| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail (Grocery) |
| Founded | Tyler, Texas, 1928 |
| Headquarters | Tyler, Texas USA |
| Number of locations | 151 |
| Key people | Rick Rayford, President and CEO |
| Employees | 12,700 |
| Divisions | Brookshire's Food Stores Super 1 Foods Stores Olé Foods Stores ALPs Stores |
Brookshire Grocery Company is a Tyler, Texas-based supermarket chain with 151 stores operating in Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas. Until recently, the company had operated 4 stores in Mississippi but recently pulled out with a sale to Kroger and a local chain, Food Depot. The company was founded in 1928 by Wood T. and Louise Brookshire, when they opened their first 25 x 100-foot (30 m) store on Tyler’s downtown square. Brookshire's was originally part of the Brookshire Brothers chain, which was founded seven years earlier in Lufkin, Texas. The companies split in 1939, when Wood T. Brookshire took control of the Tyler-area stores in exchange for his share in the Brookshire Brothers partnership.[1] The companies are no longer related except by name.
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In the 1940s, the company expanded to other neighboring communities and opened its first shopping center location. Brookshire’s first warehouse opened in Tyler in 1953.
The 1960s saw the company's expansion into Louisiana and the construction of a 175,000-square-foot (16,300 m2) distribution center in Tyler.
The company opened several Super 1 Foods stores in the Dallas/Fort Worth area in the late 1990s and early 2000s, some of which were replacements for nearby Brookshire's locations. The company sold all metro area stores to (now defunct) Fleming, which re-branded them as Rainbow Foods. All Rainbow stores were closed when Fleming went out of business.
The Brookshire Grocery Company also opened FRESH by Brookshire's in Tyler, TX on February 16, 2011.
Today the company has more than 13,795 employee/partners serving customers in four store formats.
The company has long been known for its benevolent contributions and community service. Brookshire Grocery Co. is a loyal supporter of local food banks, schools, and various charitable organizations. Each year the company organizes an effort known as the Spirit of Christmas Food Drive that collects and delivers enough food to provide several meals for some 15,000 households of people in need. Brookshire’s Benefit Golf Tournament raises upwards of $230,000 annually for the Children's Miracle Network and other children’s charities. The company’s Adopt-A-School Program teams up employee/partners with neighborhood schools and students to provide support for everything from mentoring programs to fundraisers. In 2005, partners built their first Habitat for Humanity house in Tyler. In all, the company contributes to more than 800 organizations each year.
In 2002, Brookshire's bought four Albertsons stores in Mississippi These stores were located at 5841 Ridgewood Road in North Jackson, 2861 Terry Road in South Jackson, 7045 Old Canton Road in Ridgeland and 143 Albertsons Drive in Flowood. The North Jackson store is the newest of the four locations, having opened in 2001, while the other area stores in South Jackson, Flowood, and Ridgeland having opened in 1997.
On February 11, 2010; after a decline in market grocery shares against Kroger and Walmart, Brookshire's exited Mississippi with a sale of two stores (in Flowood at 143 Albertsons Drive and Ridgeland at 7045 Old Canton Road) to Kroger and closure of two other stores in Jackson at 2861 Terry Road in South Jackson and 5841 Ridgewood Road in North Jackson. The Flowood and Ridgeland locations only closed for one day and quickly reopening, changing signage to Kroger with no interior modifications. Following the 2010 closure of both Jackson stores, they were liquidated and all equipment were removed. In late 2011, Brookshire's sold their South Jackson store at 2861 Terry Road to Kosciusko, MS based supermarket chain FOOD DEPOT, operated by Potter and Sims Foods. After extensive renovations, new freezers and equipment installed, the South Jackson store is set to open late January 2012; with a few changes: Deli was moved from the back of the store to the front and combined with Bakery, Pharmacy removed, Seafood became expanded Fresh Meat department. The North Jackson location at 5841 Ridgewood Road (the largest of the four area stores) is still closed as of January 2012. Although these stores have found new owners, the circa 1997 stores still features Albertsons 1996 interior decor package (with very few signage modifications); while the North Jackson location still features Albertsons 2001 interior decor package.
2. http://freshbybrookshires.com/