Eby-Brown

Last updated
Eby-Brown Co.
Company type Subsidiary
Industry Wholesale Distributor
Founded1887
Headquarters Naperville, Illinois, USA
Key people
Dick Wake, Tom Wake, Co-Presidents and CEOs
Number of employees
2,300
Parent Performance Food Group
Website www.Eby-Brown.com

Eby-Brown is the largest privately owned tobacco, candy and convenience distributor in the United States. Founded in 1887, Eby-Brown has been led by members of the Wake family for over 50 years. On March 19, 2019, Eby-Brown announced that it has agreed to be acquired by Performance Food Group. [1]

Contents

Locations

Ypsilanti distribution center Eby-brown distribution center ypsilanti.JPG
Ypsilanti distribution center

Eby-Brown's corporate headquarters is located in Naperville, Illinois. Eby-Brown's locations are: [2]

History

During its 130-year history, the Eby-Brown Company has changed ownership many times.

In the beginning

In 1888, Jacob Eby began a wholesale tobacco and candy manufacturing business at 128 W. Downer Place in Aurora, Illinois. In 1892, he formed a partnership with Edward Hinman and operated as "Eby and Hinman." A few years later, Peter Michels joined the firm and the company became "Eby, Hinman and Michels." In 1904, Michels sold his share of the business to C.C. Loser and T.H. Day, and the company was renamed Eby Loser Co." Loser and Day disposed of their holdings in 1907, but the firm continued to operate as Eby Loser until 1930. In 1912, candy manufacturing was discontinued. In 1930, Mr. Eby sold out to R.H. Youngen and A.E. Hallman, who renamed the company "Eby-Youngen."

The last name change

After World War II, Lyle Brown, Sr. bought out Youngen and Hallman, and gave the business its present name, "Eby-Brown Co." Lyle Brown discontinued the company's Schlitz Beer distributorship (even though the trucks continue to be painted in the traditional Schlitz color scheme to this day). Under Lyle Brown's direction, Eby-Brown Aurora and Joliet expanded rapidly. Within eight years, Brown had created Elgin Eby-Brown.

The family business anew

In 1956, W.H. (Mike) Michael and W.S. (Bill) Wake, two Elgin Eby-Brown salespeople, bought Elgin Eby-Brown. A year later, they bought Aurora Eby-Brown. The J.C. Theis Co. was purchased in 1960 and transformed into McHenry Eby-Brown. Galesburg Eby-Brown was begun in 1976, when the assets of Galesburg Cigar were purchased.

Current generation

In 1983, Mike Michael sold his interest in Eby-Brown to Bill Wake. Later that year, Tom and Dick Wake began to assume ownership of the Eby-Brown companies. Early in 1989, assets of Schiller Wholesale of Michigan were purchased. In mid-1989, assets of the Smith-Harris Company of Indianapolis were purchased, extending Eby-Brown's reach into Ohio and Kentucky. In January 1994, assets of Bosart Company of Springfield, Ohio were purchased. In March 1998, the assets of J.L. Lester Company of Rockmart, Georgia were purchased. In February 1999, Eby-Brown in Eau Claire, Wisconsin opened. In April 1999, Eby-Brown in Orlando, Florida opened. In September 2000, the assets of F.A. Davis and Sons in Baltimore, Maryland were purchased. In December 2000, Aurora Eby-Brown moved to Montgomery, Illinois. In January 2001, Elgin Eby-Brown joined the Aurora members in Montgomery. Also in January 2001, McHenry Eby-Brown merged with Eau Claire Eby-Brown. The Orlando, Florida location was closed in December 2005. In January 2008, the commissary operations in Springfield, Ohio expanded into a new company called NewFreshCo Foods LLC. The new company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Eby-Brown LLC. It operates under the name Wakefield Sandwich Company. [3] March 1, 2016 Eby-Brown acquires Liberty USA in West Mifflin, PA. [4]

Today, Eby-Brown is the third largest convenience distributor nationally, and continues to consolidate competitors and service programs from other vendors delivering convenience stores. [5]

On March 19, 2019, Eby-Brown announced that it has agreed to be bought by Performance Food Group and that Dick and Tom Wake and current management will continue to run Eby-Brown as a subsidiary of Performance Food Group. [1]

Service area

Convenience stores, drug stores, grocery stores, liquor stores, gas stations, newspaper stands, and schools are just some of the types of accounts Eby-Brown services. Today, Eby-Brown's service area includes Alabama, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Facts and figures

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jewel-Osco</span> American supermarket chain

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 northwest Indiana. Jewel-Osco has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Boise-based Albertsons since 1999. The company originally started as a door-to-door coffee delivery service before it expanded into delivering non-perishable groceries and later into grocery stores, and supermarkets. Prior to its 1984 acquisition by American Stores, Jewel evolved into a large multi-state holding company that operated several supermarket chains and other non-food retail chain stores located from coast to coast and had operated under several different brand names.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carpentersville, Illinois</span> Village in Illinois, United States

Carpentersville is a village in Kane County, Illinois, United States. The population was 37,983 at the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company</span> Defunct American brewing company (1849–1999)

Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company was an American brewery based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and was once the largest producer of beer in the United States. Its namesake beer, Schlitz, was known as "The beer that made Milwaukee famous" and was advertised with the slogan "When you're out of Schlitz, you're out of beer". Schlitz first became the largest beer producer in the US in 1902 and enjoyed that status at several points during the first half of the 20th century, exchanging the title with Anheuser-Busch multiple times during the 1950s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Menards</span> American home improvement chain in the Midwestern United States

Menards is an American home improvement retail company headquartered in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Menards is owned by founder John Menard Jr. through his privately held company, Menard, Inc. It has 351 stores in 15 states: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming, with plans to expand to Pennsylvania. Menards is the third-largest home improvement store in the United States, behind Lowe's and The Home Depot.

Copley Press was a privately held newspaper business, founded in Illinois but later based in La Jolla, California. Its flagship paper was The San Diego Union-Tribune.

Brown Publishing Company was a privately owned Cincinnati, Ohio, newspaper business started by Congressman Clarence J. Brown in Blanchester, Ohio in 1920. It ended 90 years of operations in August/September 2010 with its bankruptcy and sale of assets to a new company formed by its creditors and called Ohio Community Media Inc. The company was previously a family-owned business; it published 18 daily newspapers, 27 weekly newspapers, and 26 free weeklies. The former CEO was Brown's grandson, Roy Brown. The chairman of the board was Roy's brother Clancy Brown, who is also an actor.

P.A. Bergner & Co. was an upscale Midwestern department store in the United States, that was established in 1889. The chain is now an online retailer operated by BrandX.com, Inc. The flagship store was located in Peoria, Illinois at The Shoppes at Grande Prairie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Two Brothers Brewing</span> Brewery in Warrenville, Illinois

Two Brothers Brewing Company is an independently owned Illinois-based microbrewery founded by brothers Jim and Jason Ebel in 1996. The brothers brought their knowledge of different brewing styles to the Chicago craft brew market after living in Europe and experiencing the variety of beers available there. Jim and Jason started the business using bulk milk tanks converted into fermenters that were donated to them by their grandfather who was a retired dairy farmer. Two Brothers Brewing has now been in business for over 20 years and has opened multiple locations throughout the Chicago metropolitan area, as well as one in Arizona.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Illinois Technology and Research Corridor</span> Region of commerce and industry along Interstate 88 in the Chicago metropolitan area

The Illinois Technology and Research Corridor is a region of commerce and industry located along Interstate 88 in the Chicago metropolitan area, primarily in Cook, DuPage, Kane, and DeKalb Counties. The corridor is home to the headquarters or regional centers for many Fortune 1000 companies, several office and industrial parks, colleges and universities, research and scientific institutions, medical centers, government centers, and abundant shopping, dining, lodging, and entertainment amenities. In addition to the I-90 Golden Corridor, the I-94 Lakeshore Corridor, and the I-55 Industrial Corridor, the Illinois Technology and Research Corridor is one of the principal economic centers in suburban Chicago.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fox River Trolley Museum</span> Railroad museum in South Elgin, Illinois, US

The Fox River Trolley Museum is a railroad museum in South Elgin, Illinois. Incorporated in 1961 as R.E.L.I.C., it opened in 1966 and became the Fox River Trolley Museum in 1984.

The Naperville Sun is a newspaper based in Naperville, Illinois, USA. It is published three days a week, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. It is owned by Tribune Publishing's Chicago Tribune Media Group, a group that also includes the Aurora Beacon News, the Elgin Courier News and the Lake County News Sun, formerly Waukegan News Sun.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ira C. Copley</span> American politician and utility tycoon

Ira Clifton Copley was an American publisher, politician, and utility tycoon. From 1911 to 1923, he served 6 consecutive terms in the U.S. House of Representatives

The Aurora, Elgin & Fox River Electric (AE&FRE), was an interurban railroad that operated freight and passenger service on its line paralleling the Fox River. It served the communities of Carpentersville, Dundee, Elgin, South Elgin, St. Charles, Geneva, Batavia, North Aurora, Aurora, Montgomery, and Yorkville in Illinois. It also operated local streetcar lines in both Aurora and Elgin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Illinois State Bar Association</span>

The Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA) is among largest voluntary state bar associations in the United States. Approximately 28,000 lawyers are members of the ISBA. Unlike some state bar associations, in which membership is mandatory, ISBA membership is not required of lawyers licensed to practice in Illinois and ISBA membership is completely voluntary. The ISBA is headquartered in Springfield, Illinois. It also has an office in Chicago, Illinois.

Ohio Community Media was an American privately owned publisher of daily and weekly newspapers, primarily in the state of Ohio. It was headquartered in the Dayton suburb of Miamisburg, Ohio, and was owned by Philadelphia-based Versa Capital Management.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GPM Investments</span>

GPM Investments LLC (GPM) is a convenience store owner and operator based in Richmond, Virginia. Founded in 2003, it originally operated the Fas Mart and Shore Stop brands of convenience stores, and decided to expand.

References

  1. 1 2 "Naperville-based convenience store distributor to be acquired". Crain's Chicago Business. March 19, 2019.
  2. ↑ "Our Locations | Eby-Brown". www.eby-brown.com.
  3. ↑ "Wakefields Sandwich Co". Archived from the original on 2008-12-25. Retrieved 2009-01-05.
  4. ↑ "Eby-Brown in the News | Eby-Brown". www.eby-brown.com.
  5. ↑ "CS Decisions.com". Archived from the original on 2009-06-10. Retrieved 2009-01-05.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Who We Are | Eby-Brown". www.eby-brown.com.

Silent Giant: America’s Biggest Private Company Reveals Its Plan To Get Even Bigger:

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.