The Most Popular Grocery Store Chain in Every State

Started by Lloyd King in 1947, King Soopers is a Rocky Mountain grocery chain with over 100 stores in Colorado, as well as a single store in Wyoming. The chain was bought by Kroger in 1983. On January 24, 2022, over 8,000 Denver-area King Soopers workers ended a 10-day strike when they ratified a new contract granting higher wages, better health care, and increased safety protocols.

This northeastern supermarket chain got its start in Massachusetts in 1914, spreading throughout southern New England by 1990. In 1995 Stop & Shop was bought by the Dutch supermarket company Ahold, who merged with the Belgian Delhaize company in 2016. Ahold Delhaize also owns Hannaford, Food Lion, and Giant, making it one of the largest grocery chains in the U.S. by revenue.

Hailing from South Philadelphia, the Acme Markets chain serves the Mid-Atlantic, with 162 stores in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, New York, and Connecticut. Acme has been a subsidiary of Albertsons since 1999, and was the biggest grocery store in the Delaware Valley for decades, until it was surpassed by ShopRite in 2011 .

It’s no surprise that Publix is a Florida favorite. There are currently 832 Publix stores in the state. The company was founded in Winter Haven, Florida, by George Jenkins, who set out to treat both employees and customers like family, and he seems to have succeeded. Employees receive year-end bonuses and free company stock annually in a retirement fund.

With 192 locations, there are more Publix stores in Georgia than any other chain grocer in the state. Publix also has multiple manufacturing facilities in Georgia, including a bakery plant and a dairy plant that bottles milk and produces the chain’s private label yogurt, cottage cheese, and ice cream.