Fry's Food and Drug is a chain of

supermarket A supermarket is a self-service shop offering a wide variety of food, beverages and household products, organized into sections. This kind of store is larger and has a wider selection than earlier grocery stores, but is smaller and more limit ...

s that has a major presence in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

. Fry's also operates under the banner of ''Fry's Marketplace'', a combination of groceries and general merchandise comparable to a Walmart Supercenter. Fry's is a division of

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...

-based

Kroger The Kroger Company, or simply Kroger, is an American retail company that operates (either directly or through its subsidiaries) supermarkets and multi-department stores throughout the United States. Founded by Bernard Kroger in 1883 in Cinci ...

History

Beginnings

Fry's was founded in 1954 by Donald Fry in northern California. With the help of his brother Charles, the chain expanded into the Phoenix market in 1960. Fry's was sold in 1972 to

Dillons Dillons is a grocery supermarket chain based in Hutchinson, Kansas, and is a division of Kroger. Other banners under Dillon Stores Division include Gerbes in Missouri and Baker's in Omaha, Nebraska. Dillons operates grocery stores throughout K ...

, based in

Hutchinson, Kansas Hutchinson is the largest city and county seat in Reno County, Kansas, United States, and located on the Arkansas River. It has been home to salt mines since 1887, thus its nickname of "Salt City", but locals call it "Hutch". As of the 2020 ...

. (The sons of Charles Fry used the proceeds from the sale to launch

Fry's Electronics Fry's Electronics was an American big-box store chain. While operating, it was headquartered in San Jose, California in Silicon Valley. Fry's retailed software, consumer electronics, household appliances, cosmetics, tools, toys, accessories ...

in 1985; it was otherwise separate from and unaffiliated with the grocery chain.) Dillons merged with

in 1983.

Fred Meyer and Kroger merger

In October 1998,

Fred Meyer Fred Meyer is an American chain of hypermarket superstores founded in 1922 in Portland, Oregon, USA, by Fred G. Meyer. The stores are found in the northwest U.S., within the states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Alaska. The company merged w ...

, parent company of Smith's Food and Drug based in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

, announced a strategic merger with

, based in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line w ...

. Several months later, in May 1999, the

Federal Trade Commission The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. The FTC shares jurisdiction o ...

(FTC) approved the merger of the two companies, named ''The Kroger Co.''. Arizona and Texas were the only two of 31 states where there was an overlap of stores and brands from the merger. The Kroger Co., choosing to operate with one brand in the Arizona market, rebranded most Smith's Food & Drug Centers as Fry's Food & Drug Stores, though Smith's Food and Drug Centers in Kingman,

Bullhead City Bullhead City is a city located on the Colorado River in Mohave County, Arizona, United States, south of Las Vegas, Nevada, and directly across the Colorado River from Laughlin, Nevada, whose casinos and ancillary services supply much of the e ...

, and

Lake Havasu City Lake Havasu City (, ) is a city in Mohave County, Arizona, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 57,144, up from 52,527 in 2010. It is served by Lake Havasu City Airport. History The community first started as a ...

remained unchanged (perhaps because of their proximity to Nevada and the

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Veg ...

market, where Kroger retained the Smith's brand). Fry's Phoenix Distribution Center and administrative offices were moved into the more modern Smith's Food and Drug Distribution Center and office space in the west Phoenix suburb of Tolleson.

Fry's Marketplace

Fry's Marketplace is a multi-department store that offers full-service grocery, pharmacy and general merchandise including outdoor living products, electronics, home goods and toys. Ranging in size from , the Marketplace stores are smaller than the original Fred Meyer stores. The Marketplace format was derived from the Fred Meyer concept but on a smaller scale and has since expanded to other Kroger divisions (Ohio, Virginia, Texas, etc.), including the Smith's Food & Drug Centers Division in

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its ...

. Fry's Marketplace started out as Smitty's, Arizona's first multi-department store. Smitty's was similar to a

Wal-Mart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...

Supercenter and even had a food court with four branded fast food options (such as

Taco Bell Taco Bell is an American-based chain of fast food restaurants founded in 1962 by Glen Bell (1923–2010) in Downey, California. Taco Bell is a subsidiary of Yum! Brands, Inc. The restaurants serve a variety of Mexican-inspired foods, includi ...

). Smitty's notably carried the

President's Choice President's Choice (French: Le choix du Président) or PC are a line of grocery products or services offered by a Canada based company, Loblaw Companies Ltd. The various products are available at the companies retail locations. History Pre ...

brand. In 1996, Smitty's merged with Smith's Food and Drug Centers. In 1997, after the Fred Meyer–Smith's merger, Fred Meyer updated and revitalized the Smitty's concept and in January 1999, all Smitty's stores were renamed Fred Meyer. During this time, management of the chain changed from Smith's Food and Drug to Fred Meyer. Construction also started on a full sized Fred Meyer store in Phoenix. In June 2000, Kroger transferred the management of Fred Meyer's stores to Fry's Food and Drug. The Fred Meyer stores were rebranded as Fry's Marketplace, unifying the stores under the Fry's brand. The Fred Meyer store in Phoenix was completed but never opened and was later demolished as the store was too large for Fry's to use.

Fry's Signature

Fry's Signature is marketed as a high-end, neighborhood tailored grocery store. One of the locations is on 20427 North Hayden Road in Scottsdale. Another Fry's Signature store is located at 10450 N. 90th Street in Scottsdale. There is also a Fry's Signature store at the cross streets of Cave Creek Rd and Carefree Hwy in Cave Creek. In addition, there is a Fry's Signature Marketplace at the intersection of Shea Blvd and Tatum Blvd in Phoenix. There is another store located at the cross streets of Gavilan Peak Pkwy and Daisy Mountain Dr in the northern Phoenix suburb of

Anthem An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to short s ...

Fry's Mercado

Fry's Mercado is geared towards Arizona's large Hispanic market. It is located at 43rd Avenue and McDowell in Phoenix. There is a check cashing store, an

agua fresca ''Aguas frescas'' ( en, cool waters, lit=fresh waters, italic=yes) are light non-alcoholic beverages made from one or more fruits, cereals, flowers, or seeds blended with sugar and water. They are popular in Mexico and some other Latin A ...

bar, a cocina (kitchen), and a gas station among other attractions at the location. Several other stores are sublet in the Fry's Mercado (including an electronics store, a women's clothing store, and a barber shop).Alt URL
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Fry's Fuel

Fry's offers fuel at some of its retail locations.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fry's Food And Drug Companies based in Arizona Retail companies established in 1954 1954 establishments in California Kroger Maricopa County, Arizona Supermarkets of the United States 1960 establishments in Arizona 1972 mergers and acquisitions