Draft:Sunflower's

Lewis Grocer Company, LLC

Store's logo since 1960
Trade name	Sunflower's Grocery.
Company type	Private
Industry	Retail
Founded	June 20, 1947 (1947-06-20) in Lexington, Mississippi, U.S.
Founder	Abraham Herrmann and Morris Lewis
Headquarters	U.S.
Number of locations	estimated 150 stores (2025)
Areas served	Southeast Alabama Mississippi Louisiana
Products	Bakery, dairy, deli, frozen foods, grocery, meat, pharmacy, produce, seafood, snacks
Services	Grocery Store
Parent	Lewis Grocer Company
Website	https://www.facebook.com/sunflower.foodstore9014/

The Lewis Grocer Company a prominent name in Mississippi's wholesale and retail grocery landscape for much of the 20th century, evolved from humble beginnings as a wholesale operation into a diversified enterprise encompassing company-owned and franchised supermarket chains. Its story is one of family entrepreneurship, strategic expansion, and adaptation to changing market trends, ultimately shaping the retail food industry across the Deep South.

Early Foundations and Growth (Late 19th Century - 1930s)

The roots of the Lewis Grocer Company trace back to approximately 1870, when Abraham Herrmann, a first-generation Jewish American immigrant from Georgia, settled in Lexington, Mississippi, with his wife and two children, Sam and Julia. In 1899, Julia Herrmann married Morris Lewis, and shortly thereafter, the brothers-in-law, Abraham Herrmann and Morris Lewis, forged a partnership. Their initial venture focused on selling wholesale groceries and supplies to local "Mom & Pop" stores. This foundational business experienced steady growth, leading to the establishment of a second warehouse operation in nearby Durant, Mississippi. A significant expansion occurred in 1931 when the duo seized the opportunity to acquire Gibson's Foods and its wholesale grocery operation in Indianola, Mississippi. These various wholesale operations eventually merged into a single, unified entity known as the Lewis Grocer Company.

The Triumvirate of Leadership (1930s - 1960s)

The mid-1930s marked a new era of leadership for the Lewis Grocer Company with the entry of the second generation of family members. In 1925, at the age of 23, LeRoy Paris, a cousin of Sam and Julia Herrmann, moved from Georgia to Lexington to join the family business at their request. Concurrently, Morris and Julia Lewis's two sons, Morris Jr. and Celian, also began their careers within the company. For the next four decades, this "triumvirate" of brothers and cousins – Morris Lewis Jr., Celian Lewis, and LeRoy Paris – would steer the enterprise, transforming it into one of Mississippi's largest privately held companies.

Each member brought complementary talents to the leadership team: Morris Lewis Jr. managed the overall company, Celian Lewis oversaw sales, and LeRoy Paris supervised operations. Morris Lewis Jr., a graduate of the Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania (1932), led the company from 1936 to 1969. His tenure was interrupted by service in the U.S. Army during World War II, where he attained the rank of major. He was also a prominent figure in the business and civic community, serving as President of the Mississippi Economic Council in 1959.

Venturing into Retail: The Sunflower Food Stores (1940s - 1970s)

Under Morris Lewis Jr.'s leadership, the company began to explore new retail strategies. Inspired by the concept of "voluntary chains" where independent stores would unite under a common name and supplier, the Lewis Grocer Company decided to experiment with a new retail brand after World War II. In the late 1940s, they launched "Sunflower Food Stores," a name inspired by Sunflower County, Mississippi. The underlying theory was that company-owned stores would provide a stable customer base for their wholesale operations and that a more sophisticated retail presence would yield greater returns compared to solely relying on "Mom & Pop" customers.

The first Sunflower Food Store opened in Philadelphia, Mississippi, in 1948, with Brown Williams, son of a Williams Brothers General Merchandise and Grocery founder, as its first manager. The initial success led to the opening of a second store in Louisville, Mississippi, followed by a third in West Point, Mississippi. These early company-owned stores were concentrated in the east-central part of the state. A significant milestone was reached on August 1, 1952, with the grand opening of their first store in the Mississippi Delta, located on Highway 82 East in Greenville.

After his discharge from the Army following the Korean War, LeRoy Paris's son, Henry Paris, joined Lewis Grocer and became instrumental in managing and developing the retail side of the business. Henry Paris strategically expanded the retail business through franchising, limiting the number of company-owned outlets. This approach allowed Lewis Grocer to maintain a wholesale relationship with franchisees while leveraging external capital for rapid expansion. Henry Paris eventually founded Southeastern Foods, a chain of Sunflower franchised stores operating in Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas.

The "Boys" and Middle Management (1950s - 1970s)

The early 1950s saw the emergence of the third generation of family members in leadership roles, often referred to within the company as "The Boys." This group included Henry Paris, Morris Lewis III, Jerry Miller (Morris Lewis Jr.'s son-in-law), Dudley Burwell (son-in-law of Fay Berman, Morris Lewis Jr.'s sister), and Bob Berman (Fay Berman's son). These individuals formed Lewis Grocer's middle management. Dudley Burwell, notably, succeeded Celian Lewis as president on November 2, 1979, and remained with Lewis Grocer for his entire career, a unique distinction among "The Boys."

Merger with SuperValu and New Retail Concepts (1960s - 1980s)

A significant turning point in the Lewis Grocer Company's history came on May 18, 1965, when it announced its intention to merge with SuperValu Stores, Inc. of Hopkins, Minnesota. A joint statement by Morris Lewis Jr. and SuperValu's J.T. Wyman emphasized that Lewis Grocer's operations in Indianola would remain independent and under the existing management. In this transaction, Lewis Grocer exchanged its assets for SuperValu stock. At the time of the announcement, Lewis Grocer supplied 55 Sunflower Food Stores and projected wholesale revenues of $38 million by the end of the year.

In the 1980s, mirroring industry trends, Lewis Grocer developed its own warehouse supermarket concept, "County Market." Modeled after its parent company SuperValu's "Cub Foods" banner, the first County Market opened in Monroe, Louisiana, in 1981. More County Markets quickly followed in Hattiesburg, Greenwood, and Vicksburg in Mississippi; Slidell and Ruston, Louisiana; and Pine Bluff, Arkansas. In late 1984, Lewis Grocer directly competed with McCarty-Holman's "Sack and Save" by building two County Markets in Jackson.

Key Franchisees and Regional Expansion

During the early days of Sunflower Food Stores, several significant franchisees emerged across Mississippi:

• Sims and Potter Foods: Based in Belzoni, their stores spread throughout the Mississippi Delta and included Kosciusko. Harrel Potter, a co-founder, also served as chairman of the board of Delta Pride Catfish, Inc., and was honored as the Catfish Farmer of the Year in 2012.

Henry Paris and the Founding of Southeast Foods

As Celian Lewis approached retirement, Henry Paris was considered a strong candidate for leadership within Lewis Grocer, having worked as an executive for over two decades and maintaining strong relationships with the customer base. However, during a meeting with SuperValu's CEO Jack Crocker in 1974, Paris's prospects for succeeding Celian Lewis were rejected. This led Paris to explore other opportunities.

In 1975, Paris partnered with Harrell Potter to purchase a grocery store in Kentwood, Louisiana, which became the first store of what would eventually be known as Southeast Foods. Paris collaborated with Jimmy Creel, a store supervisor he knew from his time at Lewis Grocer, and incorporated Southeast Foods along with Monte Bee of New Orleans, R.V. Maxwell of Inverness, Mississippi, and David Grundfest of Little Rock. Southeast Foods opened a County Market in Ruston, Louisiana, in 1982, which proved highly profitable. By 1987, Southeast Foods owned and operated twenty-one supermarkets—11 in Mississippi, 5 in Louisiana, 4 in Arkansas, and 1 in Texas—and became the largest customer of Lewis Grocer.

Comparison with McCarty-Holman

The history of the Lewis Grocer Company shares several parallels with another prominent Mississippi grocery enterprise, McCarty-Holman. Both were Mississippi family partnerships founded by brothers and cousins. Both operated wholesale and retail grocery operations, often competing for customers and market share across the state. Both developed iconic retail brands: Lewis Grocer with Sunflower and later County Market, and McCarty-Holman with Jitney Jungle and later Sack and Save Foods. However, a key distinction lay in their retail models: Jitney Jungle primarily comprised company-owned stores with some franchisees, while Sunflower predominantly relied on a franchising model with very few company-owned outlets.

The Lewis Grocer Company's journey from a small wholesale business to a major regional player in the grocery industry exemplifies the entrepreneurial spirit and adaptability that characterized many family-owned enterprises in the American South. Its strategic decisions, such as the adoption of the voluntary chain concept and the development of warehouse supermarkets, allowed it to remain competitive and influential for decades.

SuperValu's Acquisition: A New Era for Its Holdings

While the original Lewis Grocer Company was integrated into SuperValu, its legacy continued through its strong franchisee network. Notably, R&M Foods, under the Roberts Company, evolved the "Sunflower" brand into "Corner Market MS" stores, continuing family involvement in the grocery business into the 2010s and beyond, even as SuperValu itself was acquired by UNFI in October 2018.