Stanley Stores Inc. was a family-owned regional

grocery store A grocery store ( AE), grocery shop or grocer's shop ( BE) or simply grocery is a retail store that primarily retails a general range of food products, which may be fresh or packaged. In everyday US usage, however, "grocery store" is a synon ...

chain in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, with its headquarters in Bay City,

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. The chain operated three brands. Stanley Stores was the conventional grocery store brand. The ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. ...

'' said that the brands Price Lo Supermarkets and Foods "4" Less were "modern, warehouse-type food stores with large sales and cut-rate prices."Staff.
Price-Lo Supermarkets opens two new stores in Houston
" ''

''. Sunday July 24, 1988. Business 6. Retrieved on November 20, 2011. In 1994 Greg Hassel of the ''

'' said that Stanley Stores was one of several "small area outfits" operating stores in the Houston area.Hassel, Greg.
AppleTree to hand over most stores this week
" ''

''. Tuesday January 4, 1994. Business 1. Retrieved on December 1, 2011.

History

O. B. Stanley established the chain in 1945. The first location, a drive-in grocery in

Bay City, Texas Bay City is a city and the county seat of Matagorda County, Texas, United States. The population was 17,614 at the 2010 census and 18,061 at the 2020 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of ...

,O.B. Stanley
" (Obituaries) ''

The Victoria Advocate ''The Victoria Advocate'' is a daily newspaper independently published in Victoria, Texas. It is the second-oldest paper in Texas and the oldest west of the Colorado River, dating back to May 8, 1846, following the Battle of Palo Alto The Ba ...

''. Saturday April 19, 2008. B3. Retrieved from

Google News Google News is a news aggregator service developed by Google. It presents a continuous flow of links to articles organized from thousands of publishers and magazines. Google News is available as an app on Android, iOS, and the Web. Google ...

(6 of 23) on November 21, 2011. was the Stanley's Superette. Originally O. B. Stanley served as the president of Stanley Stores. Fred C. Stanley became the president of Stanley Stores in 1962. At its peak the chain operated 33 stores. In 1988 Stanley Stores had 30 locations in Texas and

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

. At that period the stores ranged in size between and . During that year, it opened two new stores in

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, including one location and one location. O. B. Stanley, in regards to the changes in size, said "We've gotten a little bigger since then. Our operations have changed with the times." Around January 1994 Stanley Stores acquired the Lake Jackson

Appletree Markets AppleTree Markets was a supermarket chain in Texas formed in 1969 when Safeway opened its first stores in Houston, which were spun off under the AppleTree name in 1988. The division once had 100 stores in Greater Houston and Greater Austin. By Janu ...

location after the chain sold many of its locations. In December 1994 Stanley Stores filed for

Chapter 11 Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...

reorganization in a federal bankruptcy court in Houston. It owed

Grocers Supply Inc. The Grocers Supply Co., Inc. is a wholesale grocery distributor with its headquarters in the Southeast Houston district, Houston, Texas. As of 2011, it was the largest grocery wholesale company in the Southwest United States.Monroe, Melissa S.La F ...

$14 million. At the time it had 29 stores in Texas and Louisiana and 1,400 employees.Workman, Jay.
Stanley reaches deal to get out of bankruptcy
" ''

''. Wednesday November 15, 1995. 5B. Retrieved from

(8 of 19) on November 21, 2011. By February 1995 seven stores had closed. In November 1995 Stanley Stores reached an agreement to get out of bankruptcy protection. At that time it had 15 stores and 750 employees. Fred Stanley, then still serving as president of the chain, died on Monday, July 12, 1999 from cancer. The chain made several donations to the Bay City Museum.Willey, Scott Reese.
Grocer remembered fondly for his service
" ''

''. July 15, 1999. 1E. Retrieved on November 21, 2011. "Stanley Stores also made considerable donations to the Bay City Museum"

References

{{Supermarkets of the United States Supermarkets of the United States Companies based in Texas Matagorda County, Texas American companies established in 1945 Retail companies established in 1945 Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1994 1940s establishments in Texas Retail companies of the United States