Grocery Outlet - History

History

In 1946, Jim Read purchased excess government surplus food products and put them into vacant stores, starting Cannery Sales in San Francisco. In 1948, Read and Nate Narin, his partner, converted the stores and company name to US Markets. Ten years later, Read sold out interest in US Markets to Narin.

In 1959, Read acquired interest in Big Bonus Foods, a 10-store California Bay Area chain, selling regular and surplus merchandise, as well as perishables. Globe of California was procured in 1970, and the name of both companies was changed to Canned Foods. The business concept became converted to factory seconds, closeouts, and discontinued products.

1971 marked a big milestone for the company: the first supplier agreement with Del Monte was signed. Canned Foods opened its first independent store in Redmond, Oregon. In 1982, Jim Read died; his sons, Peter and Steven, assumed management control. Soon after, the Frozen Food category was added. 1984 marked the celebration of $100 million in sales for Canned Foods, Inc., as well as the inclusion of the new Deli category. In 1987, the company started the transition to the name Grocery Outlet, to reflect a wider product offering.

The 1990s were a period of great growth and achievement for the company. In 1990, they reached $250 million in annual sales. The company’s 100th store opened in 1995. In 1999, the Fresh Produce category was added.

Grocery Outlet acquired the remaining liquidated inventories of webvan and wine.com in 2001, as well as reaching their $500 million sales milestone. In 2002, the corporate name of the company was changed to Grocery Outlet Inc., which is what it remains today.