Food Fair Market history

1955 The Bormans combine operations into a single Food Fair chain.

The funds were used to buy several smaller area chains including State Super Markets, American Stores, and Lipson-Gourwitz Co., which boosted the Bormans' total holdings to 56 stores by mid-1960.

For 1962 sales grew to $134.2 million, with net earnings of $4.3 million.

1965 The Bormans buy the Arnold Drug and Yankee Discount chains.

In 1967, FoodFair opened its doors officially as "Tower FoodFair" in Barboursville, WV. Charles G Forth began with a vision to provide superior service and offer only the best quality food for a competitive price.

In 1968 Borman Food Stores raised nearly $5 million to fund expansion by issuing an additional 200,000 shares of stock, and the following year the company shortened its name to Borman's, Inc. and became a Delaware-registered corporation.

By 1973 the Farmer Jack chain had shrunk from more than 90 outlets to 88, and it recorded a loss of $603,000 for the year.

In 1981 Borman's sold 10 unprofitable Arnold's drug stores to Revco Discount Drug Centers, Inc.

In 1985 the company sold its dairy subsidiary, and sales topped $1 billion for the first time, with an improved loss of $1.1 million recorded.

1987 An August strike ends with a $12.9 million worker buyout; 61 Safeway stores are acquired.

As the A&P name continued to lose its luster, the parent company decided to convert many of its Detroit area locations to Farmer Jacks and close the remainder, leaving a total of 93 Farmer Jack stores by the fall of 1994.

In 1995 A&P announced that Farmer Jack was now its most profitable division, giving credit to a $130 million campaign to improve stores and upgrade warehousing facilities throughout the state.

The year 1999 saw Farmer Jack begin to offer its customers one Northwest Airlines WorldPerks Bonus Mile for each dollar spent, and in late fall the firm opened six new stores in six weeks, bringing it up to a total of 105 outlets.

In 2001 Farmer Jack built a new store in downtown Toledo, as well as a new $43 million distribution center in the Detroit suburb of Livonia, which employed 300.

As A&P was struggling with losses in all of its divisions in 2002, accounting problems were discovered in the Detroit area which required it to restate earnings for the three previous fiscal years.

2003 More than a dozen Farmer Jack stores in Michigan and Ohio are shuttered or slated to close.