Brookshire Brothers Opens Express Store

VALLEY MILLS, Texas — Brookshire Brothers has acquired the Wiethorn Family Foods store here and is converting it to the Brookshire Brothers Express format, the company said.

Brookshire Brothers is converting this Wiethorn store to Brookshire Brothers Express.

The move follows other recent small-store conversions in Broaddus and Pineland, Texas, which Lufkin, Texas-based Brookshire Brothers originally opened under the B&B Express banner.

“We’re going into smaller communities with an Express format,” Sally Alvis, a company spokeswoman, told SN. "All will fly the Brookshire Bothers Express banner."

Terms of the Wieithorn acquisition were not disclosed.

The store measures about 5,000 square feet. The employess of the acquired location were to be retained, Brookshire Bothers said.

“Our philosophy is always to embrace and respect the local flavor of an existing, family-run store,” said Jerry Johnson, president and chief executive officer, Brookshire Brothers, in a statement. “We find that the more continuity we can maintain with the business, the smoother the transition.”

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The acquisition also comes as the company embarks on a $2 million renovation of its 62,000-square-foot flagship store in Lufkin, dubbed the Gaslight store because of its location in the Gaslight Plaza Shopping Center. The makeover will include a new sports nutrition section, more cold cases for wine and local and craft beers, a new seafood section, an expanded offering of organic product, and more grab-and-go prepared foods, Alvis told SN.

In addition, the remodel — which is being done without closing the store — will incorporate more energy-saving refrigeration and lighting, she explained. It is expected to be completed in time for the year-end holiday season.