Market Basket (New England)
History
!The last use of the name Demoulas on a facade was on this former store in [Salem, New Hampshire.](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/b7/SalemDMB.jpg/250px-SalemDMB.jpg)
History
In 1917, Greek immigrants Athanasios ("Arthur") and Efrosini Demoulas opened Demoulas Market, a grocery store in the Acre neighborhood of Lowell, Massachusetts, that specialized in fresh lamb. In 1938, the store, which operated largely on credit due to the Great Depression, was being threatened with foreclosure. The Demoulases' youngest son, Telemachus, also known as Mike, either quit or was expelled from school and went to work at the store full-time. Eventually, the family earned the money needed to avoid foreclosure.
History
After World War II, Mike's older brother, George, also joined the family business. Also after the war, housing projects were constructed in the Acre, which resulted in a larger customer base for the Demoulases. In 1950, the Demoulas Brothers opened a new store to replace the original market. In 1954, they purchased the business from their parents. By 1956, the market's sales had jumped from $2,000 a year to $900,000 and the brothers began expanding. Within 15 years, the two brothers had transformed their parents' "mom and pop"-style store into a modern supermarket chain consisting of 15 stores.
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