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New Natural Chain Targets Midwest

BOULDER — Natural food retailing veteran Pat Gilliland, whose brother Mike is the former chief executive officer of natural and organic supermarket chains Wild Oats Markets and Sunflower Farmers Market, is leading another natural grocer based here on an expansion kick.

Jon Springer, Executive Editor

January 10, 2013

1 Min Read
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BOULDER — Natural food retailing veteran Pat Gilliland, whose brother Mike is the former chief executive officer of natural and organic supermarket chains Wild Oats Markets and Sunflower Farmers Market, is leading another natural grocer based here on an expansion kick.

Lucky’s Markets, founded here 10 years ago, has plans to expand to six new locations in the Western and Midwestern states over the next 30 months, according to its website.

Pat Gilliland, a veteran of Sunflower and Wild Oats, is chief executive of Lucky’s. Its website describes the concept as “a full service grocery store providing the right balance of farm fresh produce at great prices along with mainstream, natural, organic and locally grown foods to meet the everyday needs of our customers.”

Lucky’s on its website said it planned to open stores in Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio and Michigan. A second Colorado store was also being planned, published reports said.

Mike Gilliland was CEO of Sunflower until resigning in 2011 amid an arrest in a child-prostitution sting. He was sentenced this week to 30 days in jail and a year’s probation, reports said.

Read more: Sunflower CEO Arrested, Resigns

 

About the Author

Jon Springer

Executive Editor

Jon Springer is executive editor of Winsight Grocery Business with responsibility for leading its digital news team. Jon has more than 20 years of experience covering consumer business and retail in New York, including more than 14 years at the Retail/Financial desk at Supermarket News. His previous experience includes covering consumer markets for KPMG’s Insiders; the U.S. beverage industry for Beverage Spectrum; and he was a Senior Editor covering commercial real estate and retail for the International Council of Shopping Centers. Jon began his career as a sports reporter and features editor for the Cecil Whig, a daily newspaper in Elkton, Md. Jon is also the author of two books on baseball. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in English-Journalism from the University of Delaware. He lives in Brooklyn, N.Y. with his family.

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