AL'S SUPERMARKETS

After serving in the Navy during wartime, Al Pontius came home to LaPorte with a determination to be his own master. Because he had worked at the East Lincolnway Fruit Market in LaPorte since he was only 12, he understood the importance of customer satisfaction and had a keen appreciation for freshness and quality. So when he was offered a partnership with Charlie Britt and Gus Kubica in a small Michigan City storefront grocery known as Hoosier Food Mart, he sold his car to get the capital he needed to buy in. He later bought his partners out to become sole proprietor of the business, by then called Thrifty Food Mart.