2BF
Anniversary
Bristol Farms Celebrates ree Decades: Quality Runs rough It In the crowded Southern California food marketplace, Bristol Farms has winnowed out a very successful niche over the past 30 years. Its 14 stores, which are concentrated in Los Angeles County but as far north as San Francisco, are meccas for those who are serious about their food. And that’s because Bristol Farms is serious about its food. at commitment to quality runs through every department at Bristol Farms, whether it’s produce, deli, prepared foods, bakery, meat, seafood, dairy, grocery or the in-store cafes that operate in seven of the stores. From the executives at company headquarters in Carson to store directors to department staff to part-time cashiers, excellence in quality and service are the name of the game at Bristol Farms, and President and CEO Kevin Davis is mentioned time and again by those in the know as the driving force behind that commitment to excellence. Davis spent a number of years with Ralphs Grocery Co. before embarking on his journey with Bristol Farms about 16 years ago. He and the company have weathered a number of ownership changes, but
each successive owner seemed to understand the uniqueness of the enterprise and kept the company, and its leadership, intact. The company went private again two years ago through a management-led buyout in concert with investment partner Endeavour Capital. Since then, Bristol Farms has been able to invest in some long-awaited store remodels that have yielded nice returns in both sales and goodwill with area residents and loyal customers.
The early years Two men, moving toward retirement, sold their high-end meat business supplying restaurants and butcher shops. But they weren’t quite ready to stop working
altogether, so they decided to try their hand at retail, believing that if they sold fresh, high quality meat, merchandised in the fashion of a butcher shop, they could build a customer base. us, Irv Gronsky and Mike Burbank started Bristol Farms in a space once occupied by a chain store in Rolling Hills Estates, Calif., in November 1982. “ey always thought the grocery stores could do a better job selling meat if they would throw sawdust on the floor and put 20 butchers behind the counter with fresh meat and not wrap it in plastic wrap on a foam tray. ey thought if they presented meat in a better, fresh environment, with knowledgeable people behind the counter, that people would migrate there like they would a high-end butcher shop. So as a hobby they opened up a store in Rolling Hills Estates here, and it took off and did very well,” recounts Davis. e duo recruited a produce expert early on, so meat and produce were in the spotlight in the early years. Eventually the store added a full complement of grocery departments, plus an adjacent café. During the next 14 years, Gronsky and Burbank opened two more stores—one in South Pasadena and one in Manhattan Beach. In 1996, they sold the three Bristol Farms stores to Kidd/Kamm, an investment firm, when they were ready to “retire again,” Davis says. Oaktree Capital was a mezzanine investor in the Kidd/Kamm deal and eventually took control. Oaktree executives approached Davis, then senior VP of marketing at Ralphs, about coming to Bristol Farms. It took periodic interviews over a six-month period for Davis to make the move to Bristol Farms, but by that time billionaire investor Ron Burkle had purchased Ralphs and the future there had become a bit more unclear. Davis says Oaktree brought him in to make Bristol Farms “scalable”—to build a management team and set a course to grow the business. “I came to Bristol for the entrepreneurial opportunity to do something unique, very highIrv Gronsky (right), who coend, specialty, and to kind of put my fingerprint founded Bristol Farms with on something and do it the way I think it could Mike Burbank, with his son be done,” he says. David.
Next owners: Albertsons and Supervalu e company had grown to nine stores when Oaktree Capital decided to sell
Important Events in Bristol Farms History Nov. 21, 1982: Bristol Farms is founded by former meat packers Irv Gronsky and Mike Burbank with the opening of a store in Rolling Hills, Calif. March 4, 1983: Bristol Farms rolled out its first private-label tortilla chips, selling them for 99 cents. Three months later, Bristol Farms salsa was introduced. Nov. 24, 1985: The second store, this one in South Pasadena, opens. Jan. 27, 1991: The Manhattan Beach store opens, featuring a catering facility and cooking school. It is the first store built from the ground up. Feb. 1, 1995: Gronsky and Burbank sell Bristol Farms to Kidd/Kamm, an investment firm. On the same day, Lou Kwiker is named president. Kwiker is former CEO of Wherehouse Records.
April 8, 1996: Kevin Davis joins Bristol Farms. Davis joins the company from Ralphs, where he was a senior marketing executive.
August 1997: Oaktree Capital takes control of Bristol Farms in an equity restructuring event with Kidd/Kamm.
June 14, 1996: Kevin Davis becomes president and CEO of Bristol Farms.
Aug. 5, 1998: The Newport Beach store opens. This location, the company’s first in Orange County, is near the Fashion Island Mall.
Sept. 1, 1996: Bristol Farms’ first distribution center opens in Bell, Calif. Nov. 6, 1996: Westlake Village store opens. The store is located in the Westlake Promenade, the first major regional development for Rick Caruso. Feb. 4, 1997: Bristol Farms’ Long Beach store opens, serving customers in the Long Beach and Belmont Shores areas. Aug. 1, 1997: The South Pasadena store is remodeled. More parking is added, the retail space is expanded and the café is relocated.
80 • Bristol Farms 30th Anniversary – A Shelby Report Special Section
April 21, 1999: Bristol Farms opens its store in Hollywood following the purchase of the former Chalet Gourmet Market on the Sunset Strip.
areas, opens in the former Chasen’s Restaurant. Bristol Farms retains the original high-back leather booths in the worldfamous restaurant and incorporated many of the design elements that earned Chasen’s a place in “Old Hollywood” lore.
March 8, 2000: The Westwood store, the company’s eighth, opens following the company’s acquisition of Gibson & Cooke Market on Westwood Boulevard near UCLA. July 1, 2000: Bristol Farms’ website goes live, launching online communication with customers. Nov. 15, 2000: The Beverly West Bristol Farms, serving the Beverly Hills and West Los Angeles
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