25 Kansas City grocery stores to transition from private to employee ownership

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (KCTV) - On Tuesday, the parent company of over two dozen area grocery stores announced it is transferring ownership to its employees.

Balls Food Stores (BFS) owns 25 grocery stores in the Kansas City area, including all Hen House Markets, Sun Fresh Markets, Payless Discount Foods and several Price Choppers.

BFS completed the transition to an employee stock ownership program (ESOP) over the last several months. Under the new plan, qualifying employees are given portions of company stock with no out-of-pocket costs.

The announcement came during the family-owned company’s 100th anniversary. Founded in 1923, ownership was passed from the original owners, Sidney and Molly Ball, to their son Fred in 1975 and finally to their grandson David in 2000.

David Ball said the decision to move to employee ownership was inspired by his family’s philosophy that “If you take care of your teammates, they’ll take care of the customer, and the customer will take care of the business.”

“My grandfather always said we’re in the people business. We just happen to sell groceries,” David Ball said. “That’s one reason an ESOP structure is an ideal growth strategy for BFS. Our focus is on people, culture, operations and growth. An ESOP brings all of that together.”

BFS employs around 2,600 employees.

As seen on KCTV and produced by Zoe Shriner.