America's Oldest Grocery Store Chain Is Almost 150 Years Old
There are a handful of grocery store chains in the U.S. that are household names — from Aldi and Publix to Whole Foods and Albertson's — but the country's oldest grocery chain dates back to 1883 when its founder, Barney Kroger, opened up his first grocery store in Cincinnati, Ohio, with all the money he had — $372. Kroger's early motto was "Never sell anything you would not want yourself." That seems to have paid off, as the store is quickly approaching its 150th birthday (in 2033). With all these years under its belt, part of the untold truth of Kroger is that it's one of the most recognized names in the grocery industry and also runs 35 food manufacturing plants.
What made Kroger stand out from the start was its groundbreaking approach. In 1901, it introduced a revolutionary concept and changed grocery stores forever by baking its own bread. After adding a butcher department, Kroger was on the precipice of "one-stop shopping," as customers previously had to visit different specialized shops to check off everything on their grocery list. While it wasn't the first to adopt the "supermarket" model, the chain has been behind many innovations that have changed the way we shop for groceries in the U.S.
How Kroger became one of the biggest grocery stores in the U.S.
In addition to adding a bakery and butcher to make shopping more convenient, Kroger innovated with less expensive private-label products and even home delivery! In the early days, the store delivered its products by horse-drawn carriage. Today, Kroger continues to stay on the cutting edge: Customers can order online, and their groceries may even arrive by drone.
By the early 20th century, Kroger was on a steady path of acquiring smaller stores to increase its presence. The chain's big leap came in the 1930s, when it embraced the supermarket model, offering bigger stores with a wide variety of products. Kroger has also been behind practices that have become industry standards, like in-house quality control and electronic scanners for grocery store bar codes.
Kroger now runs over 2,700 stores, some under other familiar grocery names like Fred Meyer and Fry's. Most recently, Kroger tried to merge with Albertson's, which would have majorly expanded its footprint — the idea was to compete with massive retailers like Walmart and Amazon. However, the government blocked this merger, saying it wouldn't be good for competition or shoppers. Now, we have to wait and see what unfolds for the country's oldest grocery store chain as it continues to expand and hold on to its mega grocer ranking.