Buttrey Food & Drug
Encyclopedia
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.
, in Havre, Montana
. Buttrey's original store was destroyed by fire in 1904 which forced him to rebuild. Buttrey rebuilt his store and renamed it Buttrey Department Store. In 1935, Buttrey began operating Buttrey grocery stores and the Buttrey chain became the market leader in Montana, serving some of the state's smallest and biggest towns. In 1949, the company suffered a major loss when Frank Buttrey died. During the 1960s and 1970s, Buttrey expanded the department store chain into suburban shopping malls under the Buttrey Suburban name while expanding the Buttrey Foods chain into out of state markets, beginning with Idaho
in 1962. Buttrey Foods was sold to Chicago, Illinois based The Jewel Companies, Inc. in 1966. The Buttrey Suburban stores were not acquired by Jewel and would eventually close in the 1980s.
Following the acquisition by Jewel, most Buttrey stores were remodeled into Buttrey-Osco stores, which combined the products sold by Buttrey and Osco Drug
. The new stores included common checkout stands but separate store management, all under one roof. 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
.
made a bid to acquire the Jewel Companies, Inc. Jewel initially refused the offer but eventually agreed and American Stores became the new owner of Buttrey. In 1985, American Stores dropped the Buttrey-Osco name and replaced it with the Buttrey Food & Drug brand. American Stores also merged Buttrey's Great Falls, Montana
management with the company's Skaggs-Alpha Beta stores based in Salt Lake City, Utah
. American put Buttrey and Philadelphia-based supermarket chain Acme on the market soon after acquiring Jewel, to raise money to pay down American's staggering debt load from the Jewel acquisition. Neither chain received an acceptable offer, so American continued to operate them, but did not invest heavily in remodeling or new construction.
In July 1987, Buttrey exited the Boise
and Idaho Falls
markets with the sale of those stores to Albertsons, one of Buttrey's long-time competitors. As a result, Albertsons was forced to shutter two Buttrey stores that were near current Albertsons stores. In September 1987, Skaggs Alpha-Beta was reorganized into Alpha-Beta Stores, Inc., which included returning Buttrey's headquarters to Great Falls, Montana in a newly formed division of Alpha-Beta.
American Stores put Buttrey up for sale in May 1990 and, during August, sold it to an investment group led by Buttrey's management and Freeman Spogli & Co.
. American Stores received US$
184 million from proceeds of the sale and other agreements. At the time of the sale, Buttrey had operated 44 stores and employed 4,200 workers in Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Washington, and Wyoming. By 1994, Buttrey had closed its remaining Idaho and Washington stores to focus on its core markets of Montana, Wyoming, and North Dakota.
In response to increasing competition from retailers such as Costco Wholesale and Walmart entering into Buttrey's core markets, in November 1995, the chain launched the Buttrey Big Fresh concept to increase traffic in Buttrey stores. The first Big Fresh, a remodeled Buttrey in Great Falls, Montana, featured expanded deli, bakery, produce, meat, seafood, and floral departments. Additionally, the store included a Buttrey Food Court, which featured a coffee and espresso bar, and a selection of small restaurants. Several more Big Fresh stores were opened during 1996 and 1997.
In January 1998, Albertsons announced its intentions to acquire Buttrey Food & Drug for US$
134 million. Albertsons acquisition of Buttrey was completed in October 1998 and 29 former Buttrey stores were reopened as Albertsons. 15 Buttrey and Albertsons stores were sold to Fred Meyer
and SuperValu
to address anti-trust concerns. At the time of the sale to Albertsons, Buttrey was operating 44 stores in Montana, North Dakota, and Wyoming under the Buttrey Food & Drug, Buttrey Big Fresh, and Buttrey Fresh Foods banners. Shortly after acquiring Buttrey, Albertsons purchased American Stores, Buttrey's owner from 1984 to 1990, for US$
8 billion.
woman opened a frozen broccoli dinner and discovered a live bomb in the packaging. Police were called and the woman claimed she purchased the frozen dinner at a Buttrey store four months prior. All of Anaconda's grocery retailers were ordered to check for similar packages, however, no other bombs were found.
In July 1987, in an angered response to the sell of Buttrey's Boise, Idaho
stores were to major competitor Albertsons, an anonymous Boise woman placed a phone call to a Norm Seymour, Buttrey's loss prevention officer, claiming her husband placed bombs in five Buttrey stores across Boise. Seymour contacted police and ordered store managers to evacuate all Buttrey stores in Boise. Police and sheriff deputies searched the stores, but nothing was found and the stores reopened shortly after.
Havre, Montana
Havre is a city in, and the county seat of, Hill County, Montana, United States. It is said to be named after the city of Le Havre in France. The population was 9,621 at the 2000 census.-History:...
and formerly headquartered in Great Falls, Montana
Great Falls, Montana
Great Falls is a city in and the county seat of Cascade County, Montana, United States. The population was 58,505 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Great Falls, Montana Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Cascade County...
. 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
American Stores
American Stores Company was an American public corporation and a holding company which ran chains of supermarkets and drugstores in the United States from 1917 through 1999...
in 1984 and Buttrey was sold off as separate company in 1990. The company was sold to its main competitor, Boise, Idaho
Boise, Idaho
Boise is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho, as well as the county seat of Ada County. Located on the Boise River, it anchors the Boise City-Nampa metropolitan area and is the largest city between Salt Lake City, Utah and Portland, Oregon.As of the 2010 Census Bureau,...
based Albertsons, in January 1998 and the Buttrey name was retired. At that time, Buttrey was operating 44 stores in Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
, Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
, and North Dakota
North Dakota
North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
with a revenue of US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
391.4 million. As of today, most former Buttrey stores continue to operate under the Albertsons banner.
Founding
The history of Buttrey can be traced back to 1896 when Frank A. Buttrey opened The Fair Store, a department storeDepartment store
A department store is a retail establishment which satisfies a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories...
, in Havre, Montana
Havre, Montana
Havre is a city in, and the county seat of, Hill County, Montana, United States. It is said to be named after the city of Le Havre in France. The population was 9,621 at the 2000 census.-History:...
. Buttrey's original store was destroyed by fire in 1904 which forced him to rebuild. Buttrey rebuilt his store and renamed it Buttrey Department Store. In 1935, Buttrey began operating Buttrey grocery stores and the Buttrey chain became the market leader in Montana, serving some of the state's smallest and biggest towns. In 1949, the company suffered a major loss when Frank Buttrey died. During the 1960s and 1970s, Buttrey expanded the department store chain into suburban shopping malls under the Buttrey Suburban name while expanding the Buttrey Foods chain into out of state markets, beginning with Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
in 1962. Buttrey Foods was sold to Chicago, Illinois based The Jewel Companies, Inc. in 1966. The Buttrey Suburban stores were not acquired by Jewel and would eventually close in the 1980s.
Following the acquisition by Jewel, most Buttrey stores were remodeled into Buttrey-Osco stores, which combined the products sold by Buttrey and Osco Drug
Osco Drug
Osco Drug is a chain of pharmacy stores which today operate as in-store pharmacies under SuperValu Pharmacies. Osco Pharmacy is found in Jewel-Osco, Albertsons, Shaw's and Star Market, while Sav-on Pharmacy is found in Acme and Albertsons. Since 2006, Osco is a wholly owned subsidiary of...
. The new stores included common checkout stands but separate store management, all under one roof. 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
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
, North Dakota
North Dakota
North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S....
, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
, Washington, Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, and Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
.
Sale to American Stores and Albertsons
In June 1984, American StoresAmerican Stores
American Stores Company was an American public corporation and a holding company which ran chains of supermarkets and drugstores in the United States from 1917 through 1999...
made a bid to acquire the Jewel Companies, Inc. Jewel initially refused the offer but eventually agreed and American Stores became the new owner of Buttrey. In 1985, American Stores dropped the Buttrey-Osco name and replaced it with the Buttrey Food & Drug brand. American Stores also merged Buttrey's Great Falls, Montana
Great Falls, Montana
Great Falls is a city in and the county seat of Cascade County, Montana, United States. The population was 58,505 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Great Falls, Montana Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Cascade County...
management with the company's Skaggs-Alpha Beta stores based in Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...
. American put Buttrey and Philadelphia-based supermarket chain Acme on the market soon after acquiring Jewel, to raise money to pay down American's staggering debt load from the Jewel acquisition. Neither chain received an acceptable offer, so American continued to operate them, but did not invest heavily in remodeling or new construction.
In July 1987, Buttrey exited the Boise
Boise, Idaho
Boise is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho, as well as the county seat of Ada County. Located on the Boise River, it anchors the Boise City-Nampa metropolitan area and is the largest city between Salt Lake City, Utah and Portland, Oregon.As of the 2010 Census Bureau,...
and Idaho Falls
Idaho Falls, Idaho
Idaho Falls is a city in and the county seat of Bonneville County, Idaho, United States, and the largest city in Eastern Idaho. As of the 2010 census, the population of Idaho Falls was 56,813, with a metro population of 130,374....
markets with the sale of those stores to Albertsons, one of Buttrey's long-time competitors. As a result, Albertsons was forced to shutter two Buttrey stores that were near current Albertsons stores. In September 1987, Skaggs Alpha-Beta was reorganized into Alpha-Beta Stores, Inc., which included returning Buttrey's headquarters to Great Falls, Montana in a newly formed division of Alpha-Beta.
American Stores put Buttrey up for sale in May 1990 and, during August, sold it to an investment group led by Buttrey's management and Freeman Spogli & Co.
Freeman Spogli & Co.
Freeman Spogli & Co. is a private equity firm focused on leveraged buyout and recapitalization transactions involving growth companies in the retail, direct marketing, catalog and distribution sectors....
. American Stores received US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
184 million from proceeds of the sale and other agreements. At the time of the sale, Buttrey had operated 44 stores and employed 4,200 workers in Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Washington, and Wyoming. By 1994, Buttrey had closed its remaining Idaho and Washington stores to focus on its core markets of Montana, Wyoming, and North Dakota.
In response to increasing competition from retailers such as Costco Wholesale and Walmart entering into Buttrey's core markets, in November 1995, the chain launched the Buttrey Big Fresh concept to increase traffic in Buttrey stores. The first Big Fresh, a remodeled Buttrey in Great Falls, Montana, featured expanded deli, bakery, produce, meat, seafood, and floral departments. Additionally, the store included a Buttrey Food Court, which featured a coffee and espresso bar, and a selection of small restaurants. Several more Big Fresh stores were opened during 1996 and 1997.
In January 1998, Albertsons announced its intentions to acquire Buttrey Food & Drug for US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
134 million. Albertsons acquisition of Buttrey was completed in October 1998 and 29 former Buttrey stores were reopened as Albertsons. 15 Buttrey and Albertsons stores were sold to Fred Meyer
Fred Meyer
Fred Meyer, Inc., is a chain of hypermarkets founded in 1922 in Portland, Oregon, by Fred G. Meyer. The company was one of the pioneers of one-stop shopping, eventually combining a complete grocery supermarket with a drugstore, clothing store, shoe store, fine jewelers, home decor store, home...
and SuperValu
Supervalu (United States)
SuperValu Inc. is a United States grocery retailer and distributor. The corporation, headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, has been in business for over a century. It is the third-largest food retailing company in the United States , and ranks #51 on the Fortune 100 list.On June 2, 2006,...
to address anti-trust concerns. At the time of the sale to Albertsons, Buttrey was operating 44 stores in Montana, North Dakota, and Wyoming under the Buttrey Food & Drug, Buttrey Big Fresh, and Buttrey Fresh Foods banners. Shortly after acquiring Buttrey, Albertsons purchased American Stores, Buttrey's owner from 1984 to 1990, for US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
8 billion.
Incidents
In July 1985, an Anaconda, MontanaAnaconda, Montana
Anaconda, county seat of Anaconda City/Deer Lodge County, is located in mountainous southwestern Montana. The Continental Divide passes within 8 miles of the community with the local Pintler Mountain range reaching 10,379 feet...
woman opened a frozen broccoli dinner and discovered a live bomb in the packaging. Police were called and the woman claimed she purchased the frozen dinner at a Buttrey store four months prior. All of Anaconda's grocery retailers were ordered to check for similar packages, however, no other bombs were found.
In July 1987, in an angered response to the sell of Buttrey's Boise, Idaho
Boise, Idaho
Boise is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho, as well as the county seat of Ada County. Located on the Boise River, it anchors the Boise City-Nampa metropolitan area and is the largest city between Salt Lake City, Utah and Portland, Oregon.As of the 2010 Census Bureau,...
stores were to major competitor Albertsons, an anonymous Boise woman placed a phone call to a Norm Seymour, Buttrey's loss prevention officer, claiming her husband placed bombs in five Buttrey stores across Boise. Seymour contacted police and ordered store managers to evacuate all Buttrey stores in Boise. Police and sheriff deputies searched the stores, but nothing was found and the stores reopened shortly after.
See also
- Jewel Food Stores
- Albertsons
- Osco DrugOsco DrugOsco Drug is a chain of pharmacy stores which today operate as in-store pharmacies under SuperValu Pharmacies. Osco Pharmacy is found in Jewel-Osco, Albertsons, Shaw's and Star Market, while Sav-on Pharmacy is found in Acme and Albertsons. Since 2006, Osco is a wholly owned subsidiary of...