About Schnuck Markets
The Secret To Our Success
Teammates of Schnuck Markets, Inc. have been serving customers a unique combination of quality food, variety and value for more than eight decades. Founded in north St. Louis in 1939, the family-owned grocery company has grown to include more than 100 stores in four states: Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin. To find the closest store to you, please visit our store directory.
Our Growth
The seeds for the Schnucks of today were sown in 1939, when Anna Donovan Schnuck opened the family’s first retail store – a confectionery in north St. Louis. She was later joined by her husband, Edwin, who had begun his own wholesale meat business two years prior in 1937. Their oldest son, Edward (Ed), followed his parents’ lead and opened a corner store in the area. Soon after, second child Annette opened two additional stores with her husband, Raymond Hanhardt; their third child, Donald (Don), and his wife, Doris, opened their store following Don’s return from serving as an officer in the U.S. Navy during WW2. While separate enterprises, the four Schnuck families operated as one when it came to corporate philosophy, advertising and buying.
By 1947, the families had opened seven retail grocery stores among them. Ed sold his stores to join his father in the business he had established at 4356 Manchester in St. Louis. Later, Don and Doris sold their store to assist in the acquisition of a second major grocery location in the St. Louis suburb of Brentwood. Schnuck Markets soon became established as the “Meat Masters” with excellence in meat products.
Those two locations became the nucleus of the company today. In 1952, Edwin and his two sons incorporated as Schnuck Markets, Inc. They had learned a lot about managing a grocery store from serving independent grocers in their wholesale meat business. That experience also gave them a solid foundation for developing the outstanding meat departments for which Schnucks is still known today.
Schnucks also became known for the friendliness of our teammates. The friendly atmosphere of the stores so delighted customers that they frequently wrote enthusiastic letters and shared genuine compliments about teammates with Schnucks managers. In 1961, Schnucks adopted the slogan “The Friendliest Stores In Town” to highlight what our customers felt was our primary strength.
By the late 1960s, Schnucks was operating 16 modern, state-of-the-art stores in the St. Louis area. The times were revolutionary! Schnucks was the first major food retailer in the St. Louis area to drop popular trading stamps and replace them with “The Price Revolution” campaign that substituted lower prices for trading stamps. A new symbol accompanied this theme – our friendly saluting soldier – which is still one of the most recognized corporate logos in St. Louis.
Diversifying Company Operations
1970 was a year of growth! And that growth occurred more rapidly than anticipated when Schnucks acquired the Bettendorf-Rapp chain of stores in St. Louis and more than doubled store count overnight. That purchase put Schnucks in a position to serve a greater number of customers throughout the St. Louis metropolitan area.
In March of 1970 Schnucks announced the grand opening of Medi Mark, the family pharmacy at Schnucks Hampton & Gravois store in south St. Louis. This was the first combination food and drug store for Schnucks and first pharmacy location. (Schnucks would continue to operate pharmacies for the next 50 years until the sale of its in-store pharmacies to CVS, where they still operate today.) As the needs of customers changed, Schnucks became a leader in developing combination food and drug stores beginning in the mid 1970s. These full-service food and drug stores offered customers the convenience of more products and services under one roof.
In the company’s ongoing effort to offer unique, high-quality products to customers, Schnucks began adding manufacturing facilities to its operations in 1961 with the opening of our first bakery plant. Manufacturing operations have relocated through the years to accommodate growth and gain the advantage of technological advancements and innovations which help Schnucks better serve customers.
The Schnuck Family
The 1980s and 90s also marked a transition in leadership at Schnucks from the second generation of the Schnuck family to the third. Don and Doris were the proud parents of six children: Craig, Scott, Terry, Mark, Todd, and Nancy – and, Ed and Marilyn were the proud parents of Stephanie. Both Craig and Scott held leadership posts as the Chief Executive Officer of the company. In 2014, when Schnucks celebrated 75 years of serving customers, the current CEO, Todd, began his tenure. In addition, members of the fourth generation of the Schnuck family also have leadership roles, including Ted Schnuck, Executive Vice President, Supermarkets, Chris Kline, Vice President of Real Estate, and Todd Schnuck Jr., Vice President of Own Brands.
Dramatic Growth & Opportunity
Rewinding to 1995, Schnucks had another banner year, when that summer, Schnucks acquired 57 stores from National Supermarkets, which at the time, was the company’s single, largest competitor in the St. Louis metropolitan area.
Three years later, the growth continued as Schnucks entered the Rockford, Illinois market with the acquisition of Logli Supermarkets in 1998. Being family owned, there were many similarities between Logli and Schnucks which helped to facilitate the transition for Logli customers and teammates. To better compete in the Rockford market, Schnucks acquired seven area Hilander stores from The Kroger Company in 2011. Today, Schnucks operates supermarkets in Rockford, Illinois, DeKalb, Illinois and Janesville, Wisconsin.
The growth would continue for Schnucks, this time in the St. Louis metropolitan area. In 2018, Schnucks purchased 19 Shop ‘n Save stores (14 in Missouri and five in Illinois), welcoming new teammates and customers into the fold under the Schnucks banner.
From brick and mortar growth to expansion in the digital space, Schnucks launched its popular Schnucks Rewards program as well in 2018, offering program members 2% back in Rewards Points on each purchase, along with exclusive digital coupons and other in-app features.
With an eye on innovation, in 2021, Schnucks became the world’s first grocer to deploy intelligent robots chainwide. Customers have come to know “Tally”, the robot that traverses Schnucks stores daily.
Also in 2021, Schnucks welcomed its first Schnucks Fresh format with a new store opening in Jasper, Indiana. A smaller footprint store, Schnucks Fresh includes a heavy focus on fresh departments such as produce, meat, seafood, deli and bakery.
In the fall of 2022, Schnucks expanded its geographic footprint to include Sullivan and Union, Missouri with the acquisition of two Frick’s Markets.
In October 2023, Schnucks opened its second Schnucks Fresh format near Sullivan, Missouri, replacing the original Frick’s store on Clark Street.
Following more than 85 years of growth and success, for three consecutive years – 2022, 2023, and 2024 – Schnucks has been recognized and honored as a US Best Managed Company, an initiative sponsored by Deloitte Private and The Wall Street Journal.
At Schnucks, growth and change are two constants. As customers evolve, Schnucks adapts and innovates to meet their needs and to live the company’s mission to Nourish People’s Lives.