Pattison Food Group
Canadian food retail group operating supermarkets, specialty food stores, pharmacies, wine retailers, and related grocery businesses.
Last updated August 22, 2026
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Overview
Pattison Food Group is a Canadian food retail group headquartered in Langley, British Columbia, and owned by the Jim Pattison Group. Its business comprises a portfolio of supermarket, specialty grocery, pharmacy, wine, and fresh-food banners, with the Save-On-Foods name serving as its largest and most prominent retail banner. The group’s principal retail presence is in Western Canada, although its portfolio has also included operations in the United States. The group traces its operating heritage to a grocery store opened by Robert C. Kidd in New Westminster, British Columbia, on March 8, 1915. Kidd used unconventional merchandising methods to attract customers, including odd-penny pricing and selling an unusually large quantity of tea for the prevailing price. The store became associated with the phrase “over-weight tea,” which inspired the Overwaitea name used by the business that developed from it. This historical naming tradition remained part of the company’s identity for more than a century. By the mid-2010s, the predecessor Overwaitea Food Group had grown into a substantial Western Canadian grocery operator. In August 2015 it was reported to operate 145 stores in British Columbia and Alberta across six banners and employ more than 15,000 team members. The organization subsequently expanded its physical footprint into Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Yukon. Its growth included both new-store development and the conversion or acquisition of stores operating under other supermarket banners. A notable expansion occurred in 2014, when Overwaitea announced the purchase of 15 stores from Sobeys. The acquired locations included stores in British Columbia and Alberta operating under Safeway, Thrifty Foods, and Sobeys banners. They were converted to Save-On-Foods stores. The company also announced plans to convert 11 PriceSmart Foods locations to the Save-On-Foods format. In 2018, the remaining Overwaitea Foods locations in British Columbia closed under that name and reopened as Save-On-Foods stores, completing the retirement of the historic banner as a trading format. The group’s supply and wholesale role also extends beyond stores directly operated under its principal banners. In 2019, Calgary Co-op announced that it would change grocery suppliers from Federated Co-operatives to Overwaitea, describing the change as a way to serve members more effectively and support long-term sustainability. In 2021, Overwaitea Food Group was renamed Pattison Food Group. The reorganization brought the Jim Pattison Group’s Buy-Low Foods and Quality Foods operations into the renamed food-retailing organization. Later that year, Pattison Food Group acquired Roth’s Fresh Markets, an Oregon grocery chain, representing an expansion beyond Western Canada and into the United States. The resulting group combines a large mainstream supermarket network with regional, discount-oriented, specialty, natural-food, wine, pharmacy, and fresh-market concepts. Its portfolio includes Save-On-Foods, Buy-Low Foods, Quality Foods, Choices Markets, PriceSmart Foods, Nesters Market, Urban Fare, Nature’s Fare Markets, Meinhardt Fine Foods, Everything Wine, Pure Integrative Pharmacy, AG Foods, Bulkley Valley Wholesale, Chuck’s Produce and Street Market, and Roth’s Fresh Markets.
History
Pattison Food Group’s history is rooted in the independent grocery trade of British Columbia. On March 8, 1915, Robert C. Kidd purchased a store at 746 Columbia Street in New Westminster. Kidd experimented with promotional and merchandising practices intended to attract shoppers, including odd-penny pricing and a tea offer that provided 18 ounces for the price normally associated with a pound. Customers came to refer to the business as the “over-weight tea” store. When Kidd opened another location, he used the name Overwaitea, which became the historic identity of the grocery operation. The business developed into a regional food retailer and later into a multi-banner organization. By August 2015, the Overwaitea Food Group was reported to operate 145 grocery stores in British Columbia and Alberta under six banners and to employ more than 15,000 team members. During the following period it extended its network into Saskatchewan and Manitoba, and a full-size store opened in Whitehorse, Yukon, in 2017. Acquisitions and banner conversions were important elements of the group’s expansion. In February 2014, Overwaitea announced the purchase of 15 stores from Sobeys. The stores were located in British Columbia and Alberta and had operated under Safeway, Thrifty Foods, and Sobeys names. They were converted to Save-On-Foods. Overwaitea also announced the conversion of 11 PriceSmart Foods locations to the Save-On-Foods format. These changes reinforced Save-On-Foods as the group’s principal mainstream supermarket identity. The Overwaitea name was eventually retired from store operations. On March 22, 2018, the last two Overwaitea Foods stores in British Columbia closed under that banner and reopened the next day as Save-On-Foods locations. The group nevertheless continued to operate a broad collection of distinct retail concepts, including value grocery, natural and organic food, premium urban food, wine, pharmacy, and fresh-market formats. The organization also developed relationships with external retail operators. In August 2019, Calgary Co-op announced that it would switch its grocery supplier from Federated Co-operatives to Overwaitea. The announcement connected the supply relationship with the stated goals of improving service to members and supporting the co-operative’s long-term sustainability. In 2021, Overwaitea Food Group was renamed Pattison Food Group. The change aligned the food-retailing operation more directly with the Jim Pattison Group and incorporated the group’s Buy-Low Foods and Quality Foods businesses. Later in the same year, Pattison Food Group acquired Roth’s Fresh Markets in Oregon. This transaction extended the company’s retail activities into the United States and represented its first expansion outside Western Canada. Pattison Food Group now represents the consolidated food-retail platform of the Jim Pattison Group, with Save-On-Foods as its best-known banner and a portfolio spanning mainstream supermarkets, discount grocery, specialty food, natural products, pharmacy, wine, and fresh-market retailing.
- 2021
Group renamed Pattison Food Group
[1]Overwaitea Food Group adopted the Pattison Food Group name, and Buy-Low Foods and Quality Foods operations were merged into the organization.
- 2021
Entry into the United States
[1]The acquisition of Roth’s Fresh Markets in Oregon marked Pattison Food Group’s first retail expansion outside Western Canada.
- 2018
Overwaitea Foods banner retired
[1]The final two Overwaitea Foods stores closed and reopened as Save-On-Foods locations.
- 2017
Full-size Whitehorse store opens
[1]The group opened a full-size grocery store in Whitehorse, Yukon.
- 2015
Regional network reaches 145 stores
[1]The predecessor Overwaitea Food Group was reported to operate 145 grocery stores in British Columbia and Alberta under six banners and employ more than 15,000 people.
- 2014
Acquisition and conversion of 15 stores
[1]Overwaitea announced the purchase of 15 stores from Sobeys and the conversion of the locations to Save-On-Foods.
- 1982
Save-On-Foods banner launched
[1]The Save-On-Foods banner was launched and later became the principal supermarket identity of the group.
- 1915
Robert C. Kidd opens the store that becomes the historical foundation of the group
[1]Robert C. Kidd purchased a grocery store in New Westminster, British Columbia. His merchandising methods and the resulting “over-weight tea” nickname led to the Overwaitea name.
Products and positioning
A multi-banner Western Canadian food retail group serving mainstream, value-oriented, premium, natural-food, ethnic-grocery, fresh-market, pharmacy, and specialty beverage segments.
Mainstream supermarket · 1982
Save-On-Foods
Save-On-Foods is Pattison Food Group’s principal supermarket banner. It offers the conventional grocery assortment expected from a full-service supermarket, including fresh produce, meat, seafood, dairy, bakery, packaged groceries, frozen foods, prepared foods, and household items. The banner expanded through store openings and conversions from other formats, including stores acquired from Sobeys and locations previously operating as Overwaitea Foods and PriceSmart Foods.
Value-oriented grocery
Buy-Low Foods
Buy-Low Foods is a grocery banner within Pattison Food Group’s portfolio. It represents the group’s value-oriented supermarket presence and serves shoppers seeking everyday food and household products through a regional grocery format.
Supermarket
Quality Foods
Quality Foods is a supermarket business incorporated into Pattison Food Group when the former Overwaitea Food Group was renamed in 2021. The banner forms part of the group’s broader Western Canadian grocery portfolio.
Natural and specialty grocery
Choices Markets
Choices Markets is a specialty grocery banner focused on natural, organic, and health-oriented food retailing. It complements Pattison Food Group’s conventional supermarkets by serving shoppers seeking curated food, wellness, and specialty-product assortments.
Grocery supermarket
PriceSmart Foods
PriceSmart Foods is one of Pattison Food Group’s grocery banners. Some locations were identified for conversion to Save-On-Foods during the group’s banner rationalization program.
Neighborhood supermarket
Nesters Market
Nesters Market is a neighborhood-oriented grocery banner in the Pattison Food Group portfolio, providing everyday supermarket products through a regional store format.
Premium urban food store
Urban Fare
Urban Fare is Pattison Food Group’s premium urban food-store concept. It is positioned toward city shoppers seeking higher-end groceries, specialty products, fresh foods, and prepared-food offerings in an urban retail environment.
Natural and wellness grocery
Nature’s Fare Markets
Nature’s Fare Markets is a natural-food and wellness-oriented grocery banner. It broadens Pattison Food Group’s reach in health-conscious food and lifestyle retail.
Wine retailer
Everything Wine
Everything Wine is the group’s specialist wine-retailing banner, adding beverage specialization to Pattison Food Group’s otherwise grocery-centered portfolio.
Pharmacy
Pure Integrative Pharmacy
Pure Integrative Pharmacy is Pattison Food Group’s pharmacy banner. It extends the group’s activities into health services and pharmacy-related retail.
Fresh-food supermarket
Roth’s Fresh Markets
Roth’s Fresh Markets is an Oregon grocery chain acquired by Pattison Food Group in 2021. Its addition marked the group’s first retail expansion outside Western Canada and gave the portfolio a United States operating platform.
Brand decisions
2021
Reorganization under the Pattison Food Group nameStrategyBackground
The Jim Pattison Group brought several food-retailing operations together under a unified food-group identity.
Action taken
Overwaitea Food Group was renamed Pattison Food Group, and Buy-Low Foods and Quality Foods operations were merged into the renamed organization.
Aftermath
The reorganization created a broader multi-banner food-retail platform under the Jim Pattison Group.
2021
Acquisition of Roth’s Fresh MarketsM&ABackground
Pattison Food Group pursued expansion beyond its established Western Canadian market.
Action taken
The group acquired Roth’s Fresh Markets, a grocery chain based in Oregon.
Aftermath
The acquisition gave Pattison Food Group its first retail presence outside Western Canada and extended its operations into the United States.
2018
Retirement of the Overwaitea Foods bannerStrategyBackground
The company had increasingly consolidated its mainstream supermarket identity around Save-On-Foods.
Action taken
The final two Overwaitea Foods stores in British Columbia were closed and reopened as Save-On-Foods locations.
Aftermath
Overwaitea Foods ceased to operate as a store banner, while the historical name remained part of the group’s corporate heritage.
2014
Purchase and conversion of Sobeys-affiliated storesM&ABackground
Overwaitea sought to expand its Western Canadian supermarket network through the purchase of 15 stores operating under Safeway, Thrifty Foods, and Sobeys banners.
Action taken
The company announced the acquisition and planned to convert the acquired stores to Save-On-Foods. It also announced the planned conversion of 11 PriceSmart Foods locations.
Aftermath
The transactions and conversions strengthened Save-On-Foods as the group’s main supermarket banner.
Recent events
- 2021
Overwaitea Food Group renamed Pattison Food Group[1]
Leadership change
The Overwaitea Food Group adopted the Pattison Food Group name, while the Jim Pattison Group’s Buy-Low Foods and Quality Foods operations were integrated into the renamed organization.
- 2021
Pattison Food Group acquires Roth’s Fresh Markets[1]
M&A
Pattison Food Group acquired Roth’s Fresh Markets, an Oregon grocery chain, marking the group’s first retail expansion outside Western Canada.
- 2019
Calgary Co-op selects Overwaitea as grocery supplier[1]
Other
Calgary Co-op announced that it would replace Federated Co-operatives with Overwaitea as its grocery supplier, citing service to members and long-term sustainability.
- 2018
Last Overwaitea Foods stores converted to Save-On-Foods[1]
Product generation
The final two Overwaitea Foods locations in British Columbia closed under the legacy banner and reopened the next day as Save-On-Foods stores.
- 2016
Overwaitea expands its store network across Western Canada[1]
Other
The predecessor group opened four stores in Saskatchewan and three in Winnipeg, Manitoba, following earlier expansion beyond its established British Columbia and Alberta base.
- 2014
Overwaitea announces purchase of 15 Sobeys-affiliated stores[1]
M&A
Overwaitea Food Group announced an agreement to purchase 15 stores in British Columbia and Alberta operating under Safeway, Thrifty Foods, and Sobeys banners, with the locations planned for conversion to Save-On-Foods stores.
Sources4 sources
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