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1871 - Brothers Abraham
& Jacob Haas, young Bavarian immigrants, and partners Bernard Cohn
and Herman Hellman opened
Hellman-Haas Grocery Co.
in a 2-story building in Los Angeles. The store sold
necessities such as food, chewing
tobacco and gun powder.
1889 - Abraham Haas and Jacob Baruch bought out Herman Hellman's
interest in the company and the company name is
changes to Haas, Baruch &
Co.
1895 - The company reaches $ 2 million in sales.
1900 - Haas, Baruch & Co. is Los Angeles' leading wholesale grocer.
1900's - Haas leave Southern California and establishes Haas
Wholesale Grocers in San Francisco.
1912 - The Santa Ana Grocery Company was founded.
1914 - Michigan banker J.S. "Jim" Smart and H.D. "Hildane" Final
purchased the Santa Ana Grocery Company and changed
the company name to Smart
& Final Whole Grocers.
1919 - Smart & Final sales reached $ 10 million.
1923 - Smart & Final introduces a "self-service" store in Long
Beach, CA.
1930 - Roger Laverty purchases a Los Angeles-based supermarket chain
named Fitzsimmons Stores, Inc.
1947 - Laverty purchased the Los Angeles-based Thriftimart chain,
merged it with his Fitzsimmons Stores. Fitsimmons
locations take the
Thfiftimart name.
1953 - Haas and Baruch merge their companies with Smart & Final.
The new company retains the Smart & Final name.
1955 - Supermarket chain Thriftimart acquires Smart & Final.
1960 - Sales reach $ 168 million.
1980's - There are 86 Smart & Final cash & carry stores and 41
supermarkets with sales reaching $ 500 million.
1983 - With supermarket sales declining, Thriftimart sells 23
supermarkets to Safeway.
1983 - The company is acquired by Casino USA, the U.S. subsidiary of
a France-based retail company.
1984 - The company's remaining 17 Thrifitmart stores were liquidated
in order for the company to concentrate on its
Smart & Final chain.
1988 - Smart & Final operates 72 cash & carry stores.
1989 - Smart & Final operates 99 cash & carry stores.
1991 - Smart & Final becomes a publicly-traded company with Casino
USA retaining 53% of the company's stock. The
company purchased a
Northern California-based foodservice distribution company.
1993 - Smart & Final operates 135 cash & carry stores. The
company formed a joint venture with Central Detallista, SA de CV
and together began
opening Smart & Final stores in Mexico.
1994 - Smart & Final purchased a Florida-based food distribution
company which serviced Florida, Central and South America
and the Caribbean.
1995 - Smart & Final operates 140 cash & carry stores. Sales
reach $ 1.2 billion.
1996 - Smart & Final began opening cash & carry stores in Florida.
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