Buehler Food Markets Inc.
Buehler's Fresh Foods
Typeemployee-owned
IndustryRetail
Founded1929 (1929)
New Philadelphia, Ohio, U.S.
FounderEd and Helen Buehler
Headquarters
Wooster, Ohio
,
United States
Number of locations
14
Area served
North-Central Ohio
ProductsArtisan Bakery, Beer, Dairy, Deli, Grocery, Meat, General Merchandise
Services
RevenueIncrease $382.1 million
Number of employees
2,100 (2020)[2]
ParentPreviously: E&H Family Group
Websitewww.buehlers.com

Buehler's Fresh Foods, also known as Buehler's, is a grocery store chain founded in 1929 in New Philadelphia, Ohio, US, by Ed and Helen Buehler. In 1932, Buehler's opened its second location in Wooster, Ohio.[3]

Buehler's is the largest purchaser of local Amish produce at the Mt. Hope Auction. The company also sources dairy and meats from local and/or sustainable farms.

On October 18, 2017, Buehler's parent company, E&H Family Group, announced its decision to sell the 13 supermarkets to employees in the form of an employee stock ownership program (ESOP). The ESOP will be operated by the newly formed Buehler’s Fresh Foods, led by an experienced team of Buehler’s veterans, including Dan Shanahan, Buehler’s Fresh Foods president and COO since 2011, Rick Lowe, VP of Human Resources of E&H Family Group since 1977, and Mike Davidson, VP of Store Operations since 2015.[4]

Other Business Ventures

E&H Hardware Group, a subsidiary of E&H Family Group, continues to operate 25 hardware stores in Ohio under the E&H Ace Hardware name. The Buehler's ESOP sale has no impact on E&H Hardware Group.

Opening and Closing of Stores

  • On January 4, 2016, Buehler's announced its intention to permanently close its Delaware supermarket, at 800 West Central Avenue, Delaware, Ohio. In that release, Buehler's stated that the anticipated closing date would be mid-to-late February 2016 and cited competition in the Delaware market and failed turnaround initiatives as the main reason for the closure. This marked the first closure of a supermarket, not relating to a move, in the company's history. The Delaware store officially closed on February 13, 2016, affecting 131 employees.[5] The closing reduced the supermarkets in the company from 15 to 14.
  • Late in the afternoon on Monday, September 26, 2016, Buehler's announced in an official press release the closure of its Brunswick supermarket, at 3688 Center Road, Brunswick, Ohio. Buehler's stated that the supermarket had been under-performing for some time in the competitive Medina County market. 125 workers were affected as a result of the supermarket closing. The last official day of business at the Brunswick location was October 21, 2016. This cut Buehler’s supermarket roster from 14 to 13.[6]
  • On November 17,2021 a new Buehler's Fresh Foods opened in Galion, OH increasing their store count back to 14.

References

  1. ↑ "Buehler's Fresh Foods Restaurants".
  2. ↑ "Buehler Food Markets Careers & Jobs". 18 May 2020.
  3. ↑ Bablak, Jane (21 March 1995). "The family business: Buehler family attributes success to keeping up with the times, old-fashioned service". The Daily Record. p. 1. ISSN 0892-8215. ProQuest 375673305. The history of the retail chain is a study in longevity. After hiring three clerks in the New Philadelphia store, the Buehlers opened their second store at 120 E. Liberty St., in Wooster in 1932. The store moved to the 100 block of North Market Street in 1947 and to its current location at 336 N. Market St. in 1951. Additional locations were added in Dover in 1941, Orrville in 1959, Medina in 1964 and 1992, Coshocton in 1968, Delaware in 1969 and Wadsworth in 1975. In 1974, the office and warehouse moved from the downtown Wooster store to Old Mansfield Road. The Wooster Milltown store was built in 1980 and expanded nine years later.
  4. ↑ Warren, Bobby (28 February 2007). "Slow and calculated growth for Buehler's". The Daily Record. ProQuest 375974991. A fourth generation of the Buehler's family recently joined the business. Scott Buehler said while there has been a succession plan put in place for the great-grandchildren of Ed and Helen Buehler, they will not automatically enter the ranks of the company's leadership.
  5. ↑ "Buehler's Fresh Foods to Close Delaware, Ohio Store - Buehler's Fresh Foods". buehlers.com. 2016-01-05. Archived from the original on 2016-08-11. Retrieved 2019-10-26.
  6. ↑ "Buehler's to Close Brunswick Store - Buehler's Fresh Foods". buehlers.com. 2016-09-26. Archived from the original on 2017-10-18. Retrieved 2019-10-26.
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