Whites Fresh Foods

[wiseguy93]

White's Fresh Foods, Inc

Headquater offices located at
125 Lamont St, Johnson City, TN
Chairman of the board is Douglas White.
Whites owns 13 Supermarkets in East Tennessee &  
1 Southwest Virginia.

Whites Supermarket started in 1952 by Bob White, Father of Doug White who currently owns and serves as Chairman of the board of Whites Fresh Foods. Whites started in 1952 in Erwin, Tennessee.

Locations of Whites Fresh Foods

*5674 Highway 11 E, Piney Flats, Tennessee
*410 Princeton Rd, Johnson City, Tennessee
*1950 S Roan St, Johnson City, Tennessee
*1103 N Roan St, Johnson City, Tennessee
*507 Boones Creek Rd, Jonesborough, Tennessee
*700 State Line Rd, Elizabethton, Tennessee
*1729 Highway 19 E, Elizabethton, Tennessee
*338 Suncrest St, Gray Tennessee
*1328 S John B Dennis Hwy, Kingsport, Tennessee
*3006 N John B Dennis Hwy, Kingsport, Tennessee
*443 W Sullivan St, Kingsport, Tennessee
*839 Tusculum Blvd, Greeneville,Tennessee
*1609 Jackson Love Hwy, Erwin, Tennessee
*1254 N Main Ave, Erwin, Tennessee
*U.S 23 Weber City, Virginia.

[wiseguy93]

This Whites' Fresh Food's is located right off from State of Franklin Road.

[wiseguy93]

[wiseguy93]

Located off from John B. Dennis Parkway

[wiseguy93]

Here sits a former Whites Fresh Foods vacant located on North Eastman Road. Located in an old vacant shopping center the once house a Rose's Department store then Goody's. Fred's was located in the Old Whites Fresh Food for a couple of years after they left the store vacant. But Fred's only stayed in the Kingsport area for a couple of years before shutting down. A brand new two story Food City with over 50,000 sq feet sits behind this building, I'am sure Food City had something to do with the closing of this store.

[wiseguy93]

By George Jackson
Reporter-Producer / News Channel 11
Published: January 19, 2009

Johnson City, Tenn.—White's Fresh Foods' new owner, Houchens Industries based in Bowling Green Kentucky, said 450 employees in the Tri-Cities region will become part of "one of the largest employee-owned companies in the United States."

The White's empire stretched from Newport Tennessee to Weber City Virginia, and encompassed 14 stores.  

Former owner Douglas White built the company from scratch alongside his father Bob White.  

"I opened my first convenience store in Erwin at the age of 14, my first grocery store a few years later," Douglas White said.

He said the sale has been stressful, but ultimately thinks it will be good for employees, shoppers, and economic conditions in the Tri-Cities region.

"To that end, I think that was the catalyst for Mr. White to trust our company with his associates," said Houchens spokesman Alan Larsen.

When asked whether the company would expand operations or cut jobs in the Tri-Cities region, Larsen responded, "If I could expound on that in any degree of detail I would, but It would be difficult to do so when I don't know the answer.  We just want to get settled into the marketplace and try to understand the business."
 
To view a video version of this report, click the play icon above.

[wiseguy93]

Published: January 19, 2009

Employees of Whites Fresh Foods were told today that the grocery chain has signed a letter of intent to sell to Houchens Industries Inc. of Bowling Green, Ky.

Whites operates conventional retail grocery stores in Tennessee and Virginia. Houchens Industries expects to maintain uninterrupted service in all current markets that Whites services—including all the facilities that the White family owns.

Houchens provides the best opportunity for continued service to Whites customers, for potentially expanding that customer base and for providing stability to the 450-plus associates of Whites, according to a Jan. 19 press release from Houchens.

Houchens Industries is one of the largest 100-percent employee-owned companies in the nation and currently operates businesses in insurance, manufacturing, web development, retail grocery and convenience stores, quick-to-service restaurants, construction, paving, trucking, recycling, tanning supply distribution, optical stores, financial services and property management.

[wiseguy93]

This Whites Fresh Foods store in Piney Flats
off Highway 11-E Piney Flats is located between Johnson City & Bristol Tennessee.

[wiseguy93]

[wiseguy93]

[wiseguy93]

This Whites is located on U.S 23 about a mile from the Tennessee State line. This is the only Whites Fresh Foods in Virginia.

[wiseguy93]

KINGSPORT — White's Fresh Foods stores in Kingsport are getting a new name.

Owned by Houchens Industries of Bowling Green, Ky., the stores are converting to Hometown IGA locations, effective Monday, March 1. On that day at 11 a.m., the Kingsport Area Chamber of Commerce will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the 1328 S. John B. Dennis Highway store to mark the change.

Also converting on March 1 will be the 3006 John B. Dennis Highway store and the 443 W. Sullivan St. location.

The remaining White's Fresh Foods stores are set to convert to Hometown IGA in the near future.

The Kingsport stores are 100 percent employee owned as part of Houchens Industries, which features an employee stock ownership plan.

"And as owners, the employees take special pride in making their store the best that it can be," according to a release from the parent company.

"The Kingsport stores will have many of the same friendly and experienced associates from White's Fresh Foods under the direction of Randall Tipton, regional manager," according to the release.

Hometown IGA will carry a large variety of IGA brand products for nearly every product category throughout the store, including the meat department, where customers will find the IGA choice Angus beef, the company said.

"IGA is so certain that customers are going to love this beef that they offer a 200 percent money-back guarantee," according to the company. "These products offer a great value to families because they are affordably priced and are premium quality. Customers will witness a great improvement in the [/img]