George Albert Ralphs (September 23, 1850 – June 21, 1914) was an American businessman. He founded the Ralphs supermarket chain in Southern California, with the help of his brother Walter.
Early life and career
George Albert Ralphs was born in Joplin, Missouri, in 1850. His family moved to California on a prairie schooner and a yoke of oxen when he was a boy. Once he was settled in San Bernardino, George Ralphs was trained as an expert bricklayer and even developed a reputation as the "Champion Bricklayer of California".[1]
Ralphs also worked in Los Angeles. After losing an arm in an accident, he gave up bricklaying and found work as a clerk in a small grocery store. In 1873, he had saved enough money to purchase his own grocery at Sixth and Spring Streets. He opened his first store, Ralphs and Francis, in 1873, in the Spring Street Financial District of Los Angeles with S. A. Francis.[2][3] From then on, Ralphs prospered, operating three of the largest stores in Los Angeles.