Entrepreneur Joe Coulombe has passed away 52 years after opening his first Trader Joe’s store which developed into a grocery store chain consisting of more than 500 stores in 42 states.
Mr. Coulombe’s passing, who was 89 at the time of his death, was confirmed by the businessman’s son, Joe, who revealed that his dad succumbed to the disease he had been battling for a long time.
“We’re going to miss him a lot. I think people are going to remember the wonderful Trader Joe’s concept he put in place, and especially his treatment of his employees. He really cared about them,” Seattle-based Joe Jr. said in an interview with the Orange County Register.
As the proud son went on to say, his father was able to create a long-lasting legacy thanks to remaining open-minded and thinking outside the box.
“He was always very curious about everything. He was a prolific reader,” Coulombe added.
“He read all kinds of books — fiction and non-fiction — and when he’d get interested in something he would devour that topic. He was able to tap into trends he saw developing and leverage them.”
Joe Coulombe was born on a ranch in Del Mar in 1930. After joining the Air Force, the man graduated from Stanford University and secured a Master’s degree in business administration.
From there, Joe married Alice whom he moved with to Pasadena where they started their own family.
After more than a decade of working on other business ideas, including a chain of Pronto convenience stores, Alice’s parents inspired Joe to start his own business.
In 1967, the businessman has opened his first store that is still open nowadays. Over several decades, he has opened over 500 more locations in 42 states.
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Replaced!