Vons Grocery Company

Michael L. Stark, Wendy Kennedy

• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
• Year: 2014
• ISBN:
  9781439645567
• Topic: Storia
• Subtopic: Storia nordamericana

In 1906, the downtown area of Los Angeles was fundamentally a small town when Charles Von der Ahe opened his little Groceteria on the corner of Seventh and Figueroa Streets using $1, 200 in savings. It was a neighborhood store that catered to the needs of local families, where Von der Ahe pioneered cash and carry, replacing the charge and delivery way of thinking. Its expansion and innovation over the next 90 years was legendary, growing to more than 325 stores and 30, 000 employees. This book focuses on the legacy of this great company, its visionary leaders, and its dedicated employees who made it the number one grocery retailer in Southern California.

One

EARLY YEARS

1900s–1920s

Vons Grocery Company began in 1906 as a small market on the corner of Seventh and Figueroa Streets in Los Angeles. Over the years, Vons grew to become the leading supermarket chain in Southern California. Today, Vons has more than 300 supermarkets that cover an area ranging from Las Vegas, Nevada, to the Pacific Ocean and from Fresno to the Mexican border.

Charles Von der Ahe, the founder of Vons Grocery Company, started his career in the grocery business by working as a delivery boy in Illinois. He worked for a number of markets while transitioning out west to take up residence in Southern California. Once there, he opened his first market with a total investment of $1,200 and a philosophy of putting the customer first.

Von der Ahe was recognized as an innovator in the grocery industry. He created the “cash and carry” concept, which replaced the “charge and deliver” methodology that was rapidly disappearing. He also brought in fresh meat and produce by leasing out areas in his stores to local vendors and neighborhood butchers, so shoppers no longer had to travel all over town to check off all the items on their grocery lists. Von der Ahe expanded the number of his “grocertarias” to 87 stores in 1929.

Anticipating the looming financial crisis, in 1928 Von der Ahe sold his markets to the McMarr Stores, which were eventually purchased by Safeway. Soon afterward, Von der Ahe retired. However, what began as an early retirement turned out to be only a short vacation from the business he loved. The Von der Ahe family was back in the grocery business just three years later as Charles financed the efforts of his two sons, Ted and Wil.

Emil (left) and Charles Von der Ahe are pictured here inside the original Vons store no. 1 at Seventh and Figueroa Streets in Los Angeles. Two years later, this site was demolished, and Vons was relocated to 48th Street and Vermont Avenue. The original site was converted to the Barker Brothers furniture warehouse, which was later used as a filming location for many Hollywood movies.

In the early 1900s, many markets were designed with open storefronts. Vons store no. 1, originally opened in 1906 by Charles Von der Ahe, was relocated two years later to this storefront at 48th Street and Vermont Avenue in Los Angeles. Emil Von der Ahe, Charles’s brother, is standing in front of the store.

Standing in front of Vons store no. 3 is Al Schenck (left), the butcher at this store. His grandson Gary later became a store manager for Vons. The men on the right are unidentified.

In 1926, Vons celebrated by promoting its annual $1 Sale.

Vons started moving its inventory between stores with its own trucks by 1925. This was one of Vons’ first trucks.

Vons started baking their own products and sold Vons branded bread at this store located at 44th and Hoover Streets in Los Angeles. The year of this photograph was 1926. Emil Von der Ahe is at far right; the other three people are unidentified.

This is the second Vons store, which was located at 6100 Moneta Avenue in Los Angeles. By May 1920, there were nine Vons stores operating in downtown Los Angeles, with two additional stores planned for opening by the end of the year.

Ed Reynolds, who was still running Vons store no. 6 in 1948, is pictured here behind the checkstand of Vons store no. 15 in 1927.

Charles Von der Ahe started his business on a philosophy of always providing great customer service, as portrayed in this photograph from 1926 that shows the checker focusing her full attention on the customer.

By 1925, Vons needed its own fleet of trucks to service the company’s 87 stores located throughout the greater Los Angeles region.

Two

PIONEERING YEARS

1930s–1950s

Ted and Wil Von der Ahe opened Vons store no. 1 in Lynwood with a $2,500 investment from their father, Charles. The brothers numbered the second round of Vons stores starting with no. 1, even though the first round of Vons stores started in 1906 by their father also started with no. 1. By 1934, the chain had grown to three retail grocery stores run with innovation and a new style of customer service. In the third store, the brothers decided to own and operate their own meat and produce departments instead of leasing them to outside vendors. This allowed them to be more in control of service, quality, and establishing fair prices that shoppers had come to expect from Vons.

By the start of World War II, the company operated 12 stores and had over 300 employees. Vons reached milestones when the first postwar market opened in 1947, followed by the well-publicized grand opening of Vons’ new flagship store no. 15—located in Los Angeles at the intersection of Santa Barbara Avenue and Crenshaw Boulevard—on ...