Kessel Food Markets was an American supermarket chain based in Michigan. It began in 1981 when Owosso, Michigan, native Al Kessel, a former executive vice president of Hamady Brothers supermarkets, purchased Kroger locations in Corunna and Saginaw. Kroger closed these stores due to Michigan's poor economy at the time, and failure to reach union agreements.[1] After Kroger closed all five of its Flint locations in 1982 for the same reasons, Kessel purchased them as well, followed by 13 Hamady stores after that chain filed for bankruptcy in 1991. At its peak, Kessel Food Markets comprised 24 stores.[2] Kessel filmed his own television commercials for the chain,[3] in which he would throw items into a grocery cart and state, "Save at Kessel this week. Why? Because we're with you."[2]
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | Corunna, Michigan, 1981 |
| Founder | Al Kessel |
| Defunct | 1999 |
| Fate | purchased by Kroger |
| Headquarters | , |
Number of locations | 24 |
Area served | Flint, Michigan-Saginaw, Michigan, area |
| Products | Groceries |
| Owner | Al Kessel |
The Kessel chain was frequently targeted by workers' unions in Saginaw.[3] By 1999, four of the Kessel stores had been converted to Save-A-Lot or closed, while the rest were sold to Kroger, which briefly continued to operate them under the Kessel name before converting them.[4] Kessel's company, Kessel Enterprises of Grand Blanc, Michigan, continued to operate the Save-a-Lot stores and local Pet Supplies Plus stores.
Kessel died December 28, 2012, at age 74 of esophageal cancer, in Naples, Florida.[5][6][7]
References
edit- ^ "Kessel buys Corunna, Saginaw Kroger stores". Argus-Press. Owosso. November 24, 1981.
- ^ a b Adams, Dominic (December 28, 2012). "Grocer Al Kessel remembered for kindness, dedication to employees". The Flint Journal. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
- ^ a b Adams, Dominic (December 28, 2012). "A look back at the history of Kessel Food Markets in Flint, Saginaw". The Flint Journal. Retrieved September 5, 2020.
- ^ Kroger To Buy Michigan's Kessel Food Markets Supermarket News, December 20, 1999.
- ^ "Grocer Al Kessel dies at 74". The Flint Journal. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
- ^ "Al Kessel dies at age 74". The Morning Sun. Mt. Pleasant. Archived from the original on 2012-12-31. Retrieved 2019-10-05.
- ^ "Flint-Saginaw grocer Al Kessel dies at age 74". Detroit Free Press. Associated Press. December 29, 2012. Archived from the original on December 31, 2012. Retrieved October 5, 2019.