Food 4 Less

Food 4 Less is the name of several grocery store chains, with the largest one owned by Kroger. These stores are known for being simple and easy, where customers bag their own groceries at the checkout. Kroger runs Food 4 Less stores mainly in the Chicago area in Illinois and Indiana, and in Southern California. In northern and central California, including places like Bakersfield and the Central Coast, these stores are called Foods Co. because Kroger doesn't have the right to use the Food 4 Less name there.

Other Food 4 Less stores can be found in various places across the United States, often under franchise agreements with different wholesalers. The name Food 4 Less was once used by Fleming Companies, Inc., but when Fleming ran into financial trouble and closed down, the name was passed to other companies that took over some of their stores.

Falley's

The Food 4 Less name and logo started in the 1930s by Lou Falley. He created both Food 4 Less stores, which were simple warehouse-style shops, and Falley's stores, which were full-service supermarkets. The Food 4 Less stores saved money by having groceries placed on shelves in their original boxes instead of individual items. These stores were in eastern Kansas and parts of northwestern Missouri. Over time, many Falley's stores were replaced by Food 4 Less stores.

In 1987, Ron Burkle's Yucaipa Companies bought Falley's in Topeka, Kansas. Later, Food 4 Less merged with Ralphs, which Fred Meyer had bought from Yucaipa Companies in 1998. In 1999, Fred Meyer and Food 4 Less were bought by Kroger. In 2015, Food 4 Less left the Nevada market, turning six stores into Smith's Food and Drug and closing the rest. In 1998, Fred Meyer sold Falley's and the Midwestern Food 4 Less stores to Associated Wholesale Grocers in Kansas City. Eventually, the simple warehouse-style stores were changed to full-service Food 4 Less stores with a new look. In January 2006, the Falley's and Food 4 Less stores in Kansas joined with Homeland Stores in Edmond, Oklahoma, and the Food 4 Less name was changed to other brands like Price Chopper.

Nugget

Kroger uses the Foods Co name in Northern California because of an agreement with a company called Nugget Markets, Inc.. There is one Food 4 Less store in Northern California that is run by Nugget, and Kroger does not control it.

This Nugget Food 4 Less store has some differences. It cannot advertise the same way as Kroger's Food 4 Less stores. While Kroger's ads show specific products on sale, Nugget's ads only talk about sales events and what customers say. Also, the prices from Kroger's Food 4 Less stores do not apply here.

The products in the Nugget Food 4 Less store are different because Nugget uses items from its upscale Nugget Market stores. Marketing and management for this store are done from the Nugget Market office in Davis, California, while other Food 4 Less stores are managed from Kroger's office in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is not clear if Nugget and Kroger will keep their agreement when it ends.

Nugget had three stores in Northern California, in Cameron Park, Vallejo, and Woodland. In 2014, the Cameron Park store became a new type of store called Fork Lift. The Vallejo store closed on May 15, 2016, so now the only Food 4 Less store left is in Woodland.

Fleming

Fleming was one of the people who owned Food 4 Less stores. In 2003, Fleming had money problems and had to sell the stores. Three stores in Utah were bought by Albertsons. Two of these stores kept the Food 4 Less name until 2005, when they changed to the Albertsons Super Saver name. Another store in Pinole, California became a FoodMaxx store owned by Save Mart Supermarkets.

In Oregon, one former Fleming store stayed open in Salem and became part of the Mega Foods chain. There was also an independently run store in Portland that closed in January 2013.

PAQ, Inc.

PAQ, Inc. is another company that uses the Food 4 Less name for its stores in northern California. These stores are found in places like Arroyo Grande, Atascadero, Ceres, Lodi, and many others. The company running these stores, PAQ, Inc., is not managed by Kroger. Besides Food 4 Less, they also run a different type of store called Rancho San Miguel Markets, which focuses on foods popular in Hispanic cultures.

Gongco Foods

Gongco Foods runs seven Food 4 Less stores in central California. These stores are in Atwater, Fresno, Madera, Merced, Porterville, Selma, and Visalia. These stores are not connected to Kroger.

Other ownerships

There are Food 4 Less stores run by employees in Joplin and Springfield, Missouri. In Oregon, stores in Bend and Medford use the Food 4 Less name but have local owners. In July 2023, the store in Bend changed its name to Local Acres Marketplace to show its local ownership and to stand apart from the larger chain owned by Kroger, which also owns the Fred Meyer chain in the U.S. Northwest. A Food 4 Less store in Massillon, Ohio, which was co-owned with a local grocery chain called Bordner's, closed in 2014.