How it All Began and Who Was Involved - · PDF fileHow it All Began and Who Was Involved 1. William Thomas (W.T.) Harris, co-founder of Harris Teeter, was born in 1909 and raised on

Our StoryHow it All Began and Who Was Involved

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William Thomas (W.T.) Harris, co-founder of Harris Teeter, was born in 1909 and raised on a cotton farm in southern Georgia. One of 12 children, he loved his home but, at the age

of 22, decided it was time to discover what else the world had to offer. Little did the world know that this humble man with a knack for storytelling would soon revolutionize the

grocery shopping experience. W.T. left his family’s farm during the Great Depression and first ventured to Rock Hill, SC where he worked several jobs, including a big-rig truck driver

and a clerk at a five-and-dime shop. He met his future wife, LaVerne, an accounting office manager, and they soon married. His childhood on a farm, experiences in trucking and retail

store work, along with a new wife with accounting expertise, set him on a path to success. After marrying, the young couple decided to move to Charlotte, NC for better job

opportunities. That’s where W.T. officially began his storied career as a grocery man and community advocate.

Upon moving to Charlotte, W.T. landed his first job with an A&P grocery store. He approached the store’s management team with an offer they could not refuse.

“Let me work for you for a week,” he said. “If I don’t increase your sales by 10 percent you can fire me,” he added.

W.T. Harris did increase store sales and rose through the ranks to store manager. During his time at A&P, he formulated ideas about how he believed the grocery

industry could be better run – cleaner stores, wider aisles, friendly and knowledgeable associates and brand names at lower prices. After two years, and with a

plan in mind, W.T. decided to go into business for himself. Impressed with his business plan, First Union bank agreed to loan him $500 to open his first store.

Even though the country was still going through the Great Depression, 1936 was a big year for the Harris family. LaVerne and W.T. had their second child –

a baby boy named Donald Thomas – and W.T. opened his first store on Central Avenue. The store was founded on three principles: high-quality products, clean

stores and superior customer service.

According to his granddaughter, W.T. would inspect all of the fruit and produce purchased for his stores. He had a first-hand and in-depth

knowledge of produce, which often came in handy when dealing with farmers. A pecan farmer once tried to trick W.T. into buying his Schley

pecans, a very expensive variety grown in southern Georgia. W.T. happened to know exactly what a Schley pecan should look like and calmly

told the farmer that he knew that those pecans were not Schley but another variety. W.T. would buy a handful of pecans from this shocked

gentleman but not at the high price the farmer asked. His knowledge saved him from an unsavory salesman.

Focusing on freshness, in peach season, W.T. would drive into South Carolina to bring back bushels of peaches for the stores. He even sold fresh

flowers from his mother-in-law’s garden, giving her the profits from the flowers. He made arrangements with corn growers and others to

always bring in the best local products. After two years at the original Harris Food Store Central Avenue location, Harris built and moved down

the road to a larger building that is now known as Store #201 where he continued to find ways to differentiate himself from the competition. Store

#201 was not only the first full self-service supermarket in Charlotte, it was also the first air-conditioned grocery store and was the first to stay open

until 9pm on Friday nights. This allowed working men and women to grocery shop in the evenings. Sales soared as people could come by after

getting their weekly paychecks and buy groceries. Later, he expanded the store to include a full-service drugstore called Harris Drugs.

In later years, he sold these drugstores to Mr. Eckerd, and they became Eckerd drugstores.

If he talked about the business to his family, it was always about customer service. He founded his business on the value of customer service. His vision was to be the best in customer service and to offer the best quality products. Beverly Tatum, W.T.‘s granddaughter

Pioneer of the Grocery Industry: William Thomas (W.T.) HarrisWritten in part by Beverly Tatum, granddaughter of W.T. Harris

Our Story

1936 Newspaper

Ads

from Harris Teeter

archives

The first Harris Food Store on Central Avenue in 1936. Left to Right: Fred Metler, Paul McIntosh and W.T. Harrisphoto provided by Beverly Tatum

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Having not graduated from high school, W.T. realized the value of quality education. From 1957 until his

death, he was on the Board of Directors for Wingate College, often giving the commencement speech and

proudly handing out the diplomas. He encouraged young people to stay in school and to get a college

education. He helped many through scholarships he funded. He was instrumental in the growth and

expansion of degrees at Wingate, which earned university status and is now Wingate University. He was

recognized by Wingate in the 1980s with an Honorary Doctorate degree which he accepted with great love

and appreciation.

Through the urging of his daughter, Phyllis, an innovator in early childhood education, he worked with then

Governor Scott to have kindergarten made a permanent program in every North Carolina elementary school.

W.T. traveled the state persuading county leaders of the need and benefits of kindergarten. It was an especially

hard sell because the kindergarten program was to be funded with the first-ever cigarette tax in the tobacco

state. W.T. was in the gallery of the NC State Legislature the day public kindergarten was passed into law and

could not have been prouder.

While W.T. was busy making a name for himself in Charlotte, not too far away, another grocery man with a

similar business philosophy, Willis Teeter, was also making strides in the industry. When W.T. and Willis Teeter

met, W.T. was mapping out ways in which he could afford to purchase a warehouse distribution center to store

groceries. Teeter liked what he heard, and in 1958, the two men purchased a warehouse to leverage buying

power for both of their companies.

Harris Super Markets and Teeter Super Markets formally merged in 1960, remaining a family-owned company

for nearly one decade. Members of both the Harris and Teeter families were employed as store managers,

accountants and buyers. W.T. Harris’s son, Don, was an integral part of the company’s growth. Don launched

Harris Teeter’s Health and Beauty Care (HBC) department and introduced Revlon and Hallmark to the grocery

industry. He allowed customers a one-stop shopping experience. “We knew that, if on a Sunday, he (Don) said

‘Let’s go for a ride,’ it meant we would be visiting drugstores all day,” said Beverly Harris, W.T.’s daughter-in-law.

W.T.’s sister-in-law also played an important role in the company. “My Aunt Rubye was Grandpa’s secretary,”

remembered Tatum. “I always tried to sneak past her and run into Grandpa’s office to see him. I didn’t always

make it past her, but even if he was in a meeting or on the phone, he would let me sit on his lap and rummage

through his desk drawers for pieces of the Juicy Fruit gum he always carried with him.”

In 1969, the families sold Harris Teeter to Ruddick Corporation. W.T. Harris was 60 at the time and wanted to

make sure Harris Teeter was left in good hands. Although he no longer owned Harris Teeter, Harris remained

very active in the business after the sale. He was Chairman of the Board of Directors for Harris Teeter until

1972 and remained on Ruddick’s board until 1981.

While Harris Teeter associates best know W.T. Harris as the co-founder of Harris Teeter, he was also involved

in many other ventures. He ran a dairy farm from 1943 to 1950 and created a co-op for the local dairymen.

(One was the father of the Reverend Billy Graham.) They sold the business to PET Dairy and Harris Teeter

carried PET dairy products for many years. During this time, W.T. created the first Harris Teeter store brand

products sold under the name of “Vernedale Farms,” named for his wife LaVerne. They were quite popular with

the customers, and Vernedale ice cream was everyone’s favorite. Always wanting to stay busy, W.T. bought a

clothing store in Charlotte called Ledford’s.

According to Tatum, her grandfather had a strong passion for selling, but initially did not understand the

clothing business model. W.T. thought he could apply his food industry sales skills to the clothing market,

but people do not buy clothes every day like they do groceries. He eventually learned the clothing business,

did all the clothes buying at market, and became quite a snappy dresser. He really just loved being back out

with customers again.

Despite his busy professional schedule, Harris always had time for his business, his church and his

community. He was president of the Greater Charlotte Chamber of Commerce in 1966 and led the

Mecklenburg Board of County Commissioners. As head of the Charlotte Chamber, he conceived the idea of

developing University Research Park, believing that a combination of education and technology would bring

additional jobs to Charlotte. He was thus considered the “father” of University Research Park, and the city

honored him by naming the main road through the research park for him, W.T. Harris Boulevard.

“If we happened to be with Grandpa and drive past the road, the family would tease him that the city named

a dirt road after him,” said Tatum. “Grandpa had a great sense of humor and took it all in stride. Now look at

that road today!”

W.T. Harris passed away on November 14, 1989, at the age of 80, but his love for the grocery industry was

evident until the day he died. W.T. often stopped by the Cotswold Village Harris Teeter in Charlotte to bag

groceries and visit with associates and customers alike. Most customers never knew the older man bagging

their groceries was the founder of the company where they shopped! W.T. never met a stranger and all those

who were lucky enough to know him deemed W.T. an honorable man of great character and integrity who

lived by his beliefs and respected all people, regardless of their station in life.

Standing by his value system, this ‘old country boy’ from Georgia was able to lay the foundation that

allowed a tiny, family-owned operation to grow into the 25th largest grocery store in America,

without sacrificing the integrity of the operation.

He would be so proud if he could see how Harris Teeter is being run today.

Beverly Tatum, W.T.‘s granddaughter

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Harris Teeter was a business begun by a man of principles and still is a company that lives by those principles. Beverly Tatum, W.T.‘s granddaughter

Willis Lee (W.L.) Teeter was born on September 29, 1909, and raised on a rural farm in the Prospect Church

community of Mooresville, NC. One of nine children, he left his family farm after graduating from high school

and went to work for Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company (A&P). Both W.L. and his brother Paul G. (Bill) worked

for A&P for many years.

In 1939, W.L. saw an opportunity. The local A&P moved out of its old location on North Main Street in Mooresville to

build a bigger store elsewhere, and W.L. saw his chance to lease the old building and go into the grocery industry. A&P agreed to lease the building to the

Teeter brothers to open their own grocery store. A&P’s regional manager predicted W.L. and Bill would not last six months running their own store and would be

back seeking their old jobs at A&P.

After borrowing $1,700 and stocking the store, the Teeter brothers opened the first Teeter Food Mart on July 15, 1939. It was a family-run operation, no doubt.

W.L. was the manager, his brother Bill was the produce manager, and W.L.’s wife, Sylvia Teeter, worked at the store. Three other gentlemen rounded off the list

of employees. The first three days’ sales were $804, and by November 1941, sales rose to $2,748 per week.

The original Teeter Food Mart had a dirt basement floor and sold live chickens from a cage on the back porch.

There was no credit and customers would bring in their shopping lists and clerks would get the product. Harvey

Millsap, store clerk, was often seen jumping over the counter on his way to get a product for customers, and the

store offered free home-delivery services to its customers.

Business continued to grow, and in 1946 the Teeters moved from downtown and across the railroad tracks to a new,

larger 3,924-square-foot store at 207 South Broad Street. The new location attracted a lot of new trade and, after

studying developments in the grocery industry, the Teeters expanded their first “big” store in Mooresville and

innovated with semi-self-help service meats and double-deck dairy cases. The Teeters were also leaders in

installing the first automatic doors and check-outs in North Carolina. With the growth, Bill’s wife Mildred joined

the staff as a bookkeeper. The store continued to grow and underwent several remodels and enlargements.

Pioneer of the Grocery Industry: Willis Lee (W.L.) TeeterOur Story

Written by C. Lavette Teeter, son of Willis Lee (W.L.) Teeter

A&P circa 1940photo provided by Charlotte Observer

more about Mr. Teeter... the following are quotes from an HT Happenings Newsletter following W.L.’s death in 1980

From the first, he maintained that the customer was the most important person. He was out to please whomever set foot in the store.

Sylvia Teeter, W.L.’s wife

He waited on the customers himself. He always worked hard. There was nothing he would ask an employee to do that he wouldn’t do.

Lorene Clodfelter, an employee of his from 1945 Mr. and Mrs. Teeter at a store opening in 1953.

photo from HT Happenings, September 1980

1957 Newspaper Ad from Teeter’s Super Marketsad provided by David Pardue

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This Mooresville Ice Cream Company display case, as pictured at the Teeter Food Mart in Mooresville, NC,

provided the widest selection of DeLuxe Ice Cream products available in 1954. The Teeters often sampled products for

customers; Gail Lowrance offered samples of the locally-produced ice cream to customers in Teeter Food Mart.

photo provided by Cindy Jacobs, Local Historian and Author

Pioneer of the Grocery Industry: Willis Lee (W.L.) Teeter As the store grew, Sylvia became an instrumental part of the store operation. Sylvia set up a kitchen in her home with large marble

slabs on which she made homemade candy to sell in the store. The family also farmed peanuts, peas, sweet potatoes and other

produce which sold in their store.

In July 1953, the Teeters opened their second store in Lincolnton, NC. A large crowd of eager shoppers greeted Manager Roy Guffey and

his staff when the store opened. The crowd lined around the building and the staff had to close the store several times as they ran out of

shopping carts. They also ran out of cash register tape and finished the day listing grocery purchases on paper grocery bags. They then

totaled those purchases by hand in order to move the customers through the store.

Teeter Food Mart continued to expand in North Carolina. In 1957, a third store opened in Newton, a fourth store opened in Cornelius, a fifth store opened in

Hickory, and a sixth store opened in Morganton in November 1958.

After his sixth store opened, W.L. joined the North Carolina Food Dealers Association where he met W.T. Harris. At the time, W.T. was president of Harris

Super Markets, a nine-store chain in Charlotte. W.T. had recently completed a new warehouse on Hawkins Street in Charlotte and he needed warehouse

space; Teeter’s Super Markets had outgrown its warehouse space and, according to W.L., a merger with Harris Super Markets would “increase the financial

strength of Teeter’s Super Markets, allow it to expand more rapidly and buy more advantageously, and help save operating costs.” These factors led to a vote

in November 1959 to merge the nine Harris Super Markets and six Teeter stores to form Harris Teeter Super Markets.

The merger became official with the opening of business on February 1, 1960. W.T. Harris was President, W.L. Teeter Executive Vice-President and Bill Teeter

Vice President. The new company became the largest independent grocery organization in the Carolinas. There were already 15 stores in operation. The first

“Harris Teeter” store to open under the new banner was in Kannapolis, NC.

Within three years after the merger, 25 stores were in operation. A new, larger warehouse with office facilities was opened. Harris Teeter further expanded

its marketing area by purchasing five supermarkets from Tilman’s Grocery of Shelby, NC and two independent grocery stores, one in Charlotte and one in Gastonia.

W.L. retired from Harris Teeter in 1972 and returned to the Will-Via Polled Hereford cattle farm that he started in 1938. He later served a four-year term as a director

in the National Polled Hereford Association. He had an active community service life and was a life-long member of Prospect Presbyterian Church where he served as deacon and elder.

He was also active in the Mooresville Kiwanis Club where he served as President in 1965. In addition, he served as Director of Piedmont Bank in Mooresville, which later merged with First Union

and is now Wells Fargo.

W.L. Teeter passed away on June 30, 1980, following a lengthy illness. People described him as “a mover and shaker who frequently did laborious work himself rather than entrusting it to others.

He felt he should cash in on his own drive and energy,” and he did.

article from Mooresville Tribuneprovided by John Hutchens Jr.

He was a friend of mine whom I talked with often. I didn’t consider him a threat and he didn’t consider me a threat. We looked at ourselves as two local grocers trying to do business against whoever was out there.

W.T. Harris, commenting on his relationship with W.L. Teeter before they merged stores

W.L. Teeter with his brother Bill Teeter, his first and lifelong business partnerphoto from HT Happenings, September 1980

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I worked for him for 32 years and never knew a better man. I’ve seen him shell a lady’s beans for her one day, drive a truck the next. He was all business at work.

Paul Harwell, an employee of Teeter’s, 1946

Ruddick CorporationOur Story

Hugh Ashcraft Jr. was instrumental in bringing Harris, Teeter and Ruddick together. W.T. Harris had known Hugh since he was about 14 through the church, and W.T. had great respect for Hugh’s father. Hugh had mentioned to W.T. about doing some long-term financing. When W.T. made the decision to do that, Hugh was who he called. Hugh worked for R.S. Dickson & Company and through it arranged the deal. Ultimately, Hugh, through R.S. Dickson & Company, worked out the merger of Harris and Teeter. Hugh became the liaison between Harris Teeter and Ruddick and stepped in as president of Harris Teeter when he was needed in 1973. He acted as a stabilizer for the company. Alan and Stuart Dickson

in 1979

Rush Dickson founded R.S. Dickson & Company in 1919 in Gastonia, NC. He found himself with a “sizeable investment profit” from a stock sale and formed the

company as a partnership that dealt with textile manufacturing, stock trading and initial public offerings. The company was incorporated in 1924.

Heeding warnings of a collapse in the stock market, Rush “liquidated stock” in his company and was able to avoid the financial pitfalls of the Great Depression. The

firm operated on a brokerage basis for many years. In 1942, Rush purchased the American Yarn & Processing company. Five years later, he purchased Efird

Manufacturing, and in 1952, he merged the two companies to form American & Efird, Inc.*

In 1958, R.S. Dickson & Company worked with W.T. Harris to help finance W.T. Harris’ purchase of a storage facility in conjunction with W.L. Teeter, owner of Teeter’s Super Markets in

Mooresville. Two years later, R.S. Dickson & Company financed the merger of the two grocery stores and acquired partial ownership in the new company.

Rush Dickson had often talked about families falling out over business and money and did not want that to happen within his own family. He passed away in 1966 and his sons Alan and Stuart

Dickson took over and soon organized plans to merge American & Efird with the financial businesses of R.S. Dickson & Company. From this merger grew Ruddick Corporation, a diversified

holding company. In 1969, Ruddick Corporation purchased Harris Teeter. “Despite his feelings about families in business together, we think he would approve of the results,” said the

brothers during a speech given in 1993.

Ruddick Corporation: Alan and Stuart Dickson

The philosophy behind Ruddick’s management concept provides some insight into how Harris Teeter came to fall under its umbrella. The idea was to allow each company a high degree of

autonomy; the brothers wanted to create a structure to grow business and the people who would successfully run it. According to Alan Dickson, W.T. Harris and W.L. Teeter approached

Ruddick Corporation to facilitate the sale of their company. “And we could not sell it,” said Stuart, “so we said, ‘let’s just acquire it.’ Years later we can take some pride in that decision.”

And the rest, as they say, is history.

At the time of the acquisition, Harris Teeter was operating 17 stores. The Cotswold store was “brand new and considered to be on the fringe of Charlotte, maybe even beyond

the bounds of being in a good market,” said Alan. At the same time, the Dickson brothers, self-proclaimed “not grocery people,” were also acquainting themselves with the

nuances of the industry. But as they said, “It helped the name of Ruddick to be associated with Harris Teeter.”

With the purchase of Harris Teeter, the company was engaged in two primary businesses: Harris Teeter and American & Efird, Inc. Today, American & Efird, Inc.

manufactures and distributes industrial sewing thread, embroidery thread and technical textiles on a global basis.

Ever wonder where the name Ruddick came from?At one point in their careers, Merton Rudisill and Rush Dickson endeavored to launch a company that marketed coin-operated vending machines, billiard tables and amusement machines. Merging their last names, they called the company Ruddick. Although it never took off and the venture was dropped, Rush kept the corporate entity and the name in preparation for future ventures.

*Information gathered from North Carolina Business Hall of Fame.

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As Alan and Stuart watched the company grow, they noted that Harris Teeter refined the company’s disciplines on a trial and error basis.

Both men now give high marks to the caliber of people who work at Harris Teeter, from entry level to the very top level, and admit that it was

simply a question of getting the right leader in place before everything would come together. It was a team-building effort to get everyone

“walking the same walk and talking the same talk” before Harris Teeter could truly succeed, says Stuart. “You always have to be doing

something a little different, a little more, a little better to stay on top, and Harris Teeter is pretty good at that.”

Stuart and Alan Dickson both retired as executive officers of Ruddick in 2002. In 2006, Alan and Stuart retired from their positions as

non-executive Chairman of the Board of Directors and non-executive Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors, respectively.

Stuart announced his official retirement from the Ruddick Board in 2008, and Alan retired from the Board in 2010.

“It has been fun to watch Harris Teeter’s culture evolve. It is now a very strong culture,” said Alan. “For some of you who have not been at Harris Teeter as long

as others, when I think about when we acquired it and I think about the company today, it is night and day – the quality and execution and the people.”

Ruddick Corporation: Tad Dickson

Prior to taking the helm at Ruddick, Tad Dickson worked for American & Efird, focusing his efforts on a variety of areas including U.S. manufacturing, international operations, marketing, inventory

management and production scheduling. In 1992, he was promoted to Executive Vice President and then, in 1994, President. Four years later, he was elected President and Principal Executive

Officer of Ruddick and named Chief Executive Officer in 2002. Tad Dickson became Chairman of the Board, President and CEO of Ruddick Corporation in 2006.

Although initially employed by American & Efird, Tad was able to gain an understanding for Harris Teeter prior to joining the parent company. “I’d been attending their (Harris Teeter’s) management

board meetings for about two years as president of A&E and knew a number of people who worked at the company,” he said. Because of this experience, when he assumed his position at Ruddick,

Tad was able to hit the ground running and began to hone a new vision for Harris Teeter.

“One of our objectives was to become the hometown favorite in all of our markets,” he said. Tad’s goal was for Harris Teeter to dominate within its major markets like Charlotte, Raleigh, Greensboro,

Winston-Salem and Wilmington. He did not want Harris Teeter to be an average grocer. Instead, he wanted the company to perform at high levels of profitability similar to the leading retailers in

the field.

After growing market share in its existing markets, Tad’s next goal was for Harris Teeter to enter new markets where the demographics aligned with those

of a Harris Teeter shopper. The company introduced stores to the Washington, DC metro area and began seeing excellent progress.

“I am especially proud of being a part of a management team that has taken Harris Teeter from being an average performer to the upper percentiles of

performance. It’s an extremely large industry and, as a small retailer, I think that is a heck of an achievement,” said Tad.

In spite of Harris Teeter’s successes under Tad’s leadership, as the company approached its 50th Anniversary, external factors altered the retail climate

and adversely affected the grocery industry. A dramatic economic downturn forced retailers into their most difficult economic environment in decades.

Shoppers who before had placed a priority on the quality of the products purchased and the cleanliness of stores began placing a premium on savings.

“We had to figure out ways to take cost out of our business so that we could reinvest those savings into lower and lower prices to be able to compete

against discounters,” said Tad.

At the end of the first decade of the 21st century, Harris Teeter adopted a new strategy, remaining committed to its core values – high-quality products,

excellence in customer service, and clean, modern stores, while at the same time lowering prices for its shoppers.

What the next 50 years will bring is anyone’s guess, but under Tad Dickson and Ruddick’s strong leadership, Harris Teeter is well poised to compete in

a competitive marketplace without losing sight of its original founders’ goals. Tad DicksonChairman of the Board, President and CEO of Ruddick

A thread company and a grocery store fall under the Ruddick umbrella.

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1980 Harris Teeter purchases Hunter Farms1984 Ruddick buys Food World and merges it with Harris Teeter

1988 Harris Teeter adds 52 stores operating under the name “Big Star”1993 Harris Teeter buys five “Bruno’s” stores in South Carolina

Fast Facts:

Our Story

Harris Teeter’s success is due in part to strategic expansion plans accomplished by a series of mergers and acquisitions in the 1980s.

Under the guidance of parent company Ruddick Corporation, Harris Teeter acquired Hunter Dairy. In 1984, Ruddick purchased Food

World and merged it with Harris Teeter.

Food World, based in Greensboro, NC, had 52 stores in

North Carolina and Virginia when it was purchased. With

the merger, Harris Teeter-Food World owned 122

stores and was located in four states: North Carolina,

Tennessee, South Carolina and Virginia. The number of

associates working for the company also nearly doubled.

Early Acquisitions

Harris Teeter continued to close unprofitable locations and acquire others,

and in 1988 the company purchased Big Star, adding 52 more stores

to the chain. Big Star stores were found in cities from Charlotte, NC to

Wilmington, NC. According to John Hutchens Jr., purchasing Big Star

made Harris Teeter stronger in its existing marketing area.

In 1993, Harris Teeter made its last acquisition and purchased five

Bruno’s supermarket locations in South Carolina to increase its presence

in the state. Since that time, the company has continued to grow

organically, building new stores and entering new markets.

Geographically it was a very good fit.

John Hutchens Jr.Vice President of Operations/Support

referring to the acquisition of Food World by Harris Teeter

Ruddick’s announcement of Food World acquisitionprovided by John Hutchens Jr.

Harris Teeter is now located in eight states - Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia - and the District of Columbia.

Map created by Jacob Phares8

Photo of Food World store-front from employee newsletterprovided by John Hutchens Jr.

Food World pin from Cashier of the Month Awardprovided by Helen King

Hunter Farms is a huge part of Harris Teeter’s success. The dairy plant supplies Harris Teeter with nearly all its milk and Harris Teeter

brand ice cream.

Harvey B. Hunter founded “Hunter Dairy” in 1917. It was located on Park Road in Charlotte next to the farm owned by the Reverend

Billy Graham’s family. Hunter was known throughout Charlotte for delivering milk to homes within a few hours after the cows were

milked! He was also ahead of his time when it came to milk-cooling systems. In 1937, Hunter was the first in the Charlotte area to

begin pasteurizing milk.

Harris Teeter approached Hunter Farms with a proposition to buy it in the late 1970s. There were plenty of reasons for Harris Teeter to

purchase its own dairy operation, “for the control of quality,” says Assistant General Manager of Hunter Farms, Gary Jarmon. Quality

control is indeed at the top of the list for Hunter Farms. Another big factor was the ability to control costs.

By 1980, the sale of Hunter Farms to Harris Teeter was complete. With over a decade of experience in dairy production, the company

further expanded its operation on April 4, 1990 by purchasing the Borden High Point Plant. This acquisition allowed the company

to immediately double its dairy production. In addition, Harris Teeter was now able to begin producing its own brand of ice cream,

building upon the company’s commitment to providing shoppers with a large variety of top quality products. On February 16, 2002

the original Hunter plant in Charlotte was closed. Today the entire milk and ice cream operation is run out of the state-of-the-art facility

in High Point, NC.

The Hunter Farms plant is now the

third largest milk plant in the state

of North Carolina. What started

out as a small neighborhood

business is now bringing in more

than $110 million in sales

each year!

Fast Facts:

Our Story

Hunter Farms Merger•HarveyB.HunterfoundedHunterDairy in 1917.•HunterDairystartedasasmalldairy farm in Charlotte.•Theoriginaldairywasknownfor delivering fresh milk within hours of the cows being milked.•HarrisTeeteracquiredHunterFarms in 1980.•ThemergergreatlyreducedHarris Teeter’s dairy costs.•NowHunterFarmsisrunfromastate-of- the-art facility in High Point, NC. •HunterFarmssalesexceed$110million each year.

Hunter Jersey employee loads Bikini Milk for delivery.photo from HT Happenings, December 1980 issue

Newspaper article about Harris Teeter purchasing the Borden dairy plant in High Point from April 4, 1990

Photo of Borden dairy plant in High Point

Both pieces provided by Gary Jarmon, Jeff Pintea and Frank Taylor

Hunter High Point Production Manager Kevin Hindman and Quality Assurance Technician Lisa Warmath prepare Hunter All Natural for its debut in stores.

photo from Harris Teeter News Summer 1991

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Leadership Timeline

Bill (W.T.) had gotten tired of A&P for one reason or another and went to the general manager and said basically, ‘I’m going to resign and start my own store.’ The manager said ‘Bill, you’ll never make it.’ Bill started a store on Central Avenue, and we still have a store on Central Avenue down the street from his original store.

Alex McMillan on W.T. Harris

William Thomas (W.T.) Harris, co-founder of Harris Teeter, was born in 1909 and raised on a cotton farm in southern Georgia. He opened his first Harris Food Store in 1936. Eventually he merged with Teeter, and the rest is history.

W.T. Harris1909 - 1989President: 1960-68, 70 Chairman:1969-73

Willis Lee (W.L.) Teeter was born in 1909 and raised on a rural farm in Mooresville, NC. In 1939, along with his brother, Bill Teeter, he opened the first Teeter Food Mart. The chain grew to six stores, and in 1960, he merged stores with Mr. Harris.

Willis L. Teeter1909 - 1980Executive Vice President: 1960-68 Chairman:1969-73

Roy C. Guffey1926 - 2008President: 1969-70

Paul P. Moore served as President at Harris Teeter in 1971 and 1972 after a 17-year career at Kroger. When we caught up with him for this book, he was actively enjoying his retirement with his wife in Florida.

Paul P. Moore1920 - President: 1971-72

Hugh G. Ashcraft Jr. worked for R.S. Dickson & Company (Ruddick) and through it was involved in Harris Food Store expansion plans and eventually the merger between Harris and Teeter. He stepped in as President of Harris Teeter in 1973 after the former president left.

Hugh G. Ashcraft Jr.1919 - 1986President: 1973-78, 83Chairman:1979-82

Hugh G. Ashcraft Jr.

I look back at the thousands of people who have meant so much to the company, and I am so aware that there are so many people who are terribly important to the company – the bag boy, the truck driver, the cashier. These are the people out there on the job who make it click.

We entered into a process of essentially taking Harris Teeter’s strengths and building on them. We built on the people and redefined what we wanted to do. As anybody who watches us knows, this is a heck of a competitive business and you’ve got to always redefine yourself.

Alex McMillan referring to reshaping the business with the help of store managers.

Sylvia Teeter comments about

her husband opening his first Teeter Food Mart

quote from HT Happenings

September 1980

Nobody thought the store would make it, but Willis never worried. If work could make a business go, he would make it go.

My father’s work ethic, determination and loyalty led him from weighing potatoes in the produce department at Teeter Food Mart to President of Harris Teeter. Unfortunately, he suffered a stroke in 1970, at the age of 43, and had to resign as president of the company. JoAnn Guffey Canipe,

daughter of Roy Guffey

The Harris and Teeter families continued to manage and staff the stores after Ruddick bought them, since Ruddick personnel had no supermarket expertise; they soon realized that to be successful supermarket operators, they had to modernize. To help accomplish this goal they brought me from my 17-year management career with the Kroger company on as President.

Roy C. Guffey began his career with Teeter Food Mart. With support from W.L. Teeter and W.T. Harris, he rose through the ranks of the company and eventually became President of Harris Teeter.

Paul P. Moore

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J. Alex McMillan III arrived at Harris Teeter via Ruddick, serving as Vice President of Finance and Treasurer after the Harris and Teeter merger. In 1976, he became liaison officer between Ruddick and Harris Teeter. Eventually, he became President of Harris Teeter.

J. Alex McMillan III1932 -Chairman:1977-78 President: 1979-82

R. Stuart Dickson served as Chairman of the Board for Ruddick from 1968 to 1994. He is the son of Rush Dickson, founder of R.S. Dickson & Company. He is now retired and his son, Thomas (Tad) Dickson is the Chairman of the Board, President and CEO of Ruddick, Harris Teeter’s parent company.

R. Stuart Dickson1929 -Chairman:1983

John G. Hutchens Sr. joined Big Bear (Food World) in 1955 and served in management and executive positions until the acquisition of Food World by Ruddick in 1984. At that time he was named President of Harris Teeter-Food World. He was active politically at the state and national level throughout his career.

John G. Hutchens Sr.1928 - 1991President: 1984-85

Robert S. Goodale joined Harris Teeter in 1980 as Vice President in Sales and Merchandising. He later became Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. He was named President in 1985. He left Harris Teeter after eight years of service to become President of Finevest Foods.

Robert S. Goodale1933 - President: 1985-88

Edward S. Dunn Jr. joined Harris Teeter in 1974 as the company’s controller. He moved up serving as Vice President of Finance in 1979; Vice President, Finance and Administration in 1982; Executive Vice President in 1986; and President in 1989. In 1995, Dunn was named North Carolina’s Grocer of the Year.

Edward S. Dunn Jr.1943 - President: 1989-97

Fred J. Morganthall II joined Harris Teeter in1986 as Director of Grocery Merchandising. Since then he has served as Vice President of Merchandising, Vice President of Distribution and Vice President of Operations. In 1994, he was elected to the Harris Teeter Board of Directors. He became President of Harris Teeter in 1997.

Fred J. Morganthall II1951 - President: 1997-present

Harris Teeter’s success is

built on the foundation of

customer service. That tradition

began with the Harris and

Teeter families and has been

strengthened through a

combination of efforts between

our associates, Harris Teeter

management and our parent

company, Ruddick Corporation.

Going forward, we must work

together to find ways to lower

our costs and deliver more

competitive prices, yet still

deliver customer service that

sets us apart from other retailers

selling food.

Fred J. Morganthall II

...we reinvented the way Harris Teeter competed in the marketplace... This reinvention was a risky undertaking, but Harris Teeter associates had the skills and the determination to make it a success -- and have they ever!

Edward S. Dunn on the changing competitive landscape

What makes Harris Teeter a great company is its people. They’ve always been my heroes! Whether they work in distribution centers, stores, or offices – their attitude of consistently doing the right thing and seeking better ways to take care of HT’s customers is unique. They continue to do amazing things; I’ll always be grateful to them for what I learned from them.

Robert S. Goodale

We take pride in Harris Teeter as an organization, and the growth it has achieved since our involvement. Today it is looked upon nationally as one of the better and more forward- thinking and top-of-the-line supermarkets.

R. Stuart Dickson

John Hutchens always thought that one of the most important lessons he had ever learned occurred early in his career, and he tried to live by this throughout his career. The lesson was that you never needed to raise your voice when speaking with an associate to get your point across, regardless of the situation. Treat everyone with the respect, honesty and fairness that you wish to receive from them and most importantly, never feign ignorance! This was his legacy he lived by both professionally and personally.

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Jane Hutchens, wife of the late John G. Hutchens Sr.