Rice Epicurean Markets
| Company type | Private (family-owned) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Grocery retail |
| Founded | May 5, 1937 in Houston, Texas, United States |
| Founder | William H. Levy |
| Defunct | July 2022 |
| Fate | Ceased operations; stores leased to The Fresh Market |
| Headquarters | Houston , United States |
Area served | Houston metropolitan area |
Key people | Alfred L. Friedlander (co-chairman emeritus), Joel M. Levy (co-chairman emeritus), Gary Friedlander (president and COO) |
| Products | Specialty grocery items, gourmet foods, floral arrangements, bakery products |
| Parent | Family-owned |
Rice Epicurean Markets was a specialty grocery chain headquartered in Southwest Houston, Texas. By July 2022, every store had ceased operations. Prior to 2012, the enterprise managed five outlets with sizes ranging between 25,000 and 42,000 square feet. At its height, the chain operated 35 locations. The final store remained entirely under the ownership of the founding family.
Rice Boulevard Food Market
The first Rice Food Market was established on May 5, 1937, by William H. Levy, the grandfather of the current proprietors. This initial store occupied 2,400 square feet on Rice Boulevard within Houston’s Rice Village. During that period, the neighborhood was mostly undeveloped, featuring only two structures: an ice house and Levy’s market.
The original shop measured 40 by 60 feet and had a staff of five, including Levy’s wife Edna. It underwent five expansions until physical constraints halted further growth.
In 1955, Alfred L. Friedlander, William Levy’s son-in-law, joined the company; two years later, his son Joel M. Levy also became involved. Alfred Friedlander now holds the title of co-chairman emeritus alongside Joel Levy, who shares the same designation. Gary Friedlander, Alfred’s son, serves as president and chief operating officer.
Rice Food Markets
In April 1957, a second store was launched in Tanglewood, catering to local farmers and prompting a rebranding from Rice Boulevard Food Market to Rice Food Markets.
At that time, the Tanglewood location was surrounded by farmland but eventually became part of Houston's Uptown District. In 1960, the company relocated its headquarters to Southwest Houston. That same year saw a merger of the three Rice Food Markets with Jack's—a family-owned grocery chain with three stores. The original Rice Boulevard market moved across the street into a new 17,000 square foot facility, which remained open until 2003.
Growth continued through opening additional Rice stores and acquiring independent grocers, expanding to more than 35 locations. The company went public in 1968 but reverted to private ownership in 1975 due to a weakening market for smaller firms. By the mid-1970s, Rice operated as many as 45 stores but then entered a decade characterized by downsizing—closing or selling older outlets without pursuing expansion. This conservative strategy limited its market share during Houston’s period of rapid growth.
Although there were multiple considerations to sell the company, the family opted to maintain control and reinvest for future generations. In 1980, Rice held approximately six percent of Houston’s grocery market share. During the 1980s, some traditional stores were converted into discount formats such as Pricebuster and Grocery World. At its peak during this era, Rice operated up to 55 stores.
Following the sale of stakes by two partners in 1984, Rice acquired five Weingarten's locations and resumed growth efforts. By 1985, ownership included Friedlander, Joel Levy, and Ralph Cohen—whose family had merged into Rice earlier. That year also saw the purchase of 22 Eagle supermarkets from Lucky Stores; these outlets were similar in size to existing Rice stores and represented a strategic fit.
In 1994, three stores were acquired from AppleTree Markets. A new headquarters building was opened in Southwest Houston in 2005.
On November 14, 2012, Rice announced it would shut down four out of its five remaining stores; these sites reopened in 2013 under the Fresh Market brand.
Rice Epicurean Markets
The Tanglewood location, renovated in 1988, was the inaugural store to carry the Rice Epicurean Market brand. Initially a segment of Rice Food Markets, the enterprise rebranded as Rice Epicurean Markets in 1999 after divesting several Grocery World, Pricebuster, and Rice Food Markets outlets to concentrate on a more upscale market segment. Following this divestiture, eight stores remained operational, with a ninth store in development.
Rice Epicurean focused on gourmet selections, superior customer care, and specialty departments such as high-end meat and produce sections, chef-prepared salads and entrees, premium floral arrangements, and European-style bakery products. The company pioneered a charge card system with monthly billing in 1964 and became Houston's sole grocer to offer online shopping services by 2002.
Targeting primarily an affluent, older clientele who favored home delivery, Rice Epicurean maintained a devoted yet modestly frequented customer base. Although it held a strong presence within this niche market, the business model ultimately became unsustainable.
In November 2012, Rice declared it would close all locations except Fountain View and lease its sites to The Fresh Market. These closures were completed in early 2013, with The Fresh Market inaugurating its first former Rice Epicurean store in West University Houston on July 17, 2013. Additional Fresh Market stores opened subsequently on Memorial Drive (July 24), Westheimer Road (August 7), and San Felipe (August 21).
Headquarters
Rice Epicurean Markets established its corporate headquarters in Southwest Houston in 1960. In support of its operational expansion and strategic initiatives, the company unveiled a new 16,000-square-foot headquarters building at the same location in 2005.
Store characteristics
By 1985, Rice stores varied between 12,000 and 30,000 square feet in size—significantly smaller than the contemporary industry standard of 50,000 to 60,000 square feet. This scale aligned with a business strategy focused on frequent visits involving smaller purchases by a loyal customer base that was typically older. Product assortments were customized to reflect the ethnic composition of each neighborhood, enhancing local market appeal and customer loyalty.
Alfred L. Friedlander, then president of Rice, recognized difficulties associated with maintaining older outlets particularly in lower-income neighborhoods experiencing heavy traffic. Despite critiques regarding store cleanliness, Friedlander highlighted that smaller store formats provided operational efficiencies by lowering overhead costs and enabling quicker shopping trips. This demonstrated that profitability could be achieved without relying on large store footprints.
Notable achievements
Rice Epicurean Markets received the Nationally Acclaimed Award of Excellence from Supermarket Business in 1996 and has been regularly acknowledged by the Houston Business Journal as one of Houston's Top 50 Family-Owned Businesses. These honors underscore the company’s consistent growth and influential role within the regional grocery sector.