Food Fair

Pantry Pride
	File:Pantry Pride - 1977v.svg
	File:1969 - Pantry Pride - 12 Mar MC - Allentown PA.jpg Pantry Pride supermarket located in Allentown, Pennsylvania
Formerly	Food Fair
Industry	Grocery store
Founded	1920s in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States
Founders	Samuel N. Friedland and brother George I. Friedland
Defunct	Template:End date and age
Number of locations	275 (1957)

Template:Multiple issues

Food Fair, later rebranded as Pantry Pride, was a prominent supermarket chain operating in the United States. The enterprise was established by Samuel N. Friedland along with his brother George I. Friedland, who launched their initial store under the name Reading Giant Quality Price Cutter in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania during the late 1920s. By 1957, Food Fair operated 275 outlets, and at its height, the chain expanded to over 500 locations. The Friedland family maintained ownership until the company filed for bankruptcy in 1978.

Early Development

In the 1920s, Samuel and George Friedland inaugurated their first supermarket called "Reading Giant Quality Price Cutter." The success of this initial venture led to the establishment of additional stores. The brand name Food Fair was introduced in the late 1940s as part of the company’s growth.

In 1958, Food Fair acquired Setzer's Supermarkets, a regional chain comprising 38 stores around Jacksonville, Florida. Three years later, in 1961, the company expanded by purchasing J.M. Fields Department Stores, a discount department store chain operating primarily in New England. This acquisition significantly increased J.M. Fields' presence, especially in regions where Food Fair was already active, notably in Florida. By the 1960s, most shopping centers anchored by J.M. Fields featured either a J.M. Fields store, a Food Fair supermarket, or a Pantry Pride grocery outlet.

Emergence of Pantry Pride

File:Food Fair - 1963.svg

Final Food Fair logo from 1963

Throughout the 1960s, Food Fair experienced considerable growth; however, its most impactful acquisition was that of Best Markets, a small supermarket chain based in Philadelphia. Best Markets had introduced a private label called Pantry Pride. The inaugural Pantry Pride store opened at 9:00 a.m. on August 26, 1964, in Hazlet, New Jersey, adopting a streamlined discount grocery model. Over time, stores bearing the "Pantry Pride" brand gained greater popularity than those under the "Food Fair" name. By the early 1970s, most Food Fair locations had been rebranded as Pantry Pride outlets, further enhancing the company’s market appeal.

Growth During the 1960s and 1970s

Throughout the late 1960s, the company, primarily driven by its Pantry Pride outlets, sustained its expansion. It also increased the number of J.M. Fields stores and diversified into new sectors, including drug stores, fuel stations, and footwear retail. Additionally, it strengthened its primary operations by entering the California and Nevada markets through acquiring the Fox Markets chain. However, this western growth stretched the mainly East Coast-based retailer thin, leading to the sale of all 50 western stores by 1972. In 1976, Pantry Pride expanded further by purchasing Hills Supermarkets located in New York. Later that same year, it acquired the remaining 17 outlets of Philadelphia's Penn Fruit Company.

Gradual Decline from 1978 to 2000

In 1978, Food Fair encountered significant financial difficulties, resulting in bankruptcy. A new leadership team headed by seasoned supermarket executive Grant Gentry took charge and began reducing the scope of the $2.7 billion enterprise that operated 456 stores. By the close of 1978, the company initiated its recovery by shutting down all J.M. Fields locations. These stores were rapidly acquired by competitors such as Caldor, Jefferson Ward, and Kmart. Early in 1979, Food Fair exited its original Philadelphia market, closing over 50 stores despite holding the second-largest market share in the region. Between 1979 and 1981, more than 200 outlets and several distribution centers were closed. In 1981, Food-a-Rama purchased 14 of the 48 stores in the Baltimore area. By this point, Food Fair had emerged from bankruptcy and was headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, operating under Pantry Pride Stores, Inc. That same year, discussions began for a potential acquisition by Supermarkets General Corporation (Pathmark Stores), but these talks ended after Pantry Pride's shareholders lodged a complaint. The company outsourced its wholesale functions to Supervalu following the sale of its distribution centers in Miami and Jacksonville. Subsequently, it sold off a significant portion of its assets, including two-thirds of its remaining stores—among them all locations in Richmond, Virginia—to A&P, which continued operating these under the Pantry Pride name until 1986. At this stage, roughly 40 outlets remained in southern Florida.

In 1984, Pantry Pride expanded by acquiring Devon Stores, a home improvement retailer, along with the northeastern United States-based Adams Drug Company chain comprising 400 stores. The owner of Devon Stores gained approximately a 10.4% stake in the combined entity and then attempted to replace Pantry Pride's Board of Directors. The following year, investor Ronald Perelman purchased a controlling interest—38%—in Pantry Pride using junk bond financing. Perelman proceeded to liquidate many assets while retaining losses on the books to offset profits from MacAndrews and Forbes, which he had previously acquired. He utilized Pantry Pride as a platform for further acquisitions, notably targeting Revlon. By 1986, Pantry Pride was rebranded as Revlon Group. The Delaware Supreme Court case stemming from Revlon's acquisition by Pantry Pride—Revlon, Inc. v. MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings, Inc.—has become a landmark ruling in U.S. corporate takeover law.

In 1985, Red Apple Group—a New York supermarket chain owned by John Catsimatidis—purchased the final southern Florida stores. By 1990, supply for the chain was provided by Fleming Companies. The last new store opened in 1991 at Sunny Isles, Florida. Around this period, most locations were rebranded as Woolley's after Bill Woolley acquired that seven-store chain during the late 1980s. Following a disagreement with Catsimatidis, Fleming acquired Woolley's in 1993. By 2000, remaining outlets had either closed or been sold off. Many of these transitioned locations continue to operate under the "Food Fair" name under new ownerships. Since 2009, an unrelated enterprise called Food Fair Fresh Market has been active within the New York City metropolitan area as part of the Key Food cooperative.

Timeline

1920s – Samuel N. Friedland, a Russian immigrant, along with his brother George I. Friedland, established Food Fair Stores in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
1957 – Food Fair operates 275 retail locations.
1958 – The company acquires Setzer's Supermarkets, a Jacksonville, Florida-based chain with 40 stores.
1965 – Food Fair expands by purchasing J.M. Fields Department Stores. In the same year, the original ABC version of Supermarket Sweep, hosted by Bill Malone and filmed at various Food Fair outlets, premieres.
Mid-1960s – The acquisition of Best Markets and the Pantry Pride private label brand occurs; shortly after, Pantry Pride-branded discount supermarkets are introduced.
Circa 1967 – Fox Supermarkets in California and Nevada are acquired.
Circa 1972 – Fox Supermarkets are sold off.
1976 – Food Fair purchases Hills Supermarkets in New York and acquires the last 17 stores of the bankrupt Penn Fruit chain in the Philadelphia region.
1978 – The company files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection; control shifts away from the Friedland family. Additionally, Pantry Pride stores located in New Jersey are divested.
1981 – Emerging from Chapter 11 reorganization, the company adopts the new corporate name Pantry Pride Stores, Inc., and relocates its headquarters to Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
1983–1984 – The final two distribution centers are sold to Supervalu, which subsequently transfers them to Malone and Hyde and Winn-Dixie.
1984 – Pantry Pride operates 122 supermarkets across Florida, southern Georgia, Virginia’s Tidewater region, and the Bahamas. In the same year, it acquires Adams/Brooks Drug Stores based in Rhode Island, comprising roughly 400 drugstores primarily in New England. Additionally, Devon Stores Corp., a home center chain with 61 locations near U.S. military bases, is purchased; its Virginia division is later sold to A&P.
1985 – The company becomes a holding entity for Revlon Corp. following Ronald Perelman’s hostile takeover bid. Samuel Friedland passes away at age 88 in Miami Beach, Florida.
1986 – With operations reduced to a few stores in southern Florida, Pantry Pride sells its remaining outlets to John Catsimatidis of Gristedes Supermarkets (New York). Exiting the retail grocery sector, the corporation rebrands as The Revlon Group and shifts its headquarters from Fort Lauderdale to New York City.
1988 – John Catsimatidis partners with Fleming Companies after Fleming acquires Malone & Hyde.
1991 – The final supermarket under Pantry Pride opens as Pantry Pride Food Emporium in Sunny Isles, Florida; most other stores are rebranded as Woolley's.
1993 – Fleming purchases all remaining Pantry Pride/Woolley's supermarket locations.

References

External links

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