Eagle Food Centers

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Eagle Food Centers

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Company type	Grocer, subsidiary of Lucky Stores
Industry	Retail
Founded	1893, Davenport, Iowa, United States
Defunct	2003
Headquarters	Milan, Illinois, United States
Key people	Tenenbom family (founders); Richard & Maynard Waxenberg; Howard Cohn;, Ben and Morris Geifman; Frank, Bernard & Ira Weindruch
Products	Bakery, dairy, deli, frozen foods, general grocery, meat, pharmacy, produce, seafood, snacks, liquor
Parent	Lucky

Eagle Food Centers was a supermarket chain that operated across Iowa, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Illinois for many years. Headquartered in Milan, Illinois, the company managed stores under various brand names such as BOGO'S, Eagle Country Market, Eagle Discount Centers, Eagle Discount Supermarkets, Eagle Food Centers, May's Drug, and MEMCO. Additionally, Eagle ran supermarkets in Houston called Eagle Supermarkets until March 1985. Prior to exiting the market, the chain held a 6% share and employed approximately 1,100 people.

Origins

The origins of Eagle trace back to 1893 when the Tenenbom family launched the initial store in Davenport. By 1921, Geifman's and Eagle Kash and Karry had established small neighborhood markets in the Quad-Cities area with a focus on fresh produce. Both family enterprises expanded throughout the 1930s by adding new locations. Ownership of Eagle was held by brothers-in-law Frank Weindruch and Isadore Pesses. Meanwhile, Max Geifman from Rock Island and his sons Ben and Morris managed the Illinois-based Geifman stores. Their relatives George and his sons Morris and Sam operated the Iowa Geifman outlets. By 1935, self-service shopping became a significant trend in grocery retailing; Eagle and other retailers adapted by offering self-service options at reduced prices.

1950s–1960s

Following Abe Tenenbom’s death in 1952, his nephew Richard Waxenberg assumed control of Tenenboms. Concurrently, the Illinois Geifman stores combined their five locations with eight stores owned by Davenport’s Tenenbom-Waxenberg family to form United Supermarkets. In 1954, United merged with ten Eagle Kash and Karry stores to create the region’s largest chain under the name Eagle-United Supermarkets. The construction of a new 155,000 square feet (14,400 m²) warehouse in Milan was finalized in 1957; the previous Eagle warehouse on Fifth Avenue in Moline was sold to Fresh-Pak Candy. In 1961, Consolidated Foods Corp., based in Chicago and owner of 68 Piggly Wiggly stores at that time, acquired Eagle. Subsequently, operations of Eagle and Piggly Wiggly were consolidated at Eagle’s Milan corporate office and warehouse. In 1965, Coin Bakery from Rock Island was acquired and integrated into Eagle's operations as Harvest Day Bakery.

Acquisition by Lucky

In 1968, California-based Lucky Stores acquired Eagle Food Centers from Consolidated Foods Corporation. Subsequently, both Eagle Food Centers and Piggly Wiggly outlets were rebranded as Eagle Discount Supermarkets, adopting Lucky's effective discount pricing strategy. Lucky established the Lucky Midwestern Division headquarters in Milan, Illinois.

1980s Developments

By 1981, Eagle operated 136 locations, generating $1.2 billion in revenue (~$Template:Format price adjusted for Template:Inflation/year). The company expanded its Midwest presence by launching a distribution center in Westville, Indiana. In 1984, a strike initiated by the United Food and Commercial Workers against Eagle Foods Stores led to strained labor relations. After four years, the Westville distribution center was shut down in 1985. In November 1987, Lucky Stores divested majority control of Eagle Food Stores to Odyssey Partners, a New York investment firm. This capital infusion enabled Eagle to renovate existing stores and open new locations. In December 1987, Eagle submitted a building permit for a $1.2 million (~$Template:Format price in Template:Inflation/year) expansion of its Avenue of the Cities store in Moline, increasing its size by 13,000 square feet (1,200 m²). New outlets were launched in 1988 in Galesburg and Downers Grove, a Chicago suburb. That August, Eagle announced plans for a $2.5 million (~$Template:Format price in Template:Inflation/year), 42,600-square-foot (3,960 m²) grocery store in East Moline to replace an older 27,700-square-foot (2,570 m²) facility at 1313 42nd Ave.

In November 1988, Eagle sought permits for a $1.2 million expansion of its Milan warehouse covering 23,800-square-foot (2,210 m²), alongside a $1 million enlargement of the Geneseo store from 19,000 to 30,000 square feet (2,800 m²). By August 1989, Eagle transitioned into a publicly traded corporation.

1990s Era

During June 1990, Eagle Food Centers held its inaugural annual stockholders' meeting at the Milan Community Center and elected its first board of directors. In May 1992, Pasquale "Pat" Petitti retired as chairman and CEO after dedicating 35 years to the company. By December 1999, Eagle sold five Chicago-area stores, reducing its footprint to 90 stores across Illinois, Iowa, and Indiana. The stock price declined to $2.03 from a peak of $4.25 within the previous year, while the company reported a net loss of $1.5 million.

Bankruptcy

The company eventually struggled to compete with rivals such as Jewel-Osco, Dominick's, Hy-Vee, Walmart, and Kroger. A significant indicator was the sale of the Harvest Day bakery in Rock Island, Illinois to Metz Baking Company in 1998. In March 2000, Eagle filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

By 2003, Eagle Food Stores discontinued operations and liquidated its assets. Several locations were acquired by competitors including Hy-Vee, Kroger, Jewel, and Butera. The Downtown Eagle Corporation was created to operate two stores in Clinton, Iowa and Dubuque, Iowa, acquiring rights to use the Eagle Country Market name and branding. The Coralville location was purchased by GEICO and converted into a call center; the Cedar Rapids site was acquired by Rockwell Collins. Two stores in Iowa City were sold to Lenoch & Cilek Ace Hardware and Auto Zone respectively. The former Buffalo Grove, Illinois store was transformed into an entertainment venue named "esKape," which after acquisition by the Brunswick Corporation became one of the nation’s top-tier Brunswick bowling centers. A Galesburg store later operated as B&G grocery under former Eagle employees before becoming a Dunham's Sports location; another Galesburg store on East Main Street was demolished to make way for Nees Harley Davidson dealership. The Moline Eagle Country Market converted into a Hy-Vee store before closing; similarly, the Rock Island location was renamed Rock Island Country Market but has also ceased operations. The Elk Grove Village store became a Food 4 Less outlet which eventually closed as well. The Bolingbrook site was repurposed as a Best Buy store. Numerous former Eagle buildings remain occupied by various retailers including Kroger and Hilander (now part of Schnucks).