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Fry’s: 60 Years of Delivering Fresh to Arizona

• In 1960, Don and Chuck Fry opened the first Phoenix Fry’s store at 7th Street and Missouri Avenue. They previously operated stores in northern California beginning in 1957.

• In 1972, Fry’s Food Stores acquired by the Dillon Cos. There were 41 stores.

• In 1983, Dillon Cos. merged with The Kroger Co.

• In 1999, Kroger and Fred Meyer, parent company of Smith’s Food and Drug (Smith’s had acquired Smitty’s in 1996), merged. Fry’s converted the Smith’s stores in Arizona to Fry’s Food and Drug Stores (except for Kingman, Bullhead City and Lake Havasu City).

• In 2000, Fry’s converted the Fred Meyer/Smitty’s stores in Arizona to Fry’s Marketplace.

• In 2008, Fry’s operated 118 stores.

• In 2020, the company operates 122 stores.

Fry’s Co-Founder Chuck Fry Dies at 92

Charles Lindbergh “Chuck” Fry, 92, co-founder of Fry’s Food Stores, died Jan. 20, 2020, at the home he shared with his wife Alice in Paradise Valley, Arizona. They had been married for 68 years.

Mr. Fry was born on May 31, 1927, in Stigler, Oklahoma, to Leela Mae and Dalquist Dalquin Fry. He had four brothers and sisters—Yvonne, Don, Cotton and Laverne.

He and his family lived through the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl and were “shaped by hardship and close kin,” according to Mr. Fry’s obituary from Messinger Mortuary.

Mr. Fry played basketball and, after graduating from Bartlesville High School in 1944, went on to play for Oklahoma State on a scholarship.

He graduated from East Texas Baptist College in 1949, where he earned all-state honors.

He served in the U.S. Navy from 1944-45 on the Heavy Cruiser Chicago.

He and Alice married in 1951. They moved to Wichita, Kansas, where Alice worked for Cessna and Chuck worked for Boeing to save enough money to start a business of their own. They invested in Mr. Fry’s grocery store venture with his brother Don—Fry’s Food Stores—in 1955 in Richmond, California.

They coined the phrase “Your best buys are always at Fry’s.” The brothers grew their grocery store chain from one to many, “always striving for great quality at a good price,” the obituary said.

They eventually sold to Kroger, and Mrs. Fry continued to shop at Fry’s and “school willing managers on how to stay on brand to provide top-notch service and quality.” Mr. Fry enjoyed looking at his Kroger stock as it gained value over the years.

The Frys raised three boys—John, Randy and Dave—on their ranch in Martinez, California.

Interestingly, Mr. Fry was crowned World Domino Champion in San Francisco in 1970.

The Fry boys eventually pooled their resources and formed Fry’s Electronics in 1985, inspired by their dad’s grocery business and the burgeoning computer industry.

In addition to his wife and sons, Mr. Fry is survived by 10 grandchildren—Natalie, Joshua, Lina, Amora, Erica, Will, Jake, David, Brad and Amy; and nine great-grandchildren—Nicole, Megan, Haley, Evan, Elise, Charlie, Kaylee, MacKenzie and Logan.

Mr. Fry’s memorial service was held Jan. 27 at Oakmont Memorial Park in Lafayette, California.

promoted to president in Kroger’s Michigan division. He spent about a year in Michigan and then returned to Columbus as division president for three and a half years before heading to Atlanta.

During Lucia’s time in Ohio, Garnes was not letting the grass grow under her feet.

“She was a store manager and I kept up with her when I got back. She had an opportunity to spend a lot of time with me and serve on different committees and so forth, and she was just a pleasure to work with,” he recalled.

Staying in touch

“I left the Columbus division to become president of the Atlanta division, where I spent 18 years. I kept in touch with her and she had a number of different assignments. When she was promoted to president, I was really proud of her,” Lucia said.

Lucia and Garnes continued to stay in touch. “From time to time she would call and ask me questions about how I saw things, but she didn’t need a lot of help. She was looking for counseling more than anything else and that’s what I tried to provide her,” Lucia said.

A good friend of Lucia’s who works on the warehousing side of the Fry’s organization told Lucia that Garnes has spoken very highly of him, giving him the lion’s share of credit for where she is today. His response is to give all the credit to her. “I think she’s where she is today because of all that she did.”

Opening pathways

One of Lucia’s priorities as a company leader was to give business associates a pathway “to help them grow and give them an avenue to receive feedback. That’s what I tried to do with her, and she did everything very well.”

Taking the time for the store walk-throughs with Garnes when he was a vice president and she was still a store co-manager was part of Lucia’s contribution to Garnes’ rise in the business. It was really a friendship, and “that’s how I wanted that relationship to be,” noted Lucia.

Lucia always wanted to see Garnes succeed and she has done so. As an executive leader, one of his most important roles was to choose the right people and help guide them to their fullest potential.

“I always tried to help develop people in my role as president,” he said.

Lucia looked for diversity in the leadership ranks and Garnes was one of those who stood out from the crowd.

“There were a lot of talented females there and she was just as talented. I wanted diversity but I wanted people that were very, very talented,” he said. “I wanted to open doors for those associates to really do well, and that’s what I tried to do. I have a lot of pride for Monica and what she’s accomplished.”

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