarket chain in the Southern United States until it was acquired by Safeway Inc., Safeway in 1983. J. Weingarten, Inc. had its headquarters in what is now the East End, Houston, East End in Houston, Texas. History Hersch H ...

and Randall's supermarket chains in Houston, Gerland's added bakery and delicatessen departments to its stores in the late 1970s. In recent decades both in-store pharmacies and gas stations were added at certain locations; however, the two gas stations that were in service have both been shut down and repaved. In 1980 Gerland's had 6% of the Houston-area grocery market share, making it the fifth largest grocer there.Sit-DuVall, Mary.
`Right' store was ripe for picking / Randalls joins trend with deal

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Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With i ...

''. Saturday July 24, 1999. Business 1. Retrieved on December 1, 2011. Gerland's acquired several stores from the defunct Weingarten chain in 1981, and operated more than 40 store locations in the Houston area by 1990. While most were company-owned, a handful of the Gerland's stores were independently owned franchises. In 1994 Gerland acquired five stores from

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 Janu ...

. On February 28, 1999, Gerland's had 15 locations. It had an annual sales of $163.5 million. It had 3.1% of the Houston market, making it the sixth largest grocer in Houston. It had 1,650 Houston-area employees. Within the year until February 28, 1999, it remodeled one store.Hassell, Greg.
CHRONICLE 100 LEADING COMPANIES OF HOUSTON / Grocers getting food for thought
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Sunday May 23, 1999. Special Section, Page 38. Retrieved on December 1, 2011. In July 1999 it had 3.2% of the area market share, still being the sixth largest grocer. In 2002 Gerland's was Houston's seventh largest grocer, with 16 locations generating $185.9 million in sales. It had 1,005 Houston area employees. At the time its headquarters was in Pasadena.Staff.
CHRONICLE 100 LEADING COMPANIES OF HOUSTON / CHRONICLE 100 GROCERY - FILL IT UP UNLEADED / Largest grocery chains
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''. Sunday May 20, 2001. Special Section Page 33. Retrieved on December 1, 2011. In 2015, Gerland's was purchased by Lewis Food Town, another local, independent grocer established in Houston. All Gerland's were converted to Food Town and the owners retired.

Operations

Most grocery stores operated by the company are ''Gerland's Food Fair''; stores are located in

, La Porte, unincorporated sections of Harris County, and unincorporated sections of Montgomery County. ''Grand Market'' was an upscale store; it was located in

Sugar Land Sugar Land is the largest city in Fort Bend County, Texas, United States, located in the southwestern part of the metropolitan area. Located about southwest of downtown Houston, Sugar Land is a populous suburban municipality centered around ...

until closing in 2011. ''Food Town'' is another name brand; Food Town stores are located in Houston, unincorporated sections of Harris County, Sugar Land, and Deer Park. Two Food Town stores in unincorporated Harris County included combined gasoline stations and convenience stores referred to as ''Food Town Express,'' however they have both recently been shut down. ''Check Cashing & More'' are check cashing stores; they are located in Houston, Pasadena, and Baytown. Lewis Food Town bought out Gerland's as of 2015. Therefore changing all the ''Food Fairs'' they owned into ''Food Towns''.

References

External links

Gerland's Food Fair

Gerland's Food Fair Inc.
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{{Supermarkets of the United States Retail companies established in 1967 Supermarkets of the United States Companies based in Houston 1967 establishments in Texas