QFI (supermarket)

Last updated

QFI was a San Francisco supermarket chain founded in the late 1940s by John Musso. Originally, some QFI locations were leased, resulting in some stores being co-named with others (such as Lick Super Market). By the 1970s, when Musso's son Leo took over, all QFI stores were wholly owned and operated. QFI peaked as the number three grocery chain in the region, behind Safeway and Lucky, and had about 14 locations ranging from San Francisco south to Redwood City.

Contents

In 1973, QFI was acquired by Cala Foods, which itself was acquired by Ralphs (a subsidiary of Kroger) in the 1990s. In August 2006, Ralphs reached an agreement to sell 11 of 13 Cala Food and Bell Market stores back to Harley DeLano, previous manager of the Cala chain. In January 2007, DeLano Retail Partners took control of all but one Cala Foods Store and immediately rebranded the stores to DeLano's IGA. In late 2010, it was announced that Delano's was struggling financially and that the majority of DeLano's IGA locations would be closing. [1]

Previous Locations

Redwood City, Millbrae, San Francisco, South San Francisco 2 locations, San Mateo

See also

Related Research Articles

Albertsons Companies, Inc. is an American grocery company founded and headquartered in Boise, Idaho.

Sobeys Inc. is a national supermarket chain in Canada with over 1,500 stores operating under a variety of banners. Headquartered in Stellarton, Nova Scotia, it operates stores in all ten provinces and accumulated sales of more than C$25.1 billion in the fiscal 2019 operating year. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Empire Company Limited, a Canadian business conglomerate.

Dominion was a national chain of supermarkets in Canada, which was known as the Dominion of Canada when the chain was founded. The chain was founded in 1919 in Ontario and was later acquired by the Argus Corporation. It was later sold to The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (A&P), which restricted the chain to the Greater Toronto Area. Stores outside Ontario were converted to the A&P banner or sold to third parties. A&P's Canadian division was later acquired by Metro Inc., which rebranded the remaining Dominion stores to its namesake banner in 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kroger</span> American retail company

The Kroger Company, or simply Kroger, is an American retail company that operates supermarkets and multi-department stores throughout the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ralphs</span> American supermarket chain owned by Kroger

Ralphs is an American supermarket chain in Southern California. The largest subsidiary of Cincinnati-based Kroger, it is the oldest such chain west of the Mississippi River. Kroger also operates stores under the Food 4 Less and Foods Co. names in California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acme Markets</span> American supermarket chain

Acme Markets Inc. is a supermarket chain operating 161 stores throughout Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, the Hudson Valley of New York, and Pennsylvania and, as of 1999, is a subsidiary of Albertsons, and part of its presence in the Northeast. It is headquartered in East Whiteland Township, Pennsylvania, near Malvern, a Philadelphia suburb.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Safeway</span> American supermarket chain owned by Albertsons Companies, Inc

Safeway, Inc. is an American supermarket chain. The chain provides grocery items, food and general merchandise and features a variety of specialty departments, such as bakery, delicatessen, floral and pharmacy, as well as Starbucks coffee shops and fuel centers. It is a subsidiary of Albertsons after being acquired by private equity investors led by Cerberus Capital Management in January 2015. Safeway's primary base of operations is in the Western United States with some stores located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the Eastern Seaboard. The subsidiary is headquartered in Pleasanton, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Weis Markets</span> American supermarket chain

Weis Markets, Inc. is a Mid-Atlantic food retailer headquartered in Sunbury, Pennsylvania. It currently operates 200 stores with over 23,000 employees in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, West Virginia, Virginia, and Delaware.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">IGA (supermarkets)</span> American multinational supermarket chain franchise

IGA, Inc., is an Australian/American voluntary chain of grocery stores that operates in more than 41 countries. Unlike the chain store business model, IGA operates as a franchise through stores that are owned separately from the brand. Many of these stores operate in small-town markets and belong to families that manage them. It was founded in the United States as the Independent Grocers Alliance in 1926. The headquarters is in Chicago, Illinois.

SuperValu, Inc., was an American wholesaler and retailer of grocery products. The company, formerly headquartered in the Minneapolis suburb of Eden Prairie, Minnesota, had been in business since 1926. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of United Natural Foods (UNFI).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steinberg's (supermarket)</span> Defunct Canadian supermarket chain

Steinberg's was a large family-owned Canadian grocery store chain that mainly operated in the province of Quebec and later Ontario. In addition to its flagship supermarket chain, the company operated several subsidiaries across the country. The company went bankrupt in 1992, three years after being sold to private interests, after 75 years in business.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lucky Stores</span> American supermarket chain

Lucky Stores is an American supermarket chain founded in San Leandro, California, in 1935. Lucky is currently operated by Albertsons in Utah and Save Mart Supermarkets in Northern California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cala Foods</span>

Cala Foods was a supermarket chain operating in San Francisco, California. Cala Foods was the sister chain to Bell Markets. The last Cala Foods store closed its doors on December 1, 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Petrini's</span>

The Petrini's market chain was established in San Francisco and run as a family owned business until 1989, when it was sold to a large corporation, Provigo. The markets were widely known for having finest range of meat in the San Francisco area, and the marketing strategies employed at the stores are still an inspiration for grocers nationwide. At the beginning of the 20th century grocery stores were somewhat much like department stores with different partners owning and operating their own departments. The founder started out operating the meat section of Lick Market on 7th and Clement in 1935 under such a scheme. He opened three other markets within a few years of that time.

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 January 21, 2002, AppleTree had reduced its holdings to two stores in Bryan, Texas, where it had shifted its headquarters. One of the remaining locations was sold in 2009 and the final location, in Bryan at Highway 21 and Texas Avenue, closed in early 2012, marking the end of the chain.

Glen's Markets was an American supermarket chain founded in Gaylord, Michigan in 1951. The chain had over 20 stores throughout northern Michigan at its peak. It was a subsidiary of SpartanNash, who converted most of the chain's locations to its Family Fare banner between 2010 and 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minit Mart</span> American regional convenience store chain

Minit Mart LLC is a chain of convenience stores operating in South Central and Western Kentucky, northern Middle Tennessee, eastern Wisconsin, Kansas City, Northeast Illinois, and Northeast Ohio. Its corporate offices are located in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the chain consists of 231 locations scattered around the United States.

Market Basket was the name used by two separate chains of supermarkets within Southern California. The first chain originated in Pasadena and operated from 1930 until 1982. The second chain operated from 1989 until 1994.

References

  1. Said, Carolyn; Newton, Casey (2010-11-30). "End of line for some DeLano's markets". San Francisco Chronicle.

Grocerteria profile: QFI