Jr. Food Stores is a chain of

convenience stores A convenience store, convenience shop, corner store or corner shop is a small retail business that stocks a range of everyday items such as coffee, groceries, snack foods, confectionery, soft drinks, ice creams, tobacco products, lottery ticket ...

operating in south central

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

and northern

Middle Tennessee Middle Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of the U.S. state of Tennessee that composes roughly the central portion of the state. It is delineated according to state law as 41 of the state's 95 counties. Middle Tennessee contains the s ...

, with approximately 41 retail locations. It is owned by

Houchens Industries Houchens Industries is an American employee-owned company, in business since 1917 when it began as a small grocery operated by founder Ervin Houchens in rural Barren County, Kentucky. The company is headquartered in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The c ...

. The chain is not related to

Jr. Food Mart Jr. Food Mart is a chain of convenience stores found throughout the southern United States. History In the 1960s, Jr. Food Mart was chartered as a subsidiary to the supermarket chain Jitney Jungle. Today, the company is an independent compan ...

(founded 1960), which is an outgrowth of the now-defunct

Jitney Jungle Jitney Jungle was a chain of supermarkets that began in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1919. It was a private Forbes 500 company and one of the largest privately held grocery store chains in the United States. It was acquired by Winn-Dixie in 2000. Or ...

supermarket chain and continues to operate convenience stores in Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, or the now-defunct Jr. Food Stores chain based in

Panama City, Florida Panama City is a city in and the county seat of Bay County, Florida, United States. Located along U.S. Highway 98 (US 98), it is the largest city between Tallahassee and Pensacola. It is the more populated city of the Panama City–Lynn Ha ...

(founded 1961), which had locations in five

Gulf Coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South, is the coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The coastal states that have a shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico are Texas, Louisiana, Mississ ...

states and was sold in 1995.

History

Jr. Food Stores was founded in 1969 by Lester D. Reeves and the Reeves family of

Bowling Green, Kentucky Bowling Green is a home rule-class city and the county seat of Warren County, Kentucky, United States. Founded by pioneers in 1798, Bowling Green was the provisional capital of Confederate Kentucky during the American Civil War. As of the 2 ...

, who operated up to 9 larger supermarkets called Reeves Food Centers in and around their hometown. On June 2, 1984, after 30 years operation, the supermarkets were sold. Six were purchased by Reeves Food Centers, Inc. employees, Steve Riley, who was a vice president with the company, and David Huffman, a supervisor. The other 3 stores, located in Cave City, Greensburg and Munfordville, Kentucky, were sold to out-of-town investors. The first Jr. Food Store opened in January 1969 in the 1400 block of Adams Street in Bowling Green, KY. Lester Reeves founded the company and eventually 2 of his sons worked directly in the business. The oldest son, Alan Reeves, joined the company in 1973, was appointed to director of marketing in 1976 and was promoted to vice president, director of operations in August 1981. Alan Reeves was appointed to the position of president in July 1988, a position he held until the company was sold. The youngest son of Lester Reeves, Robin Reeves, also joined the company in 1982, and after serving as director of gasoline marketing, was appointed to director of marketing in October 1992, and then vice president of marketing in February 1994. The chain grew both by opening new stores and through strategic acquisitions of existing stores. In the early 1970s, Jr. Food Stores purchased Witty's Super Sak in Edmonton, Kentucky. In April 1982, Jr. Food Stores acquired 3 Tucker's Minit Marts located in Bowling Green, KY, bringing the total operations to 39 stores. Six locations were purchased in October 1983 in Radcliff and Elizabethtown, Kentucky from Blue Bird Food Marts. In March 1986, Jr. Food Stores purchased Dixon's 21st Street Market, which was owned by Seldon and Ann Dixon, adding to the 45 other stores owned at that time. In May 1998, the Reeves family sold the convenience stores to their former cross-town competitor

, who operate smaller supermarkets in towns and cities surrounding Bowling Green.

References

FundingUniverse: Houchens Industries historyKentucky Business Services: Jr. Food Stores, Inc.
{{Bowling Green, Kentucky Bowling Green, Kentucky Retail companies based in Kentucky Economy of the Southeastern United States Convenience stores of the United States Retail companies established in 1968 1968 establishments in Kentucky