Calhoun Enterprises operates a handful of supermarkets under the Calhoun Foods banner in central Alabama. The Alabama grocer locates its stores in buildings vacated by national chains, such as Winn-Dixie, and in areas the larger national chains avoid. The family-run company is one of the largest African-American-owned and -run businesses in the South. Calhoun Enterprises was founded by president and CEO Gregory Calhoun (who started his food industry career as a package clerk at a local supermarket when he was 14 years old) in 1984.Calhoun Enterprises also runs subsidiaries involved in telecommunications, warehousing, consulting, investments, and food brokering and distribution.

Casey’s General Stores, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates convenience stores under the names of “Casey’s General Store”, “HandiMart”, and “Just Diesel” in the Midwestern states. The company’s stores offer food, beverages, dairy and bakery products, beer, sandwiches, fountain drinks, donuts, cookies, brownies, Danish rolls, pork and chicken fritters, chicken tenders, popcorn chicken, sub sandwiches, breakfast croissants and biscuits, breakfast pizza, hash browns, hamburgers and cheeseburgers, and potato cheese bites. It also provides nonfood items, which include tobacco products, health and beauty aids, school supplies, house wares, pet supplies, photo supplies, and automotive products. In addition, the company offers gasoline or gasohol for sale on a self-service basis. As of September 30, 2010, it operated approximately 1,542 stores in Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota, Iowa, Missouri, Wisconsin, and Indiana. Casey's General Stores, Inc. was founded in 1959 and is headquartered in Ankeny, Iowa.

Precision Data Products likes to get it right. Precision company sells electronics such as computers, printers, audiovisual equipment, and accessories directly to customers via telephone and its Web site. Through Precision Data Products' online catalog, customers can view purchasing history, real-time inventory and prices, and product descriptions and white pages on more than 250,000 products. Corporate customers can request custom catalogs with negotiated or contract prices. Precision company carries brands from manufacturers such as Apple, D-Link, Exabyte, Hewlett-Packard, and Symbol Technologies. It also offers on-site or ship-in repair services for computers and printers.

Great Harvest Franchising acquired Montana Mills from doughnut-maker Krispy Kreme in 2005. The six-store bakery chain in upstate New York was converted to Great Harvest locations in early 2006. Founded by Pete and Laura Wakeman in 1978, Great Harvest was sold in 2001 to a group of North Carolina investors, including Mike Ferretti, who became CEO.Great Harvest Franchising (dba Great Harvest Bread Company) helps entrepreneurs not only bake bread but earn it. The company franchises its name and baking techniques to more than 210 bakeries in some 40 US states. In exchange for sending 7% of their sales to Great Harvest, owners receive bread recipes, baking techniques, and advice about accounting and store design.

Rooms To Go, with 120 stores in about 10 southern states and Puerto Rico -- has transformed itself into one of the top-selling furniture retailers in the US by taking the package approach to retailing. Rooms To Go (RTG) markets its limited selection of furniture to brand-conscious, time-pressed customers. It packages low- to moderately priced furniture and accessories and offers discounts for those willing to buy a roomful. The chain also operates the Rooms to Go Kids chain that sells furniture for kids and teens from more than 45 stores. CEO and owner Jeffrey Seaman and his father, Morty, founded RTG in 1990 after selling Seaman Furniture Company.

Schnuck Markets founded in 1939, the company is owned by the Schnuck family and run by CEO Scott Schnuck and president and COO Todd Schnuck.If you'll meet me in St. Louis, then chances are there'll be a Schnucks in sight. The region's largest food chain, Schnuck Markets operates about 105 stores, mostly in the St. Louis area, but also in other parts of Missouri and in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Wisconsin. All stores offer a full line of groceries, and most have pharmacies, video rental outlets, in-store banking, and florist shops. Although most stores operate under the Schnucks banner, the company also runs about a half a dozen Logli supermarkets in Illinois and Wisconsin, and a specialty pharmacy.

E & S International Enterprises, Inc was founded in 1945 as an electronics distributor. E & S International Enterprises (also known as ESI) has its fingers in a lot of pies. E & S International Enterprises, Inc manufactures and sells a variety of consumer products through its subsidiaries. Once a consumer electronics distributor, the company has expanded its product line to include such items as sporting goods, mobile phone batteries, and appliances. It also acts a broker between manufacturers and retailers, sometimes handling warranty and support functions for the makers. ESI is also in the business of acquiring commercial and residential real estate.

Plaid Pantries operates more than 100 convenience stores under the Plaid Pantry banner in Oregon and Washington. Many of the shops offer in-store Subway and Taco Bell outlets, as well as gas and automatic check-cashing machines. After years of selling its own brand of gas (Plaid-Plus), the regional convenience store chain has switched to offering branded gas (ConocoPhillips and Shell) at its stores that sell fuel. Plaid Pantries got its start in 1960 and got its name, courtesy of founder John Piacentini, from the red-and-white checkered design then featured in all of its locations.

Pro & Sons also operates a Mexican restaurant in Phoenix and a gas station in El Paso. Founded in 1982 by Mike Provenzano, Pro & Sons began catering to Latinos in the 1990s.Pro & Sons may sound Italian in name, but its business is strictly Hispanic. The company owns and operates about a dozen Ranch Market grocery stores in Southern California, Phoenix, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas that cater to the Hispanic population. Ranch Market's store departments, which capitalize on the company's Mexican heritage, include tortilla factories, bakeries, hot foods, meat, and produce. The supermarkets also house in-store La Cocina prepared-foods departments, which serve up Mexican fare, and Aguas Frescas refreshment bars

Cash Converters International makes cash advances in return for used merchandise, including electronics, jewelry, musical instruments, tools, and more, which it resells to the public. The second-hand goods retailer and pawnbroker operates about 500 franchised and company-owned stores in its home country of Australia and another 20 countries worldwide, including Canada, the US, and the UK. The company also offers customers cash advances on their paychecks. Stores operate under the Cash Converters banner. Texas-based EZCORP acquired a 30% stake in the firm in 2009.

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