Sidney "Sid" Applebaum (February 28, 1924 – August 6, 2016) was an American businessman, the cofounder of Rainbow Foods.

Biography

Sidney Applebaum was born in

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, ...

, on February 28, 1924, to Oscar and Bertha Applebaum. He was the youngest son and eighth child of nine. His parents immigrated to the United States from

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

on their honeymoon. Oscar Applebaum sold produce door-to-door in St. Paul from a horse-drawn wagon. Oscar opened a fruit stand on the corner of St. Peter and 7th Streets with a $65 loan from his eldest son. It became the first Applebaum's Food Market. As a boy, Sid bundled soap, bagged rice, worked as a box boy, and delivered fruit and produce for the fruit stand. Applebaum graduated from

Humboldt Senior High School Humboldt Senior High School is a public high school located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States which serves students in grades 6-12. The school is the smallest of the nine high schools in the Saint Paul Public Schools district with an enr ...

in St. Paul and continued to grow the family business. By 1979, the family business included about 30 metro-area Applebaum's stores and one in

Duluth Duluth ( ) is a Port, port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of St. Louis County, Minnesota, St. Louis County. Located on Lake Superior in Minnesota's Arrowhead Region, the city is a hub for cargo shipping. The population ...

. In 1979, the chain was sold to

National Tea The National Tea Company (NATCO, informally known as National) was a Midwestern United States grocery chain that operated during the 20th century. Founding Founded in 1899 by Danish immigrant George S. Rasmussen along with his brother Thorvald in ...

, and Applebaum continued working for them. The chain was subsequently sold to Wisconsin-based Gateway Foods. Applebaum and Gateway Foods CEO D. B. Reinhart grew the chain to become the second-largest grocery chain in the

Minneapolis–Saint Paul Minneapolis–Saint Paul is a metropolitan area in the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States centered around the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi, Minnesota River, Minnesota, and St. Croix River (Wisconsin–Minnesota), ...

area by embracing Applebaum's idea to launch Rainbow Foods by converting some of the Applebaum stores to the new brand. The chain was founded on October 1, 1983. Applebaum was president of Rainbow Foods through several ownership changes until 1996. In 1997, Applebaum bought four Holiday Foods stores in Bloomington, Fridley,

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

, and Burnsville. Eighteen months later, the stores were sold to Supervalu and converted to

Cub Foods Cub is an American supermarket chain. It operates stores in Minnesota and Illinois. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of United Natural Foods, based in Providence, Rhode Island. History Beginnings Cub Foods was founded by Minnesota-based ...

stores. In his final days, Applebaum became ill and used a walker, but he worked until less than a week before his death in

Minnetonka Minnetonka ( ) is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. A western suburb of the Twin Cities, Minnetonka is located about west of Minneapolis. At the 2020 census, the city's population was 53,781. Minnetonka is the home of Car ...

on August 6, 2016, aged 92. Applebaum and his wife, Lorraine, would have celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary on September 17, 2016. He was survived by his wife, three children, eight grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Applebaum, Sid 1924 births 2016 deaths Businesspeople from Saint Paul, Minnesota American people of Russian-Jewish descent 20th-century American businesspeople