Smith's Food and Drug
A Kroger-owned supermarket chain serving the western United States with groceries, pharmacies, fuel centers, and larger Marketplace stores.
Last updated August 22, 2026
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Overview
Smith's Food and Drug, commonly known as Smith's, is a regional supermarket chain serving communities across the western United States. The business began in 1911, when Lorenzo Smith opened a small dry-goods store in Brigham City, Utah. The original operation developed from a local general-merchandise business into a food-centered retail chain through successive changes in format, ownership, and geographic scope. The company’s early development was closely associated with the Smith family. Lorenzo Smith replaced the first store with a larger location across the street in 1922, and the business adopted the name Smith & Son's Market in 1932. After serving in World War II, Lorenzo’s son Dee Glen Smith joined the company and drove a period of accelerated expansion. The chain adopted the Smith's Super Market name in 1952. When Lorenzo Smith died in 1958, Dee Smith became president and pursued growth beyond Brigham City through partnerships and acquisitions. After Dee Smith died in 1984, leadership passed to other members of the Smith family, including Fred Smith and later Jeff Smith. Smith’s expanded its presence across several Mountain West and Southwest markets and became a publicly traded company in 1989, when its shares began trading on the New York Stock Exchange. In 1996, the chain acquired Arizona-based Smitty's Supermarkets. The following year, Portland-based Fred Meyer acquired Smith’s in a stock transaction. Fred Meyer was subsequently acquired by Kroger in 1998, making Smith’s a Kroger subsidiary. As part of the post-merger integration, many Smith’s stores in Arizona were converted to Kroger’s Fry’s Food and Drug banner, while Smith’s remained a major regional banner in states including Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming. Under Kroger ownership, Smith’s has operated several interconnected formats. Conventional Smith’s supermarkets sell fresh food, packaged groceries, bakery and deli products, household goods, health and beauty products, and pharmacy services. Smith’s Marketplace stores are larger locations combining supermarket operations with expanded general merchandise, apparel, household products, and other nonfood categories. Some Marketplace stores also include financial or specialty retail services. Smith’s additionally operates fuel centers and Smith’s Express convenience locations associated with fuel stations. The chain’s assortment includes Smith’s-branded goods and products supplied through Kroger’s private-label portfolio. Examples include Simple Truth, Private Selection, Comforts, Luvsome, Home Chef, Murray’s Cheese, Bakery Fresh Goodness, Pet Pride, OfficeWorks, and Everyday Living. Customers can participate in Smith’s Rewards, which provides sale pricing, fuel-point accumulation, and other benefits that are generally interoperable with Kroger-affiliated loyalty programs. Smith’s remains focused on the western United States rather than operating as a national consumer brand. Its community presence includes support for Primary Children's Hospital and sponsorship or partnership activity involving organizations such as the Utah Jazz, the Utah Utes, and the Salt Lake Bees. The chain has also been involved in a notable payment-policy dispute: it temporarily stopped accepting Visa credit cards in 2019, citing the cost of card fees, and resumed Visa acceptance later that year.
History
Smith's Food and Drug traces its origins to 1911, when Lorenzo Smith opened a small dry-goods store in Brigham City, Utah. A larger replacement store opened across the street in 1922. In 1932, the business became Smith & Son's Market, reflecting the increasing involvement of Lorenzo Smith's family. His son Dee Glen Smith joined after World War II and became the principal force behind the chain's expansion. Between 1946 and 1958, the company grew substantially and moved beyond its original small-town base. It adopted the Smith's Super Market name in 1952. After Lorenzo Smith's death in 1958, Dee Smith became president and concluded that the Brigham City market could no longer support the company's ambitions. He expanded through partnerships and acquisitions, creating a broader regional operation. Dee Smith died in 1984, after which Fred Smith led the business before Jeff Smith later became chairman and chief executive officer. Smith's became a public company in 1989, with its shares listed on the New York Stock Exchange. In 1996, it acquired Smitty's Supermarkets, an Arizona chain. In 1997, Fred Meyer acquired Smith's in a stock-based transaction. The following year, Kroger acquired Fred Meyer. That merger placed Smith's within Kroger's corporate structure and altered the brand portfolio in Arizona, where a number of Smith's Food & Drug Centers were converted to the Fry's Food and Drug banner. Kroger subsequently developed the Smith's Marketplace format. In 2004, Fred Meyer's Utah operations were combined with Smith's, and several former Fred Meyer stores were converted into Marketplace locations. The concept combined food retail with apparel, household goods, general merchandise, and additional services. Smith's continued to add and remodel Marketplace stores in Utah, Nevada, and New Mexico, including locations in Lehi, Los Alamos, North Ogden, West Jordan, Kaysville, South Jordan, Springville, northwest Las Vegas, and Henderson. The present-day Smith's business includes conventional supermarkets, pharmacies, fuel centers, and Smith's Express convenience locations. Its stores sell national brands alongside Kroger-owned private-label lines and Smith's-banner merchandise. The Smith's Rewards program offers promotional pricing and fuel points, with benefits that can generally be used across participating Kroger banners. The chain's regional identity is reinforced by community giving and sponsorships, including support for Primary Children's Hospital and relationships with Utah sports organizations. In 2019, Smith's became involved in a payment-fee dispute when it stopped accepting Visa credit cards. The company characterized Visa's fees as too high, but resumed accepting the cards several months later. Smith's continues to operate as a Kroger-owned western supermarket banner.
- 2022
Henderson Marketplace opens
[1]A Smith's Marketplace location opens in Henderson, Nevada.
- 2019
Visa acceptance temporarily suspended
[1]Smith's stops accepting Visa credit cards in April and resumes acceptance in late October after a dispute over merchant fees.
- 2018
First northwest Las Vegas Marketplace opens
[1]Smith's expands the Marketplace banner into northwest Las Vegas.
- 2008
Lehi Marketplace opens
[1]Smith's opens a large Marketplace store in Lehi, Utah, and remodels a former Fred Meyer location in downtown Salt Lake City.
- 2004
Marketplace format introduced
[1]Former Fred Meyer Utah stores are integrated into Smith's and several are converted to the Smith's Marketplace concept.
- 1998
Becomes a Kroger subsidiary
[1]Kroger acquires Fred Meyer, bringing Smith's into the Kroger group.
- 1997
Acquired by Fred Meyer
[1]Fred Meyer acquires Smith's, combining the business with its broader western supermarket and general-merchandise operations.
- 1996
Smitty's Supermarkets acquired
[1]Smith's acquires the Arizona supermarket chain Smitty's Supermarkets.
- 1989
Initial public offering
[1]Smith's completes an initial public offering and its shares begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
- 1952
Smith's Super Market name adopted
[1]The growing grocery operation changes its trading name to Smith's Super Market.
Products and positioning
Mainstream regional supermarket offering groceries, pharmacy services, fuel, loyalty savings, and selected general merchandise.
Supermarket
Smith's supermarkets
The core Smith's store format provides a broad supermarket assortment including produce, meat, seafood, dairy, packaged groceries, frozen foods, bakery, deli, household products, personal-care goods, and pharmacy services. Stores combine Smith's local banner identity with national brands and Kroger-sourced private-label products.
Supermarket and general merchandise · 2004
Smith's Marketplace
Smith's Marketplace is a larger format that extends beyond conventional grocery retail. In addition to food, pharmacy, bakery, deli, and household categories, Marketplace locations may carry apparel, general merchandise, and expanded home products. The format developed from Kroger's integration of Fred Meyer operations in Utah and is concentrated in selected western markets.
Retail pharmacy
Smith's Pharmacy
Smith's pharmacies operate inside many supermarkets and Marketplace stores. They provide prescription and over-the-counter health products as part of the chain's combined food, drug, and household retail proposition.
Fuel retail
Smith's Fuel Center
Smith's Fuel Centers provide vehicle fuel and commonly include small kiosks selling convenience merchandise. Fuel purchases can be connected to Smith's Rewards fuel-point benefits.
Convenience retail
Smith's Express
Smith's Express locations pair fuel service with a compact convenience assortment. They are designed for quick purchases rather than the full grocery shopping mission served by a supermarket.
Customer loyalty program
Smith's Rewards
Smith's Rewards provides member pricing, promotional savings, and fuel-point accumulation. The program is part of Kroger's broader loyalty ecosystem and can be used at participating Kroger-affiliated stores.
Marketing campaigns
- Primary Children's Hospital support
Utah
Smith's supports Primary Children's Hospital through donations and community activity, linking the retailer to pediatric healthcare in its home-state market.
Outcome. The sponsorship is described as an ongoing community relationship; specific donation totals are not provided.
- Utah sports sponsorships
Utah
Smith's has sponsorship relationships with the Utah Jazz, the Utah Utes, and the Salt Lake Bees.
Outcome. The relationships support local sports visibility and community positioning; specific campaign performance is not provided.
Brand decisions
2019
Suspend and restore Visa credit-card acceptanceOtherBackground
Smith's argued that Visa credit-card fees were excessive and announced a change to its payment policy.
Action taken
The chain stopped accepting Visa credit cards in April 2019 and resumed acceptance in late October of the same year.
Aftermath
The policy reversal restored Visa payment availability at Smith's stores; no specific financial impact is provided.
2004
Develop the Smith's Marketplace formatStrategyBackground
Kroger's Fred Meyer acquisition created an opportunity to apply a larger supermarket and general-merchandise concept in Smith's territories.
Action taken
Kroger merged Fred Meyer's Utah operations into Smith's and converted selected former Fred Meyer stores into Smith's Marketplace locations.
Aftermath
Marketplace became an expanded Smith's format combining food, pharmacy, household goods, apparel, and other general merchandise.
1998
Integration into KrogerM&ABackground
Kroger sought to expand its geographic reach and purchasing scale through the acquisition of Fred Meyer.
Action taken
Kroger acquired Fred Meyer, thereby making Smith's a subsidiary and integrating parts of the combined western banner portfolio.
Aftermath
Many Smith's stores in Arizona were converted to Fry's Food and Drug, while Smith's continued as a principal Kroger banner in other western states.
Kroger consideration for Fred Meyer. Approximately $8 billion in stock consideration; approximately $4.8 billion of debt assumed (1998)
1997
Accept acquisition by Fred MeyerM&ABackground
Smith's had expanded across western markets and had become a public company, while Fred Meyer was building a larger regional supermarket and general-merchandise group.
Action taken
Fred Meyer acquired Smith's through a stock transaction, with the buyer also taking on Smith's existing debt.
Aftermath
Smith's became part of Fred Meyer's western operating portfolio for approximately one year before Fred Meyer itself was acquired by Kroger.
Transaction value. Approximately $700 million in stock consideration; debt was also assumed (1997)
Sources2 sources
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