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May 1, 2009
Bye Bye Bruno
13 Bruno's/Food World stores in Birmingham and the three remaining Bruno's in Montgomery are set to close, according to a Jeff Amy story on the Press-Register's website (though the list only names two Montgomery locations.) Most of the stores in Mobile will remain open under a new name: Southern Family is buying 31 of the Bruno's locations, many in Mobile, and will operate them under that name. I previously posted about the beginning of the end for Bruno's. Sorry to see them completely gone from the Capitol.
Big winner? Publix, which will probably get the biggest share of the Bruno's business, and Winn-Dixie, which may benefit from the Food World stores that will close.
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There's a Food World grocery store in Cullman on U.S. Hwy 31 in the _?_ Shopping Center. It's located toward the northern part of town, near the Middle School.
ReplyDeleteBruno's really started going downhill after the tragic airplane crash of some of their family around Christmas time many years ago.
They were truly a shining light among companies because of how they treated their employees. It was my understanding that it was their tradition every Thanksgiving & Christmas season, to PERSONALLY travel to EVERY store they owned and PERSONALLY hand out Christmas bonuses to their employees.
The Bruno family was renown also for their unashamed Catholic Christian faith. I think it was because of their high regard for human life (their employees) that their company was so successful.
Concerning what stores will "absorb" their clientele, Winn Dixie filed bankruptcy many years ago, and they never really recovered, having closed many stores, and to the best of my knowledge, there are none in north Alabama.
Publix, however, is growing - although their price-points place them in the category of some of the mid-to-upper priced grocery stores, but definitely out of the "Whole Foods" (or as some call it, "I paid waaay too much for these groceries.") class.
Piggly Wiggly, however, served a predominately rural clientele, so I sincerely doubt they'll see much change.
I believe that Piggly
ReplyDeletewiggly stores are independently owned, much like fast-food franchises. So, there's a bit of difference here.
We don't have a Whole Foods store here in Montgomery but we do have a Fresh Market. If you follow their specials and sales, prices are comparable to Publix.
As for Publix, hooray--especially on Wednesdays, when us oldsters get a 5% discount. But beyond that, Publix employees, at least in the Zelda Road store, are unfailingly friendly and courteous. Winn Dixie employees seem to hate their jobs, and often their customers.