. for the nrhp listed building see ralphs grocery store los angeles california . ralphs grocery company the ralphs logo in the 1980s type subsidiary of the kroger co. industry retail founded 1873 los angeles california headquarters compton california 1 products bakery dairy deli frozen foods grocery meat pharmacy produce seafood snacks liquor parent kroger website ralphs.com a ralphs marketplace in porter ranch los angeles california ralphs is a major supermarket chain in the southern california area and the largest subsidiary of cincinnati based kroger . it is the oldest such chain west of the mississippi river . kroger also operates stores under the food 4 less and foods co. names in california . contents 1 history 2 2003 2004 strike 3 in popular culture 4 notes 5 references 6 external links history edit ralphs grocery company was founded in 1873 by george albert ralphs . the original store was located at sixth and spring streets in los angeles california . in the 20th century ralphs became a grocery pioneer offering self service markets with checkout stands in distributed locations . the company employed notable architects in designing its stores and the former ralphs grocery store building built in 1929 in westwood village has been photographed by ansel adams declared a historic cultural monument and listed on the national register of historic places . in the 1980s it created a chain of hybrid supermarket warehouse stores called the giant which failed but the concept returned with the company s merger with the food 4 less discount chain . in 1994 ralphs was acquired by the yucaipa companies for 1.5 billion . yucaipa owned abc markets alpha beta boys markets and cala foods . soon all abc markets alpha betas and boys markets were rebranded as ralphs . at the same time food 4 less was merged with ralphs . in 1997 yucaipa sold the ralphs grocery company to fred meyer inc. owner of several chains in the west . soon ralphs marketplace stores started opening ; these stores are based on the fred meyer model but without apparel . at the same time they also acquired the 57 store hughes family markets chain . in october 1998 the parent company fred meyer merged with the kroger company of cincinnati ohio . in 1999 ralphs purchased about 30 albertsons and lucky stores mostly in northern california . the stores were divested as a result of the albertsons and american stores merger . ralphs operated the stores until january 2006 when they announced that all but one ralphs in northern california would close . in august 2006 the one remaining ralphs in northern california was given a 60 day notice of closure . also in august 2006 ralphs finalized plans to sell eleven of thirteen remaining cala bell stores to harley delano who previously ran the chain . ralphs s northern california expansion did not work out as planned . on july 20 2007 ralphs opened a new 50 000 square foot 4 600 m2 store on 9th and hope street in the south park neighborhood of downtown los angeles . this was the first full run supermarket downtown in 50 years . in 1950 ralphs closed a store at 7th street and figueroa street . today ralphs competes with albertsons vons a division of safeway inc. and stater bros. its slogan is great food . real low prices ralphs is the current market leader in southern california . 2003 2004 strike edit main article southern california supermarket strike of 2003 2004 ralphs grocery company has contracts with the united food and commercial workers the largest grocery union in the united states . in late 2003 and early 2004 ralphs locked out its workers who were members of the ufcw in sympathy with competitor vons owned by safeway inc. in southern california after the ufcw had declared a strike against vons . the issues in contract negotiations included healthcare benefits and wage structure which the supermarkets contended were necessary to reduce costs and remain competitive in the face of the rise of discount chains like walmart . in march 2004 the strike ended with a settlement regarded as a victory for the grocery chains new hires would be on a much lower pay scale than existing workers and receive less generous health benefits . on october 16 2006 ralphs agreed to pay 70 million to settle felony charges that it illegally rehired locked out employees using false names and social security numbers during the strike . eligible ufcw members received 50 million of the settlement and the remainder was paid in fines to the federal government . 2 3 in popular culture edit the photorealist painter robert cottingham depicted a ralphs supermarket in his 1968 painting ralph s ii which has been displayed by the milwaukee art museum . the coen brothers 1998 film the big lebowski opens with its main character the dude played by jeff bridges walking through a ralphs supermarket . later in the film the dude is searched by the malibu chief of police who upon finding his ralphs card asks is this your only form of id in a mortuary the character walter sobchak complains about the high price of an urn to house the ashes of a friend . after asking the funeral director is there a ralphs around here the scene cuts to walter overlooking the pacific ocean holding a folgers coffee can . a sign for a ralphs store appears in the 1975 film dolemite . ralphs supermarket line of generic brand products were featured prominently in the 1984 film repo man ; almost all products featured were donated by the supermarket . 4 5 6 ralphs can be seen in the action film die hard when john mcclane sees that the fire trucks take a route away from nakatomi plaza which is where he and his wife are trapped . in the podcast radio drama welcome to night vale the chain is occasionally mentioned in the context of a hole in the vacant lot out back of the ralphs . this is in spite of a lack of confirmation or evidence that the town of night vale is located in southern california . in an episode of mad men don draper can be seen carrying a ralphs bag while visiting a friend in southern california . in the 1992 film forever young with mel gibson after gibson s character wakes up in the present day to discover he has been frozen for the past 50 years he goes to a pay telephone to call a friend from his past across the street from the pay phone is a ralphs store . later when trying to tell someone where his friend from the past lived gibson s character says there s a place called ralphs there now . notes edit contact us the kroger company green frank october 17 2006 . ralphs to pay 70 million in settlement . the san diego union tribune . retrieved june 3 2011 . zimmerman martin october 17 2006 . judge approves ralphs plea deal in labor case . los angeles times . linden sheri april 14 2013 . 1984 s repo man possesses a healthy cynicism . los angeles times . retrieved january 16 2014 . leiby richard november 14 2013 . wal mart s new price first brand recalls the starkly labeled groceries of lost repo man . the washington post . retrieved january 16 2014 . mcpheeters sam april 16 2013 . repo man a lattice of coincidence . the criterion collection . retrieved january 16 2014 . references edit ralphs history external links edit ralphs homepage los angeles portal companies portal food portal v t e kroger grocery baker s supermarkets city market dillons food 4 less foods co. fred meyer fry s food and drug gerbes super markets harris teeter jayc food stores king soopers owen s market pay less super markets qfc ralphs roundy s pick n save mariano s copps metro market ruler foods scott s food & pharmacy smith s food and drug convenience kwik shop loaf n jug quik stop smith s express tom thumb turkey hill jewelry fred meyer jewelers littman jewelers services i wireless people michael j. cullen jacob e. davis david dillon bernard kroger fred g. meyer v t e supermarket chains in the united states kroger baker s supermarkets city market dillons food stores food 4 less foods co. fred meyer fry s food & drug gerbes super markets harris teeter jay c king soopers kroger owen s pay less super markets qfc ralphs roundy s pick n save mariano s metro market copp s ruler foods scott s smith s albertsons acme markets albertsons amigos carrs haggen jewel osco lucky market street pavilions randalls safeway shaw s and star market super saver tom thumb united supermarkets vons supervalu county market cub farm fresh hornbacher s save a lot shop n save shoppers ahold delhaize food lion giant carlisle giant landover hannaford brothers company martin s food markets stop & shop southeastern grocers bi lo fresco y m s harveys supermarkets winn dixie wakefern pricerite shoprite the fresh grocer other national chains aldi iga lidl target walmart regional chains asian 99 ranch market great wall supermarket h mart hong kong supermarket island pacific supermarket marina food marukai corporation u.s.a. mitsuwa marketplace nijiya market seafood city shun fat supermarket uwajimaya hispanic bravo el ahorro supermarket fiesta foods fiesta mart la perla tapat a supermarkets m s club mi pueblo food center supermercados teloloapan vallarta supermarkets organic earth fare natural grocers trader joe s whole foods market wholesale bj s wholesale club costco sam s club conventional acme fresh market amigo andronico s balducci s bashas best yet market big y boyer s food markets inc. bristol farms brookshire brothers brookshire grocery company buehler food markets inc. c town supermarkets cash & carry central market d & w fresh market dave s markets dean & deluca demoulas market basket dierbergs markets dorothy lane market easy way store econofoods family fare fairway market fareway festival foods festival foods minnesota food giant food city foodarama foodland foodland hawaii foodtown pathmark gelson s gerland corporation giant eagle grand mart gristedes grocery outlet harmons harps food stores h e b heinen s fine foods highland park market homeland houchens hugo s hy vee ingles inserra supermarkets jerry s foods jungle jim s international market karns quality foods key food super fresh the food emporium king kullen kings super markets kuhn s quality foods lewis food town lion supermarket lowe s market lowes foods lund food holdings magruder s marc s market basket market of choice marsh supermarkets martin s super markets meijer met foods minyard food stores miracle mart mollie stone s markets morton williams new deal supermarket new seasons market niemann foods no frills supermarkets nugget markets pcc natural markets petrini s piggly wiggly piggly wiggly carolina co. pink dot price chopper price mart price chopper supermarkets publix pueblo raley s supermarkets red owl redner s markets remke markets rice epicurean markets ridley s family markets roche bros. rosauers supermarkets rouses russ s market save mart supermarkets saverite schnucks scolari s food and drug seafood city sedano s sellers bros. sendik s food market sentry foods seven mile market shop n save smart & final spartannash sprouts farmers market stanley stores star market stater bros. stew leonard s strack & van til straub s markets sullivan family of companies super dollar discount foods super one foods super saver foods b & r stores the fresh market times supermarkets tops friendly markets united grocery outlet urm stores valu king victory supermarkets village market food center weaver street market wegmans weis markets westborn market western beef winco foods woodman s markets yoke s fresh market zabar s zupan s markets defunct banners a mart a & p food basics pathmark waldbaum s abco foods alpha beta american stores appletree markets belle foods