Who would have thought that Minyard, as a grocery store chain, would be one-half its size in less time than it took Whole Foods to open its Lakewood store in the old Minyard?
But that’s the case with the news that Minyard, which started in East Dallas 76 years ago, will sell 37 of its 66 stores to the Houston company that owns Fiesta. By the time the transaction is done, Fiesta will run 11 Dallas-area Carnivals (Minyard’s Hispanic-themed brand) and dispose of the rest to various Texas grocers that it does business with. Among those are Malone’s, which has eight stores in the Dallas area under the Malone’s Cost Plus and Mi Super Labels. Minyard’s will operate 29 stores under the Minyard’s label. I have a call in to Craig McDaniel, the former East Dallas councilman who handles PR for the chain, to see what will go where.
The Minyard family founded the company in 1932, and the first store was on Lindsley near the family home. The Minyards sold out to a Fort Worth-based investment group shortly before the Lakewood store changed hands in January 2007. The new owners had focused the company’s future on the Carnival banner, but apparently decided that wasn’t the way to go, either. In the process, more than 2,300 employees may lose their jobs.
I predict that the Minyard's name will disappear within two years. Maybe sooner. Sad.
Posted by: Lee G. | Aug 05, 2008 at 03:56 PM
Where on Lindsley was the original Minyard's? Is it the location at Lindsley and Martinique that's now a Carnival (or at least was the last time I drove down that stretch of Lindsley)?
Posted by: Web Mayfield | Aug 05, 2008 at 04:20 PM