Kash n' Karry
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| Subsidiary of Winn-Dixie | |
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 1947 (as Big Barn) |
| Defunct | October 8, 2013 |
| Headquarters | Tampa, Florida, U.S. |
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Key people
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Brad Wise, President |
| Products | Grocery |
| Parent | Southeastern Grocers |
Sweetbay Supermarket was a chain of American supermarkets located entirely in Florida. The first Sweetbay Supermarket to open was in Seminole, Florida, in November 2004. The company was headquartered near Tampa, in unincorporated Hillsborough County, Florida, in the Tampa Bay Area, and was a part of the Belgian Delhaize Group. In May 2013 it was purchased by BI-LO. On October 8, 2013, BI-LO announced it was retiring the Sweetbay name and all remaining locations would be re-branded as Winn-Dixie.
Salvatore Greco, an Italian immigrant, sold fruits and vegetables in the streets of Tampa beginning in 1914. In 1922, he and his wife Giuseppina opened a storefront at their home. The Greco family built a proper store in 1947 under the name Big Barn in Plant City, Florida. The business expanded and they had opened nine stores by 1960 with the name of Tampa Wholesale. In 1962, the name changed again to Kash n' Karry, based on the cash and carry program of World War II. People would bring in their "cash" and "carry" out their own groceries. They left out nonessential parts of supermarkets like contests, customer service representatives, and samples.
Kash n' Karry was acquired by Lucky Stores of California in 1979. After American Stores acquired Lucky in 1988, it sold Kash n' Karry to leveraged buyout firm Gibbons, Green, and van Amerongen. As the buyout was being completed, Kash n' Karry bought 24 Florida Choice supermarkets from Kroger, who was closing the chain. On the dissolution of Gibbons, Green; Leonard Green & Partners became the controlling stockholder. Kash n' Karry filed for bankruptcy in 1994.
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Wikipedia