The Save Mart Companies (TSMC), California’s largest regional, family-owned grocer is marking its 70th anniversary, paying tribute to the company’s history and accomplishments, recognizing their Central Valley roots, and ‘Growing Forward’ into the future by evolving, innovating and providing for communities for decades to come.
The Save Mart Companies, which operates more than 200 stores under the store banners of Save Mart, Lucky California and FoodMaxx throughout California and Northern Nevada, celebrates its unwavering commitment to helping communities thrive. Starting with the Piccinini and Tocco families who built the company from the ground up, team members and shoppers have always been the top priority for The Save Mart Companies. The 70th anniversary reflects on its “Valley Proud” roots starting with Save Mart in the Central Valley and growing to include the FoodMaxx value format and Lucky California in the San Francisco Bay Area – all with the focused dedication to fulfill the evolving needs of shoppers.
“I am incredibly grateful of our 70-year history established by our founding families and continued by our current family of extraordinary Store Managers and team members,” said Chris McGarry, Chief Executive Officer, The Save Mart Companies. “To express our appreciation for the decades-long support from generations of shoppers, the company is donating $70,000 to our partner food banks, strengthening our commitment to neighborhoods and communities.”
In addition to the $70,000 donation to food bank partners, all Save Mart, Lucky California and FoodMaxx stores will celebrate the anniversary with special in-store promotions and shopper and team member cash giveaways with weekly winners randomly selected to win $70 gift cards.
The Save Mart Companies started in the Central Valley in 1952 with its first Save Mart supermarket and today employs more than 14,000 team members across its 200 stores, distribution centers, and in the Store Support Centers.
The 1980s saw the creation of FoodMaxx, the company’s value-format style grocery stores. FoodMaxx is a non-conventional grocery store, beating the competition’s prices with its innovative procurement and hyper-efficient operations, including its ability to buy in bulk, stock shelves directly from delivery trucks, and having customers bag their own groceries – all of which allows FoodMaxx to offer budget friendly solutions and pass along additional savings to its customers.
In 2007, The Save Mart Companies acquired and restored the Lucky banner in 66 stores located in and around the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2015, the company embarked on a brand re-positioning of Lucky stores to Lucky California. Today, Lucky California is part of the fabric of the communities it serves by providing fresh, quality groceries with a hyper-local product assortment reflecting the neighborhood’s tastes and preferences, always with everyday lower prices and great weekly promotions.
Long known for innovation, The Save Mart Companies continually explores new ways to better serve its shoppers. Through its partnership with Instacart, the home delivery service, the company was the first conventional grocer in Northern California to offer electronic benefit transfer (EBT) payments, allowing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) beneficiaries to utilize Instacart’s same-day grocery delivery and pickup services at Save Mart, Lucky California and FoodMaxx locations.
In 2020, the company launched an innovative, on-demand grocery delivery service to its customers in partnership with leading San Francisco-based robot delivery company Starship Technologies. The Save Mart Companies was the first grocer in the U.S. to launch the Starship autonomous robot delivery service at the Save Mart flagship store in Modesto. This same robot delivery service recently debuted at Lucky California’s flagship store in Pleasanton.
The Save Mart Companies remains steadfast in its commitment to serving communities and families. In late 2021, the company began expanding its private label portfolio, “Our Brands”, to offer even more quality products throughout the store, all at an incredible value. And, during these challenging times, team members are working hard every day to keep prices low and shelves stocked, while providing unparalleled customer service.
For more than 70 years, The Save Mart Companies has been rooted in communities and neighborhoods, throughout California and Northern Nevada, offering the freshest produce from the heart of the agriculturally rich Central Valley and products reflecting the diverse tastes of communities served. In addition to its retail operation, the company also operates Smart Refrigerated Transport and is a partner in Super Store Industries (SSI), which owns and operates a distribution center in Lathrop and the Sunnyside Farms dairy processing plant in Turlock. For more information on the company, visit: www.TheSaveMartCompanies.com.
