please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . learn how and when to remove these template messages the neutrality of this article is disputed . relevant discussion may be found on the talk page . please do not remove this message until conditions to do so are met . march 2016 learn how and when to remove this template message this article contains content that is written like an advertisement . please help improve it by removing promotional content and inappropriate external links and by adding encyclopedic content written from a neutral point of view . march 2016 learn how and when to remove this template message learn how and when to remove this template message nugget markets inc. type private industry retail grocery founded 1926 headquarters woodland california number of locations 9 key people gene stille chairman eric stille ceo president chris carpenter coo vice president products grocery revenue 221 million usd 2004 number of employees 1 300 website nuggetmarket.com the popular nugget market on east covell blvd. in davis california nugget markets is a family owned upscale supermarket chain operating within the greater sacramento metropolitan area . it is headquartered in woodland california . as of october 2009 the company operates nine of its flagship nugget brand stores as well as three food 4 less franchises . contents 1 history 2 branding 2.1 price challenge 3 points of difference 4 vallejo store controversy 5 accolades 6 locations 6.1 active nugget market stores 6.2 active food 4 less warehouses 6.3 defunct stores 6.4 unfinished stores 7 references 8 external links history edit in 1926 nugget market opened its first store in woodland california by the father and son team of william and mack stille . mack stille ran most of the day to day operations and introduced many unconventional policies to the store such as incorporating meat departments installing refrigerated produce cases and employing checkout stands equipped with power belts . their decision to provide employees with wage and benefit packages that were unusually high for the industry gained them notoriety for the time . citation needed in the late 1970s under the leadership of mack s son gene and grandson eric the company began its expansion outside the local woodland community by opening a nugget store in neighboring davis . in 1984 nugget acquired a pair of sacramento alpha beta grocery stores and converted them into nuggets one in the greenhaven pocket neighborhood the other in foothill farms on hillsdale blvd. all alpha beta associates were invited to join the company and many continue to work with nugget today . in the early 90s nugget opened its first food 4 less franchise in vallejo california . in the late 1990s nugget developed their new fresh to market concept pairing european style open air marketing with higher end products and specialty departments such as their cheese concierge pastry chefs in a full range bakery full service kitchen healthy living department dedicated seafood butcher and a juice & espresso bar . in 2001 the company built its first fresh to market store in vacaville s browns valley marketplace and then at oak tree plaza in east davis . in 2008 nugget sold its in store pharmacies to long s drugs . branding edit unique to nugget markets is their architectural feature at the entrance of new stores which include a tower and or a robed woman with a basket of food above her head . the robed woman in particular became the corporate logo and mascot of the company . price challenge edit since 1926 nugget markets has allowed their customers to pick up price comparison survey at their stores . with this form they can survey prices on up to 25 items between nugget and one conventional competitor . nugget claims to win at least 80 % of item to item price comparisons with other full service markets . citation needed the results of their customer s surveys is aggregated and displayed on a scoreboard within their nugget market stores . points of difference edit nugget continues to struggle against its image as an exclusive upscale grocer due to its specialty products and upscale store decor . nugget identifies dominant local grocery chain raley s & bel air as well as national chains safeway and whole foods as its primary competition . to differentiate themselves from the local competition nugget markets are the major regional distributor of several high quality specialty brands such as boars head deli meats harris ranch beef and equator coffees . nugget supports local produce growers with its partnership with norcal produce of west sacramento california . signs throughout their stores tout these partnerships and the quality of the products as key points of difference to shop at nugget . nugget has also continued its stance on provided quality employee benefits with wages and benefits meeting or exceeding those of its competition . strong benefits coupled with a positive work environment and responsive leadership have allowed nugget to remain a union free workplace . fortune has recognized nugget markets for the past three years as one of the 100 best companies to work for . in 2008 the company placed 12th 1 in 2009 nugget reached the no. 10 spot 2 and in 2010 they moved up to number 5 placing just behind google . 3 nugget continues its push to open new stores in the sacramento and north bay regions . recently opened locations are in elk grove and el dorado hills . there are also tentative plans for nugget to build a unique significantly smaller size store under the k street mall revitalization proposal of hank fischer evergreen developments . the k street location would likely be half the size of a traditional nugget store and given the nature of the proposal more focused on their full service kitchen bakery and juice bar . 4 vallejo store controversy edit in 2003 nugget began plans to open a nugget in vallejo . the company sought assurances from the city that a supercenter store would not enter vallejo . in 2005 wal mart made clear its intention to build a supercenter in the white slough neighborhood on the location of a former k mart . given the proximity of the proposed supercenter to nuggets location in american canyon as well as the guidelines of the neighborhood plan preventing the construction of a store of this type the plans for the nugget in vallejo continued . however eric stille made clear to the vallejo city council that the approval of the vallejo supercenter wal mart would effectively mean the end of the vallejo nugget . in november 2006 with construction underway at the vallejo nugget location stille announced the company would no longer build a nugget in vallejo citing a city council indecisiveness vote on whether to approve the vallejo supercenter wal mart . stille s actions and comments that the construction of a vallejo supercenter wal mart would result in not enough grocery dollars in vallejo to make a nugget financially feasible resulted in a backlash from the city residents . supporters of the vallejo nugget cited the lack of upscale grocery options in the city and the need to travel to the east bay or up to the vacaville nugget for gourmet goods . opponents derided stille s actions as unwarranted claiming that nugget feared that its customer service or products would not be good enough for vallejo consumers . others accused the nugget of trying to blackmail the city in order to maintain their virtual monopoly on discount grocery goods in vallejo . 5 accolades edit in 2016 nugget markets was ranked 13 on fortune s list of best companies to work for . 6 locations edit active nugget market stores edit downtown woodland 157 main st. woodland california el macero 409 mace blvd. davis california lake crest 1040 florin rd. sacramento california southport 2000 town center plaza west sacramento california park plaza 771 pleasant grove blvd. roseville california browns valley 130 browns valley pkwy . vacaville california oak tree 1414 e. covell blvd. davis california el dorado hills 4500 post st. el dorado hills california elk grove 7101 elk grove blvd. elk grove california tiburon 1 blackfield drive tiburon california active food 4 less warehouses edit 451 pioneer rd. woodland california 3333 coach ln . cameron park california defunct stores edit riverside 6419 riverside blvd. sacramento california hillsdale 5731 hillsdale blvd. sacramento california unfinished stores edit vallejo 5184 sonoma blvd. vallejo california references edit 100 best companies to work for 2007 full list . cnn . retrieved 2008 12 06 . 100 best companies to work for 2009 full list . cnn . retrieved 2010 09 29 . 100 best companies to work for 2010 full list . cnn . retrieved 2008 12 06 . city of sacramento k street proposals pdf . may 2005 . p. 2 . retrieved 2008 12 06 . johnson kelly may 6 2005 . nugget tells vallejo to ban super wal marts . sacramento business journal . retrieved 2008 12 05 . nugget market . fortune . 2016 03 03 . retrieved 2016 05 13 . external links edit nugget markets website 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