Kash n' Karry

Sweetbay Supermarket

File:Sweetbay Supermarkets Logo.svg
Formerly	Big Barn
Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Retail
Founded	1947 (1947)
Defunct	Template:End date and age
Fate	Acquired by BI-LO
Headquarters	Tampa, Florida, U.S.
Products	Grocery
Parent	Aldi

Sweetbay Supermarket was a Florida-based American supermarket chain. Its inaugural location opened in November 2004 in Seminole, Florida. The headquarters were situated in Hillsborough County, near Tampa, Florida. The chain operated under the Belgian-owned Delhaize Group. In May 2013, BI-LO acquired the brand. Subsequently, on October 8, 2013, BI-LO declared it would phase out the Sweetbay name and convert all remaining stores into Winn-Dixie locations.

Kash n' Karry

File:KashNKarry Bradenton.jpg

Former Kash n' Karry location in Bradenton, Florida

The origins trace back to Salvatore Greco, an Italian immigrant who began vending fruits and vegetables on Tampa streets in 1914. By 1922, he and his wife Giuseppina launched a small storefront at their residence. In 1947, the family established a dedicated retail outlet named Big Barn in Plant City, Florida.

The enterprise grew steadily, reaching nine stores by 1960 under the name Tampa Wholesale. In 1962, it adopted the name Kash n' Karry, inspired by the World War II-era "cash and carry" concept where customers paid upfront and transported their groceries themselves. By 1970, the chain expanded to 48 outlets. Three years later, it operated across 11 counties. In 1976, a distribution center was inaugurated in Tampa to support operations.

In 1979, Kash n' Karry was purchased by California-based Lucky Stores. Following Lucky's acquisition by American Stores in 1988, Kash n' Karry was sold to the leveraged buyout firm Gibbons, Green, and van Amerongen. Around this transition period, Kash n' Karry acquired 24 Florida Choice supermarkets from Kroger as that chain exited the market. After Gibbons, Green and van Amerongen dissolved in 1989, Leonard Green & Partners assumed majority ownership. At that time, Kash n' Karry operated 97 stores with over 8,200 employees and annual revenues surpassing $900 million.

Starting in 1991, Kash n' Karry began updating its stores and introduced private label brands including Kash n' Karry and Kash Saver. Leonard Green increased its investment by $30 million late that year to take full ownership of the company. The chain filed for bankruptcy protection in November 1994 but emerged from restructuring by December.

An initial public offering was completed in 1995. Subsequently, in December 1996, Food Lion—Delhaize Group's U.S. subsidiary—acquired Kash n' Karry. When Food Lion purchased Hannaford Bros. Co. in July 1999, a new holding company was formed making Kash n' Karry a fully owned Delhaize America subsidiary.

By 2002, Kash n' Karry withdrew from the competitive Orlando market leaving only two stores remaining in Clermont, located approximately 25 miles west of Orlando. In January 2004, it was announced that 34 stores would close to concentrate efforts on Florida’s West Coast markets and allocate resources toward opening and remodeling about 20 locations. This restructuring included shutting down two of the chain’s three Gainesville outlets.

Sweetbay

In January 2004, Kash n' Karry unveiled a new supermarket format named Sweetbay Supermarket, targeting its primary markets along Florida’s West Coast. The inaugural Sweetbay stores opened in Seminole, Florida on November 6, 2004, followed by a launch in Fort Myers the next month. By March 2007, the company declared plans to convert all Kash n' Karry outlets to the Sweetbay brand.

The Sweetbay concept drew heavily from Delhaize’s Hannaford brand, adopting its store layout, branding elements, logo design, procurement processes, and pricing tactics from the northeastern counterpart. Initially, Sweetbay offered Hannaford-branded products as its generic line until 2011, when Delhaize America introduced new private labels across all its stores: Healthy Accents for health and beauty items, Home 360 for household goods, and My Essentials for food products.

The final Kash n' Karry store in Crystal River, Florida closed on August 29, 2007, signaling the complete transition to Sweetbay Supermarkets. While the rebranding experienced strong sales growth during its first year, revenue gains leveled off thereafter.

In March 2008, Hannaford Supermarkets disclosed a data breach that compromised approximately 4.2 million credit and debit card accounts. This security incident also impacted Sweetbay locations and some independent retailers in the Northeast that carried Hannaford merchandise. The company identified roughly 1,800 fraud cases related to the breach. Later that year in August, Sweetbay became the official grocery partner of the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team.

By January 2013, Sweetbay announced the closure of 33 stores, reducing its footprint to 72 outlets. The decision was attributed to mounting competition from regional grocer Publix and national retailer Walmart. Among the closures were Sweetbay’s last two stores in Clermont, effectively ending the chain’s presence in the Orlando area.

In May 2013, BI-LO LLC acquired Sweetbay along with sister chains Harveys and Reid's for $265 million. The deal included ownership of 72 Sweetbay stores as well as leases on 10 additional locations shuttered earlier that year.

On October 8, 2013, BI-LO announced it would phase out the Sweetbay brand entirely and rebrand all remaining stores as Winn-Dixie locations. The following month brought news that Sweetbay’s Tampa headquarters would be permanently closed with layoffs affecting 346 employees.