 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | mid-1950s Michigan, United States |
| Defunct | 1987 |
| Fate | Defunct |
| Headquarters | |
Key people | Alex Dandy |
| Products | Groceries |
| Owners | Last owner Alex Dandy |
Chatham was a supermarket chain, now-defunct, headquartered in southeastern Michigan, United States.
The Jewish Weisberg family, [1] already in the grocery business, purchased Chatham Village Supermarket in 1947. [2] [3] By 1963, Chatham (the "Village" having been dropped) had grown to nine stores in East Side Detroit. [4] Peter Weisberg served as president and chairman of the board [2] and various other family members occupied top executive positions. [3] By August 1968, it had grown to 24 stores. [5]
In 1975, it was the first company in the Michigan area to try out the Universal Product Code. [6]
In October 1980, it was believed that Chatham was the second largest supermarket chain in the region by number of stores (44) and sales volume (around $550 million), behind Farmer Jack, although this could not be confirmed because Chatham was privately owned and did not provide any data. [7] That year, it also had three Warehouse Way discount drugstores and a Chatham Plus superstore and opened a warehouse store called Pak-n-Save. [7] In 1982, the Chatham Plus five-year experiment was considered a failure, as was a wholesale meat processing plant; [8] opening in 1966, the latter closed in January 1979. [9] At the time of its sale in May 1985, the chain had either 50 stores, [3] 39 stores, or 33 supermarkets and eight Pak-n-Saves; [10] it was purchased by Nu-Trax, Inc., headed by Wendell Smith. [10] [11]
In March 1986, Nu-Trax was purchased by Alex Dandy, a businessman who owned the Hamady Brothers food chain in Flint, Michigan, [11] [12] at which point Chatham was down to 21 stores and 1000 employees. [13] Under his leadership, all but two stores were shut down. [13] Dandy illegally diverted assets of the company for his personal benefit, and Chatham was forced to file for bankruptcy in 1987. [11] Dandy was convicted in 1991, of tax offenses, mail fraud, bankruptcy fraud, and obstruction of justice. [11]
The article states both 39 stores and 33 supermarkets/eight Pak-n-Saves.