Overwaitea Foods

Overwaitea Foods was a regional supermarket brand based in British Columbia, Canada. Its history began on March 8, 1915, when Robert C. Kidd purchased a grocery store at 746 Columbia Street in New Westminster. Kidd used distinctive merchandising practices to attract customers, including odd-penny pricing and an unusually generous tea offer: customers could receive 18 ounces of tea for the price of a pound. These practices helped give the store a nickname associated with “over-weight tea,” which became the basis for the Overwaitea name when Kidd opened a second location. The brand developed as a local and regional grocery operator rather than as a national supermarket chain. Its stores served communities across British Columbia, with a particular presence in smaller towns. The chain’s identity was rooted in conventional supermarket retailing, including the sale of food and household grocery products, while its early history emphasized value-oriented merchandising and memorable pricing tactics. A major ownership change occurred in 1968, when businessman Jim Pattison purchased Overwaitea. The chain subsequently became part of the broader Overwaitea Food Group, which also included other Western Canadian grocery formats such as Save-On-Foods, Urban Fare, PriceSmart Foods, and Cooper’s Foods. This group operated within the Jim Pattison Group. Over time, some stores that had originally operated under the Overwaitea name were converted to the sister Save-On-Foods banner, reducing the number of locations carrying the original brand. As of January 2007, Overwaitea Foods operated 15 outlets in British Columbia, primarily in smaller communities. The brand therefore remained a recognizable regional banner but had a narrower footprint than the larger Save-On-Foods chain within the same corporate family. The continuing conversion of Overwaitea stores to Save-On-Foods reflected the consolidation of grocery operations under a more prominent sister brand. The final two Overwaitea Foods locations closed under that name on March 22, 2018. They reopened as Save-On-Foods stores the next day. This ended Overwaitea Foods as an active retail banner, although its historical name and role in the development of the Jim Pattison Group’s grocery operations remain part of British Columbia’s supermarket history.

Overwaitea Foods traces its origins to March 8, 1915, when Robert C. Kidd bought a grocery store at 746 Columbia Street in New Westminster, British Columbia. Kidd sought to differentiate the business through unconventional retail practices. Among them were odd-penny pricing and a tea promotion that offered 18 ounces for the price of a pound. The promotion led customers to associate the business with “over-weight tea.” When Kidd opened a second store, he adopted the name Overwaitea, turning the nickname and wordplay into a formal retail identity. The business grew into a regional supermarket chain serving British Columbia. Its stores were concentrated especially in smaller communities, giving the banner a local-market orientation rather than a national profile. The available historical record emphasizes the chain’s merchandising origins, its British Columbia footprint, and its later relationship with other grocery banners rather than providing a detailed account of individual store openings or product innovations. In 1968, Jim Pattison acquired Overwaitea. Under Pattison ownership, the business became part of the Overwaitea Food Group, a grocery organization that also owned or operated the Save-On-Foods, Urban Fare, PriceSmart Foods, and Cooper’s Foods banners. The group itself belonged to the Jim Pattison Group. This structure placed Overwaitea Foods within a multi-banner retail portfolio, allowing related brands to serve different community, format, and customer segments. The Overwaitea name gradually became less prominent as stores were converted to the Save-On-Foods banner. By January 2007, 15 Overwaitea outlets remained in British Columbia, with most located in smaller towns. Other former Overwaitea stores had already changed banners, indicating a long-term effort to consolidate stores under the group’s more widely used Save-On-Foods identity. The brand’s retail life ended in March 2018. The last two remaining Overwaitea locations closed on March 22, 2018, and reopened as Save-On-Foods stores on March 23. The conversion completed the retirement of the Overwaitea Foods banner. Its legacy survives primarily through its early British Columbia grocery history, its distinctive name, and its role in the evolution of the Jim Pattison Group’s supermarket portfolio.

• 2018

  The Overwaitea banner is retired

  [1]Overwaitea Foodsen.wikipedia.org

  The remaining two Overwaitea Foods stores closed on March 22 and reopened as Save-On-Foods stores on March 23.

• 2007

  The chain operates 15 British Columbia outlets

  [1]Overwaitea Foodsen.wikipedia.org

  As of January, Overwaitea Foods had 15 outlets, primarily in smaller British Columbia communities, while some former locations had already been rebranded as Save-On-Foods.

• 1968

  Jim Pattison acquires Overwaitea

  [1]Overwaitea Foodsen.wikipedia.org

  Jim Pattison purchased the supermarket business, bringing it into the corporate group that later became associated with the Overwaitea Food Group and the Jim Pattison Group.

• 1915

  Robert C. Kidd opens the original grocery store

  [1]Overwaitea Foodsen.wikipedia.org

  On March 8, Robert C. Kidd purchased a grocery store at 746 Columbia Street in New Westminster, British Columbia, establishing the business from which Overwaitea Foods developed.

• 1915

  The Overwaitea name is introduced

  [1]Overwaitea Foodsen.wikipedia.org

  After using distinctive tea promotions and other merchandising techniques, Kidd used the Overwaitea name for a second store.

A regional, value-oriented supermarket chain serving British Columbia communities, particularly smaller towns.

• Grocery retail

  Supermarket groceries

  Overwaitea Foods operated conventional grocery supermarkets offering everyday food and household products. The brand served local communities through regional stores, with its historical identity tied more to accessible grocery retail and value-oriented merchandising than to a narrowly defined specialty product line.

• Beverages · 1915

  Tea

  Tea has a special place in the brand’s origin story. Robert C. Kidd’s early store promoted 18 ounces of tea for the price of a pound, a value-focused offer that contributed to the nickname associated with “over-weight tea” and ultimately inspired the Overwaitea name.

• 2018

  Convert the final Overwaitea stores to Save-On-FoodsStrategy

  Background

  Overwaitea Foods had been losing locations to conversions into the sister Save-On-Foods banner. By March 2018, only two Overwaitea locations remained.

  Action taken

  The two remaining stores closed under the Overwaitea name on March 22 and reopened as Save-On-Foods stores the next day.

  Aftermath

  The conversion ended Overwaitea Foods as an active supermarket banner while preserving the stores within the Jim Pattison Group’s grocery operations.

  Source

• 2018

  Remaining Overwaitea Foods locations converted to Save-On-Foods[1]Overwaitea Foodsen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The final two stores operating under the Overwaitea Foods name in British Columbia closed on March 22 and reopened the following day under the Save-On-Foods banner.

1. 1Overwaitea Foodsen.wikipedia.org