K-VA-T Founder, Chairman Jack Smith Dies at 81

ABINGDON, Va. -- Funeral services were pending here for Jack C. Smith, the 81-year-old chairman and founder of K-VA-T Foods, who died yesterday following a brief illness. Smith opened his first store in 1955 -- an 8,800-square-foot Piggly Wiggly -- in Grundy, Va., in partnership with his father and cousin and had built it to an 11-store operation by 1984, when he struck out on his own to open stores under the Food City banner. When the company celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2005, his son, Steve Smith, K-VA-T's president and chief executive officer, said the company had lasted that long "because Dad has such a passion for the business, plus he's invested a lot of teaching and education in people. This is his life, and he loves it." K-VA-T operates 95 stores with a volume of $1.6 billion. Smith served as president of the Virginia Food Dealers Association in 1981 and as president of the National Piggly Wiggly Operators Association in 1969. He also received the Clarence G. Adamy "Great American" Award in 2002 from the National Grocers Association for "providing the foundation and vision to grow Food City from a small neighborhood grocery store to a modern community supermarket leader." Jesse Lewis, chief operations officer and senior vice president for Food City, called Smith "a man of great vision who possessed great wisdom. He led the leaders, taught the teachers and trained the trainers." Besides his son, Smith is survived by two daughters and six grandchildren. -- Elliot Zwiebach