J.W. Sobey founder of Sobeys second-largest Grocery retailer in Canada
On my recent road trip to New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, with snow up to my knees, I visited Brookside Cemetery (and returned in June) and discovered the grave of John William (J.W.) Sobey the founder of Sobeys, Canada’s second-largest grocery retailer.
A few minutes south of New Glasgow, I arrived in the former mining town of Stellarton, where it all began. John Sobey worked in the coal mines and on the family farm before leaving that life behind to become a butcher.
In 1907, Sobey began buying livestock from local farmers and delivering fresh meat to customers in a horse-drawn buggy. As the business grew, he opened his first store in 1912. The small storefront was located in the heart of Stellarton and catered to walk-in customers. It was described as a modest neighbourhood shop, similar in size to a modern-day convenience store.
In 1924, his son Frank H. Sobey, a young and ambitious entrepreneur, joined his father in the business and quickly set his sights on expansion. Frank had left school after Grade 8 at the age of 16, but he already showed a strong interest in business and investing. While still in school, he purchased ten shares in Canada Cement and made a $100 profit (about $1,800 today) in just two weeks.
Determined to learn more about business and finance, Frank enrolled for a year at a business college in nearby New Glasgow. Over the next several years, he expanded the family business to four stores. By the time Frank H. Sobey retired from active management in 1971 and handed control to his sons, Sobeys had grown from a small local operation into the dominant grocery retailer in Atlantic Canada, with annual sales reaching nearly $93 million.
Today, Sobeys—part of Empire Company Limited—operates grocery banners across Canada including Safeway, FreshCo, Farm Boy, Foodland, and a controlling interest in Longo’s, along with the Lawtons Drugs pharmacy chain.
It is an incredible Canadian business success story that all started in a small mining town.
John William Sobey died on November 24, 1949, in Pictou, Nova Scotia. He was 80.
