King Soopers

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King Soopers
TypeSubsidiary
IndustryRetail
Founded1947 (Arvada, Colorado)
FoundersLloyd J. King
Charles W. Houchens
Number of locations
118 [1]
Area served
Colorado, Wyoming
ProductsBakery, dairy, deli, frozen foods, general grocery, meat, pharmacy, produce, seafood, snacks, liquor
ParentKroger
Websitewww.kingsoopers.com

King Soopers is a supermarket brand of Kroger located in the Rocky Mountains of the United States. It started as its own brand and, today, is headquartered in Denver, Colorado.[2]

King Soopers has a significant presence in the state of Colorado on the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains. The stores are located along the Front Range from Cheyenne, Wyoming, to Pueblo, Colorado. There are also a few locations in the foothills west of Denver and Colorado Springs.[3]

History[]

Early History: Lloyd J King (1947-1957)[]

Lloyd J. King, born April 21, 1906, in Kansas,[4] discharged from the navy in 1947 and in that year, opened the first King Soopers with Charles W. Houchens[5] in Arvada, Colorado.[6] This location has since been demolished for the Arvada's Public Library, built in 2005–06.[4][7]

The name "King Soopers" was derived from two things - "King," his family's last name; and the Archie comics series, a comic that one of his two sons, Larry read.[8] Within the next five years, King Soopers became the first grocery store in the country to open an in-store pharmacy[7] and one of the earliest (if not the first) to have a meat department.[8][7]

King Soopers store, Arvada (Store #620-00019)

Ownership Changes[]

King Soopers grew to be five (or nine[9]) stores large, including the Foothills of Denver and Colorado Springs[10] before being bought out by Dillon Companies in 1957.[11] The original King Soopers location would be relocated from today-Olde Town Arvada to Arvada Plaza at E 13th Ave and Krameria St, and that location still open today.[6][7]

King Soopers' then-parent, Dillon Companies was bought out by The Kroger Company in late 1982 into '83, and King Soopers and Dillon's are both still owned by Kroger today.[12]

Fresh Fare King Soopers Concept[]

In 2012, Kroger expanded its Fresh Fare style of supermarkets into the King Soopers brand, opening the first Fresh Fare King Soopers in Englewood, Colorado.[13] This is a concept that first appeared in Kroger as early as 2007[14] and actually seems to have started with Ralphs, another Kroger subsidiary primarily located in California in 1998.[15]

The main idea of Fresh Fare is to be a bit more upscale in that it sells more organic foods while still selling traditional groceries; it follows the themes of the 'Green Grocer' Concept.[16]

King Soopers Marketplace Concept[]

Also in 2012, the first King Soopers MarketPlace opened,[17] just one year after the first Kroger MarketPlace in Texas.[18] As of 2017, there are ten King Soopers MarketPlace locations all located in Colorado.[19]

The MarketPlace concept is much different compared to Fresh Fare; it is based on Fry's MarketPlace, another subsidiary of Kroger that features an even wider selection of products besides just food and other necessities.

Boulder Crisis and Memorial[]

A night at Boulder's Table Mesa King Soopers about 2 years before the shooting

On March 22, 2021, there was a mass shooting at a King Soopers location in Boulder, Colorado, where ten people were killed.[20] An initial memorial was pieced together by the public and was then replaced by a "flower wave installation," flowers placed on a 60-foot stretch of fencing.[21]

Modern Day[]

Since King Soopers was started, a rough total of 118 King Soopers were opened,[22] many of which are still open today,[23] and most of which are in Colorado except for one, located in Cheyenne, Wyoming.[24]

Various Concepts[]

  • King Soopers
  • Fresh Fare King Soopers
  • King Soopers MarketPlace

References[]

  1. ^ "King Soopers - Supermarkets". Supermarket Page. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
  2. ^ "Our Divisions". Kroger. Retrieved on November 28, 2012. "65 Tejon St. P.O. Box 5567 Denver, CO 80217"
  3. ^ King Soopers at 9News Colorado Shares website
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b "Lloyd J King (1906-1998) - Find A Grave Memorial". www.findagrave.com. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  5. ^ "Charles W. Houchens Obituary (2003) Denver Post". Legacy.com. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b "Lloyd King". COLORADO BUSINESS HALL OF FAME. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b c d "From Farming Community to Atomic Age Suburb, Historic Building Survey of Olde Town Arvada and the Allendale and Alta Vista Neighborhoods" (PDF). March 24, 2015. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  8. ^ Jump up to: a b Lewis, Shanna. "Where Did The 'Sooper' In The King Soopers Name Come From?". Colorado Public Radio. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  9. ^ Jensen, Dave (March 2, 2021). "How King Soopers Became Colorado's Largest Grocery Chain". Retro 102.5. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  10. ^ Grocer, Master (February 20, 2011). "King Soopers". Grocery.com. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  11. ^ "A King Soopers grocery store in Boulder had an active shooter kill 10 people, here's who owns the chain and who of the chain is". meaww.com. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  12. ^ "Kroger to Acquire Dillon, a Retailer". The New York Times. AP. November 16, 1982. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  13. ^ "King Soopers' Fresh Fare market highlights Kent Place development". The Denver Post. December 11, 2012. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
  14. ^ "Kroger expands with biggest 'Fresh Fare' store". The Herald-Dispatch. The Associated Press. November 15, 2008. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
  15. ^ "Ralphs' Fresh Fare Stores Exceeding Firm's Expectations". Los Angeles Times. December 24, 1998. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
  16. ^ "1st [Atlanta] 'green' Kroger planned". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
  17. ^ "King Soopers bringing a king-sized grocery to Colorado Springs area | Evergreen Devco Inc. | Real Estate Development and Commercial Realty". Evergreen Devco Inc. October 14, 2015. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
  18. ^ Micek, Kassia (August 12, 2011). "First Kroger Marketplace in Montgomery County opens in Willis". The Courier. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
  19. ^ "'Sooper-sized' King Soopers opening in Colorado Springs". KKTV. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
  20. ^ Ryan, Josiah (March 22, 2021). "10 people were killed in Boulder shooting, says police chief". Retrieved March 23, 2021.
  21. ^ "New memorial for Boulder King Soopers victims". FOX31 Denver. June 24, 2021. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
  22. ^ "King Soopers - Supermarkets". supermarketpage.com/. Retrieved August 3, 2021.
  23. ^ "Colorado King Soopers locations". Google My Maps. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
  24. ^ "King Soopers · 3702 Dell Range Blvd, Cheyenne, WY 82009". King Soopers · 3702 Dell Range Blvd, Cheyenne, WY 82009. Retrieved August 4, 2021.

External links[]

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