Retailer of the Year/Food Industry Hall of Fame

That was the bottom job in the store.

You got married young, correct?

Yes. My wife and I met in high school and we got married right after she got out of high school, a year or so after. That’s 50-something years later and we are still married. She’s still the boss.

How soon after you got married did you start having a family?

Two years after, we had our first son. She worked for two years outside the house and that was it. Since then she’s just spent money, so I had to make money (chuckling).

So that interrupted any plans you might have had for college?

I kept getting offers for better jobs at Albertsons and I had to weigh the two. Finally, they offered me what they called department manager—to run the deli—and the money was unbelievable in those days. I think 80 bucks a week or something, but it was a lot of money. I had a car that was falling apart, and that was just too much temptation. I was always thinking about going back (to college) but I kept getting promoted, having babies, and had to keep working.

So you learned at a very young age a really good work ethic, probably from both your grandfather and your mom? It’s always interesting to me to find out what makes someone as successful as you have been. There’s a lot of people with good work ethics that don’t get to where you are, so I’m curious, if you can put into words, what it was that made you as successful as you are. Well, one of the things that helped me succeed was working hard. Working hard is not necessarily spending your life working, but when you are there, you are really trying to