ABCO Foods
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ABCO Foods was a chain of grocery stores in Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona for over 15 years. Originally a merger between American Stores Alpha Beta and Lucky Stores, ABCO created its own identity with smaller stores and exceptional service. Originally started in 1986, the company was under the head of Edward Hill before being sold to the Fleming Companies, Inc in the early 1990's. Under Fleming's leadership, ABCO changed its name to ABCO Foods Desert Market and converted all of its stores to a desert format featuring facades of adobe and a very prominent pink color on its checkstands. When Fleming decided to pull out of the retail category, ABCO was one of the first chains put on the block. The result was the loss of these great markets, consisting of 56 stores at the time of its closure. The last ABCO store closed in May of 2001. The stores were sold separately to many different companies, including Albertsons, Bashas', Safeway Inc., Southwest Supermarkets, and many independent grocers operating as IGA (supermarkets) stores. Over the past few years, many of these stores have changed hands from there original buyers.
