Save Mart Supermarkets Gobbled by Private Equity

Credit: Mongkolchon Akesin, iStock

Save Mart Supermarkets (Modesto, Calif.), a grocery chain with locations throughout California and northern Nevada, has been acquired by Kingswood Capital Management. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The Save Mart Companies operate about 200 stores, including the Lucky California and FoodMaxx brands. The company also operates SMART Refrigerated Transport and is a partner in Super Store Industries, which owns and operates a distribution center in Lathrop, Calif., and the Sunnyside Farms dairy processing plant in nearby Turlock.

The Central Valley grocer was founded by brothers-in-law Nick Tocco and Mike Piccinini in 1952. Piccinini’s granddaughter became the CEO in 2016 before Chris McGarry took over the role in 2021.

Kingswood is a Los Angeles-based private equity firm that focuses on the retail sector. This deal expands the firm’s northern California presence following its acquisition of Calif.-based Cost Plus World Market, which it bought from Bed Bath and Beyond in January 2021.

VMSD Staff

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