Coborn’s expands to Illinois with deal to buy 11-store Sullivan’s Foods

Coborn’s has signed a purchase agreement to acquire the 11 family-owned Sullivan’s Foods grocery stores in northern and central Illinois, along with a convenience store-fuel center and three Ace Hardware stores, the grocer announced late Friday.

Details of the transaction were not disclosed. The deal is expected to close early next month, St. Cloud, Minnesota-based Coborn’s said.

The stores will continue to operate under the Sullivan’s Foods banner. Once the purchase is complete, Coborn’s will operate 77 grocery stores in Minnesota, Wisconsin, South Dakota, North Dakota, Michigan and Illinois, with a total of 135 business units including the grocery stores, liquor stores, fuel centers, pharmacies and franchised restaurants. Coborn’s grocery banners also include Cash Wise Foods, Marketplace Foods, Hornbacher’s and Tadych’s Marketplace Foods.

“This is our first entry into the state of Illinois, so we have some things to learn, some added distance to figure out and to onboard their team into our organization,” Coborn’s CEO Chris Coborn said in a statement.

About 800 people currently work for Sullivan’s Foods, a grocery retail business that was started in 1967 by John and June Sullivan. John worked as a part-time meat cutter while serving in the Army and, later, he worked full-time as a meat cutter in Stockton, Illinois. The couple opened their first grocery store in Savanna, Illinois, and expanded the business in 1973. At one time, the Sullivans owned 16 grocery stores and two Ben Franklin craft stores.

The Sullivans’ six children have all been involved in the family business. John Sullivan died in 2020.

“This sale makes perfect sense for our family and for our employees,” Susie Dauphin, secretary and property manager of Sullivan’s Foods, said in a statement. “Coborn’s has long been a highly respected company and our family felt perfectly aligned with their values, operational standards, support of the communities they operate in and, most importantly, the company culture and commitment to their employees.”

Sullivan’s Foods has worked with Associated Wholesale Grocers (AWG) as its lead wholesaler, a relationship that will continue following the sale, Coborn’s said. In 2021, Coborn’s named AWG its primary wholesale supplier. Around the same time, AWG invested $75 million to build a 330,000-square-foot Upper Midwest Division warehouse in St. Cloud to serve independent grocers in the region.

Coborn’s, which was founded as a single produce market in 1921, has grown steadily through acquisitions in recent years.

In November 2018, Coborn’s announced its plan to buy eight Hornbacher’s locations (seven existing stores and one under construction) from United Natural Foods (UNFI) subsidiary Supervalu.

In October 2021, the grocer announced an agreement to purchase six Tadych’s stores—three in Wisconsin and three in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan—from T&C Markets. The transaction gave Coborn’s a footprint in Michigan.

At the time, Coborn’s said it had annual revenue of $1.4 billion, with goal of becoming a $2 billion company as it builds new stores and acquires smaller grocers.

“The Sullivan family has run their family of stores with great care and is a highly respected retailer,” Coborn said. “We look forward to extending the same operating philosophies in these locations that have made us successful for 102 years—investing and training for our people, supporting our communities and investing in our stores to improve the experience for our guests. We look forward to having the entire Sullivan’s team join our team to learn more about their operations and communities.”

The full list of Sullivan’s locations in the transaction is:

• Sullivan’s Foods Kewanee, 605 Tenney St, Kewanee, Illinois

• Sullivan’s Foods Lena, 201 Dodds Drive, Lena, Illinois

• Sullivan’s Foods Marengo, 202 Lindow Lane, Marengo, Illinois

• Sullivan’s Foods Mendota, 1102 Meriden St, Mendota, Illinois

• Sullivan’s Foods Morrison, 300 N Madison St, Morrison, Illinois

• Sullivan’s Foods Princeton, 125 E Backbone Rd, Princeton, Illinois

• Sullivan’s Foods Mt Morris, 101 E Hwy 64, Mt Morris, Illinois

• Sullivan’s Foods Savanna, 217 Chicago Ave, Savanna, Illinois

• Sullivan’s Foods Stockton, 103 W North Ave, Stockton, Illinois

• Sullivan’s Foods Winnebago, 703 N Elida St, Winnebago, Illinois

• JB Sullivan, Inc (corporate office facility), 425 First St, Savanna, Illinois

• Sullivan’s Foods Warehouse, 8 Murray St, Savanna, Illinois

• Sullivan’s Ace Hardware, 1116 Meriden St, Mendota, Illinois

• Sullivan’s Home and Hardware, 108 Main St, Savanna, Illinois

• Sullivan’s Ace Hardware Winnebago, 707 N Elida St, Winnebago, Illinois

• Savanna Station (c-store), 1230 Chicago Ave, Savanna, Illinois