United Supermarkets, d.b.a. The United Family is an American

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 ...

chain. With headquarters in

Lubbock, Texas Lubbock ( ) is the 10th-most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of government of Lubbock County. With a population of 260,993 in 2021, the city is also the 85th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the nort ...

, its roots go back to 1916, when H.D. Snell opened his first United Cash Store in

Sayre, Oklahoma Sayre is a small city in, and the county seat of, Beckham County, in western Oklahoma, United States. It is halfway between Oklahoma City, and Amarillo, Texas, on Interstate 40 and the former U.S. Route 66. The population was 4,375 at the 2010 c ...

. The chain has grown to include 95 stores in 30 Texas cities and over 10,000 workers. In 2014 it became a wholly-owned subsidiary of

Albertsons Albertsons Companies, Inc. is an American grocery company founded and headquartered in Boise, Idaho. With 2,253 stores as of the third quarter of fiscal year 2020 and 270,000 employees as of fiscal year 2019, the company is the second-larg ...

History

United Supermarkets has 94 stores located in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

and

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex , Offi ...

. While it shares the same name as United Supermarkets based in

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

(owned by

Homeland A homeland is a place where a cultural, national, or racial identity has formed. The definition can also mean simply one's country of birth. When used as a proper noun, the Homeland, as well as its equivalents in other languages, often has ethn ...

), it technically does business as The United Family to differentiate from the Oklahoma chain, as they are separate grocery entities. On April 1, 2009, United opened its 50th store in

Plano, Texas Plano ( ) is a city in Collin County and Denton County, Texas, United States. It had a population of 285,494 at the 2020 census. It is a principal city of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. History European settlers came to the area near ...

. Most United Supermarkets stores operate from 6 or 7 am until 11 pm, seven days a week. As of February 1, 2016, four stores operate 24 hours a day, including the pharmacy: two stores in Lubbock, one in Wichita Falls, and one in Frisco (Of which is no longer a 24-hour location as of 2019). Two stores were open 24 hours a day temporarily after the opening of the new store. Both were located in Lubbock. United Supermarkets is run by the

chain, and operates as a division of Albertsons.

Acquisition

On September 9, 2013, United Supermarkets LLC was sold to Albertsons LLC. On February 4, 2014, the FTC voted 4–0 to approve the deal. The acquisition deal cost Albertsons $385 million and required Albertsons to sell its single stores in the

Amarillo Amarillo ( ; Spanish for " yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Potter County. It is the 14th-most populous city in Texas and the largest city in the Texas Panhandle. A portion of the city extends into Randall Cou ...

and

Wichita Falls Wichita Falls ( ) is a city in and the seat of government of Wichita County, Texas, United States. It is the principal city of the Wichita Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Archer, Clay, and Wichita counties. According ...

, Texas, markets. As part of the acquisition, several Albertsons locations in Eastern New Mexico, which were re-branded as "Albertsons Market", were added to the new United division of Albertsons-Safeway. Expansion in New Mexico continued with the purchase of several Lawrence Brothers locations, and the transfer of stores in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Rio Rancho, and Taos, to the United division. The United Family operates five distinct retail banners: * United Supermarket - traditional grocery offerings * Market Street - take-out foods, restaurants, gourmet, and everyday grocery items * Amigos United - international and American foods * United Express - take-out foods, café, and gas station * Albertsons Market - traditional American grocery

Naming rights

United Supermarkets owns the naming rights to

United Supermarkets Arena United Supermarkets Arena (previously the United Spirit Arena) is a multipurpose arena on the campus of Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. The 15,300-seat arena opened in 1999 and is home to the Texas Tech Red Raiders basketball, Texas ...

Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sy ...

. The arena is the home court for the university's men's and women's basketball teams in addition to its women's volleyball team.

References

External links

United Supermarkets websiteMarket Street UnitedAmigos UnitedAlbertsons Market
{{Cerberus Capital Management Supermarkets of the United States Companies based in Lubbock, Texas Retail companies established in 1916 1916 establishments in Texas Cerberus Capital Management companies Safeway Inc. 2014 mergers and acquisitions