In , current operator John F. Nese began dramatically expanding his selection of soft drinks with smaller, less known brands. He was protesting the unfair pricing of large soft drink brands against smaller independent grocers. Galcos is now known for its huge selection of hundreds of different brands of soft drinks and beers.
By , Kito found himself sole owner. Sadly, in , the Kito family were forced to sell off their stock cheaply and put their confectionary-making equipment in storage due to the forced internment of U. They were interned in Wyoming during that period of time. After returning to Los Angeles in , family members took restaurant work in order to raise enough money to get their equipment back from storage.
In , the Kito family was able to reopen Fugetsu-Do on First Street where it continues to be operated by the founding family.
Family owned until , Ralphs went through two complicated mergers to arrive at its high profile status within the food retailing industry, eventually becoming a unit of food retailing giant Kroger Company. Ralphs became such a growing force in Southern California, in fact, that it was prevented from further expansion in the greater Los Angeles region until Though most traditional Ralphs stores operate under the Ralphs moniker, the company also runs several stores in Northern California under the names Cala Foods and Bell Markets, as well as large warehouse stores under the names Food 4 Less, Foods Co, and PriceRite in Nevada.
In , the company began transforming some of its stores into markets offering high-quality gourmet food products, known as Ralphs Fresh Fare. In , a young bricklayer named George A. Ralphs was injured in a hunting accident and sought employment at a grocery store in Los Angeles.
Within a year, he had saved enough money to purchase his own small store and was soon joined in the enterprise by his brother Walter Ralphs. Together the brothers ran Ralphs Bros. Grocers in downtown Los Angeles, a neighborhood grocer offering regional produce and grains at low prices and priding itself on its customer service.
As the area's population boomed over the next few decades, Ralphs' inventory and size increased as well. In the company was incorporated as Ralphs Grocery Company, and two years later it launched a much larger branch store.
By , the Ralphs chain consisted of ten stores. The Ralphs brothers focused on modernizing these facilities, and home delivery service by horse-drawn wagons eventually made way for self-service and parking lots. In the s, the Ralphs stores began featuring bakeries and creameries in their 25 stores; the s would bring delicatessens and other in-store conveniences. A new generation of Ralphs took over the company after its founder, George Ralphs, died, and by the middle of the century the family had made Ralphs one of the top grocers in the state.
The company focused on marketing themselves as a high quality food retailer, but it was equally dedicated to keeping prices competitive, a combination which helped bring the number of Ralphs locations to over stores by the s. By the s, the company's growth was strong enough to attract the attention of a national retail giant, which believed Ralphs was ready, with the right backing, to reach beyond the confines of a family-owned business. After steadily expanding throughout the decade, Ralphs was approached in by Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores, one of the largest grocery chain store owners in the country.
Federated offered to buy the company from the Ralphs family, which had run the business from its inception. By the time Federated entered into negotiations with Ralphs, the family was ready to unload what had evolved into much more than a mom-and-pop operation. Ralphs operated well under its new parent company, with the small but vibrant chain maintaining a forceful and steady presence in the rapidly growing Los Angeles region.
Throughout the s and early part of the s Federated ran Ralphs smoothly and quietly, and the chain remained centered exclusively in Southern California, with little plan for national or statewide growth. Nevertheless, Ralphs was influential in the industry; the company was among the first to introduce checkout stations with laser price scanners. After about a decade under Federated, Ralphs had fresh life breathed into it with the arrival of a new and energetic CEO, a man who had been devoted to work within the grocery industry since his childhood.
Byron Allumbaugh was appointed CEO of Ralphs in , after having spent two decades working in almost every behind-the-scenes department of the company. The history of Ralphs is interesting and extraordinary. It is a classic American success story — a story of overwhelming success based on a commitment to quality, service and innovation. Ralphs Grocery Company began by accident — a hunting accident which shattered the left arm of year-old San Bernardino County bricklayer George Albert Ralphs and forced him to find a new occupation as an apprentice grocery clerk in Los Angeles.
It was a career change that led to many vital changes in the grocery industry. George Ralphs got his start in the grocery business in working in a small store in downtown Los Angeles. Within a year, he had saved enough money to buy his own grocery store. Two years later George summoned his brother Walter, who joined him in a partnership to form Ralphs Bros. It was a modest beginning.
Energetic and ambitious, George Ralphs founded his business with two philosophies in mind — to provide value-priced, top quality products to his customers and to give them the customer-comes-first service they deserved. As the city of Los Angeles grew, so did Ralphs — building its reputation for providing quality goods at competitive prices. Ralphs has long been famous for its innovations. One of the first was a new approach to the traditional handling of fresh produce.
This attracted so many enthusiastic sellers that Ralphs was able to buy entire crops at one time. This was the beginning of two Ralphs traditions — farm-fresh produce and volume buying with the savings passed on to the customer.
In , Ralphs moved to a new site at South Spring Street after selling its first store to permit construction of the Hayward Hotel. During the next decade, the company prospered, and in was incorporated as Ralphs Grocery Company. Huge for its day 15, square feet, including the basement , it had stables for delivery wagon horses in the rear.
Expansion accelerated. As Los Angeles grew, other attractive Ralphs stores were opened in modern, elaborate buildings featuring clerk service and home delivery. With expansion came innovations in merchandising. More stores meant sizeable savings through increased volume buying.
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