Buttrey Food & Drug

Buttrey Food & Drug Stores Co.

Industry	Retail
Fate	Acquired by Albertsons
Predecessor	F.A. Buttrey Co.
Successor	Albertsons
Founded	1896 (Havre, Montana)
Founder	Frank A. Buttrey
Defunct	January 1998
Headquarters	Great Falls, Montana
Number of locations	44 (1998)
Area served	Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota (1998)
Products	supermarkets/food-drug stores
Revenue	US$391.4 million (1998)
Parent	The Jewel Companies, Inc. (1966-1984) American Stores (1984-1990)
Subsidiaries	Buttrey Big Fresh Buttrey Fresh Foods

Buttrey Food & Drug was a chain of grocery stores founded in Havre, Montana and formerly headquartered in Great Falls, Montana. The company was founded in 1896 as a chain of department stores branded Buttrey Department Store. The company opened grocery stores in 1935 and sold off its department store division following a 1966 acquisition by grocery company The Jewel Companies, Inc. Jewel was sold to American Stores in 1984 and Buttrey was sold off as separate company in 1990. The company was sold to its main competitor, Boise, Idaho based Albertsons, in January 1998 and the Buttrey name was retired. At that time, Buttrey was operating 44 stores in Montana, Wyoming, and North Dakota with a revenue of US$391.4 million. As of today, most former Buttrey stores continue to operate under the Albertsons banner.

The history of Buttrey can be traced back to 1896 when Frank A. Buttrey opened small store, selling clothing and groceries, in Aldridge, Montana, a short-lived mining town in Park County. Another store was opened at Trailcreek, in Flathead County, Montana in 1899. In 1902, Buttrey moved to Havre, Montana and opened a dry good and general merchandise store. Buttrey's business was incorporated as F.A. Buttrey Co. in 1909.

In 1935, the company spun-off its grocery division to a separate company, Buttrey Foods, Inc. In 1944, F.A. Buttrey Co. acquired Berger Department Store in Great Falls, Montana. Five years later, Frank Buttrey died at age 80 in Havre.

In 1954, Buttrey Foods moved its home office and its grocery distribution headquarters from Havre to Great Falls. At this time, Buttrey Foods owned 15 grocery stores across Montana. F.A. Buttrey Co. would soon follow the grocery chain to Great Falls in 1960.

In 1966, Buttrey Foods was acquired by Chicago, Illinois-based grocer Jewel Companies. The F.A. Buttrey Co. stores, which operated under the Buttreys Suburban banner and were not part of the Jewel deal, closed in 1976. In the years following the acquisition by Jewel, Buttrey Foods began opening Buttrey-Osco combination stores, which combined the products sold by Buttrey and Osco Drug. Soon after, Jewel Companies financed a far-flung expansion plan which added Buttrey stores to several new markets. In 1981, Buttrey operated 53 stores in Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wyoming, Washington, Oregon, and Idaho.