Eight Former Cala and Bell Stores to Become IGA

MILL VALLEY, Calif. -- IGA will add eight stores in the San Francisco Bay area to its roster over the next six weeks, beginning today with the planned opening of the first DeLano IGA Market here. The eight stores -- which formerly operated under the Cala Foods and Bell Markets banners -- were acquired late last year from Ralphs Grocery Co. by DeLano Retail Partners, a father-son business operated by Harley and Dennis DeLano. Harley DeLano was president of the Cala-Bell stores from 1990 until 2000; his son Dennis worked for Ralphs for more than 15 years and was a member of the chain's group management team when he left last year to form the partnership with his father. Harley DeLano said three factors influenced his decision to convert the stores to IGA: brand identity, IGA's training and certification programs and IGA's national consumer marketing events. “IGA is a perfect match for us,” he said. The stores will be supplied with IGA brands by the Sacramento division of C&S Wholesale Grocers, Keene, N.H. -- Elliot Zwiebach