Rabinovitz/Rabb family
An American Jewish business and philanthropic family associated with the creation and growth of the Stop & Shop supermarket chain in the Boston area.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
The Rabinovitz/Rabb family was an American Jewish business and philanthropic family whose commercial legacy was closely tied to the development of the Stop & Shop supermarket chain in the Boston area. The family's American grocery history began with the immigration of Nachman Schleime and Yente Rabinovitz from Malestovka, Russia, to the United States in 1891. After settling in Boston, Yente operated a grocery store in the city's North End, establishing the family's first documented connection with food retailing. The next generation expanded from neighborhood retail into organized grocery distribution and chain management. In 1898, brothers Joseph Rabinovitz and Max Rabinovitz founded the Standard Grocery Company, known as Ecco. Their brothers Jacob and Julius established Economy Grocery Stores in 1914. Joseph subsequently sold his interest in Standard and invested in Ecco, helping consolidate the family's commercial focus. Ecco later became the corporate foundation for the Stop & Shop business. Joseph's children played central roles in the company's growth. Sidney R. Rabb joined Ecco at 18 and became a co-owner with his father and relatives in 1920. He became chairman and chief executive in 1930 and retained those positions until his death in 1985. Norman S. Rabb joined the business in 1925, the year the company went public, and later became vice chairman and senior vice president of Stop & Shop. Irving William Rabb joined in 1935, the year Ecco opened Boston's first supermarket, and eventually served as company president and vice chairman. Their sister, Jeanette Rabb Solomon, was also part of the family generation involved in the business. The family adopted the surname Rabb in 1946, the same year that Economy Grocery Company was renamed Stop & Shop. Under the Rabb generation, the business moved beyond conventional grocery stores toward the supermarket format and became a significant regional food retailer. The family's influence extended beyond corporate management: members served as trustees, directors, and supporters of hospitals, universities, cultural organizations, Jewish institutions, and social-service groups across Boston and beyond. The family business entered a major transition in the 1970s and 1980s. Avram J. Goldberg, who married Sidney Rabb's daughter Carol, became executive vice president and then president of Stop & Shop in 1971. After Sidney's death in 1985, Goldberg became chairman, while Carol Rabb became president. Their leadership ended after the company was sold to Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. in a hostile takeover in 1988. This transaction marked the end of the family's direct control of Stop & Shop, although members of later generations continued to participate in philanthropy and civic life. The family's later legacy has been especially visible in education, medicine, arts organizations, Jewish communal institutions, and hunger-relief initiatives. In 2013, Betty and Jack Schafer, together with James and Melinda Rabb, supported the launch of the Greater Boston Hunger Network by the Jewish Family and Children's Service, the Greater Boston Food Bank, and Project Bread. The initiative illustrates the family's continuing public role after its operating control of the supermarket company ended: commercial activity created the family's prominence, while philanthropy became a principal channel through which later generations expressed that legacy.
History
The family's documented history in American commerce begins in 1891, when Nachman Schleime and Yente Rabinovitz immigrated from Malestovka, Russia, with their children. They settled in Boston, and Yente operated a grocery store in the North End. This small retail operation provided the foundation for a family enterprise that later became one of the Boston region's notable supermarket businesses. In 1898, Joseph Rabinovitz and his brother Max founded the Standard Grocery Company, which operated under the name Ecco. Their brothers Jacob and Julius created Economy Grocery Stores in 1914. Joseph later sold his interest in Standard and invested in Ecco, strengthening the family's involvement in that enterprise. The business expanded from traditional grocery retail into a larger and more organized operating structure. Joseph and Charlotte Wolf Rabinovitz had four children: Sidney, Norman, Jeanette, and Irving. The siblings attended Boston Latin School or Girls Latin School and Harvard institutions before joining the family grocery business. Sidney was the first of the children to enter Ecco, joining at 18. In 1920, he became a co-owner with his father and relatives. In 1930, he became chairman and chief executive officer, roles he held until his death in 1985. Norman joined Ecco in 1925, the year the company became publicly held. He later served as vice chairman and senior vice president of Stop & Shop. His business career was accompanied by major educational and civic service. He was among the original founders of Brandeis University in 1948, served as the first secretary of its board, and chaired the board from 1961 through 1967. Irving joined Ecco in 1935, the year the company opened Boston's first supermarket. He advanced to president and subsequently vice chairman of Stop & Shop. His community leadership included service at Beth Israel Hospital, where he became a trustee in 1956, president of the board from 1967 to 1970, and later chairman. He also held trustee or board positions with Boston cultural, medical, educational, and Jewish organizations, including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Museum of Fine Arts, Cambridge Community Foundation, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Hebrew College, Hebrew SeniorLife, New England Conservatory of Music, and Temple Israel of Boston. In 1946, the family members involved in the business changed their surname from Rabinovitz to Rabb. The Economy Grocery Company was also renamed Stop & Shop that year. The name change coincided with the company's development as a supermarket operator and helped establish the Stop & Shop identity in the Boston market. The subsequent generation remained involved. Sidney's daughter Carol Rabb joined Stop & Shop in 1985 after studying at Tufts University and Harvard Business School. Her husband, Avram J. Goldberg, had joined the company earlier and became executive vice president and then president in 1971. After Sidney's death, Goldberg became chairman and Carol became president. Their tenure ended when Stop & Shop was acquired by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. in a hostile takeover in 1988. The transaction removed the family from direct management of the business. Later generations pursued professional, institutional, and philanthropic careers. Family members supported or served organizations concerned with medicine, education, the arts, Jewish communal life, and social services. James Rabb became a gastroenterologist associated with Beth Israel and served with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Tufts University's nutrition school, and Jewish Family and Children's Service. Melinda Alliker Rabb, his wife, became an English professor at Brown University and served WGBH and the Celebrity Series of Boston. Betty Ann Schafer, another descendant, became associated with organizations including Earthjustice, Brandeis Hillel Day School, the Coro Center for Civic Leadership, and SEO Scholars. In 2013, descendants helped support the Greater Boston Hunger Network, a collaboration among Jewish Family and Children's Service, the Greater Boston Food Bank, and Project Bread. The initiative reflects the family's transition from direct supermarket ownership to a continuing philanthropic presence in Greater Boston. The family's lasting significance therefore rests on two connected legacies: the creation and expansion of a regional supermarket business, and sustained support for civic, cultural, medical, educational, and anti-hunger institutions.
- 2013
Greater Boston Hunger Network is launched
[1]Family descendants support a new anti-hunger collaboration involving Jewish Family and Children's Service, the Greater Boston Food Bank, and Project Bread.
- 1988
Family control ends after takeover
[1]Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. acquires Stop & Shop in a hostile takeover.
- 1985
Leadership passes to the next generation
[1]After Sidney Rabb's death, Avram Goldberg becomes chairman and Carol Rabb becomes president.
- 1971
Avram Goldberg becomes company president
[1]Avram J. Goldberg advances from executive vice president to president of Stop & Shop.
- 1948
Norman Rabb helps found Brandeis University
[1]Norman Rabb is among the university's founding group and becomes the first secretary of its board.
- 1946
The Rabb surname and Stop & Shop name are adopted
[1]The family's business branch changes its surname to Rabb, while Economy Grocery Company is renamed Stop & Shop.
- 1935
Boston's first family-linked supermarket opens
[1]Ecco opens Boston's first supermarket, and Irving Rabb joins the business.
- 1930
Sidney Rabb becomes chief executive
[1]Sidney Rabb assumes the positions of chairman and chief executive officer.
- 1925
The grocery company becomes public
[1]Ecco becomes a public company; Norman Rabb joins the business in the same year.
- 1920
Sidney Rabb becomes a co-owner
[1]Sidney Rabb becomes a co-owner of Ecco with his father and other family members.
Products and positioning
A Boston-area grocery-business dynasty whose retail legacy combined family ownership, regional supermarket development, and extensive philanthropic involvement.
Grocery business · 1898
Ecco
Ecco was the trading name associated with the Standard Grocery Company, founded by Joseph and Max Rabinovitz in 1898. It represented the family's move from an individual neighborhood grocery operation into a structured grocery company. The business later opened a supermarket in Boston and became an important predecessor to the Stop & Shop enterprise.
Grocery retail chain · 1914
Economy Grocery Stores
Economy Grocery Stores were established by Jacob and Julius Rabinovitz in 1914. The stores formed a separate but related part of the family's early grocery operations and were later connected to the corporate history that culminated in the Stop & Shop name.
Supermarket chain · 1946
Stop & Shop
Stop & Shop was the family's principal supermarket business in the Boston area. Economy Grocery Company adopted the Stop & Shop name in 1946, the same year the family business members adopted the surname Rabb. Under Sidney, Norman, and Irving Rabb and later Avram Goldberg and Carol Rabb, the company developed into a significant regional supermarket operator. The family lost direct control after the 1988 acquisition by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.
Marketing campaigns
- 2013Greater Boston Hunger Network
Greater Boston · Massachusetts
Jewish Family and Children's Service, the Greater Boston Food Bank, and Project Bread created the Greater Boston Hunger Network with support from Betty and Jack Schafer and James and Melinda Rabb. The initiative extended the family's historic connection to food into coordinated anti-hunger philanthropy.
Outcome. The network became a visible expression of the family's later philanthropic role in food security and social services.
Brand decisions
1988
Stop & Shop is sold following a hostile takeoverM&ABackground
Stop & Shop was still led by members of the Rabb family and by Avram J. Goldberg when the company became the subject of a hostile takeover.
Action taken
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. acquired Stop & Shop.
Aftermath
Avram Goldberg and Carol Rabb were forced to resign soon after the sale, ending the family's direct operating control.
1946
Rebrand the grocery company as Stop & ShopStrategyBackground
The family was developing its grocery operations around the supermarket format, including the opening of Boston's first supermarket in 1935.
Action taken
Economy Grocery Company was renamed Stop & Shop, while the family members involved in the business adopted the surname Rabb.
Aftermath
The Stop & Shop name became the principal public identity of the family's Boston-area supermarket business.
Sources1 sources
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