On December 2, 1981, Collette and Jean-Louis Bellemare opened the first Farm Boy on Cumberland Street in
Cornwall, Ontario. At that time, the modest 300 sq. ft. store sold only produce. The original store was moved in 1984 by Jean-Louis and his brother Normand Bellemare. The move to their 5,000 sq. ft. (460 m2) Sydney Street location allowed them to expand their products beyond produce with dairy, deli, cheese, and meat product lines. An in-store bakery and bulk food were later added. Ottawa continued gaining Farm Boy locations at Britannia Plaza (2011),
Stittsville (2011),
Place d'Orleans (2012), which was the first store to offer an in-store eating area. In the fall of 2003, the Bellemares created a board of directors to oversee the company's overall direction and appointed Jeff York as the new President of Farm Boy in 2009. In 2012, Normand and Daniel Bellemare stepped down as the Boston-based investment group
Berkshire Partners invested in the company. Farm Boy expanded to
Kingston, Ontario in 2012 and
London, Ontario in 2014. Citing success in its first London location at Wellington Road just north of Bradley Ave, the company announced two more locations would open in the spring of 2015. The first is located near
CF Masonville Place in the city's north end, and the region's largest store is located at Wonderland and Beaverbrook, just west of Western University. The Wonderland and Beaverbrook location also has the company's regional offices. In the summer of 2015, Farm Boy furthered its expansion with its first location in
Kitchener and
Whitby. In the summer of 2016, another store was opened in the
Westboro neighbourhood of Ottawa. This store was meant as an experiment for the company to have a more central location with a greater focus on in-store dining with a larger eating area and "Farm Boy Kitchen" prepared food area. In July 2017, it was announced that Farm Boy would be taking over part of the former food court location at
CF Rideau Centre in downtown Ottawa, which opened mid-December 2017. On March 1, 2018, Farm Boy opened their first store in
Toronto, in the
district of
Etobicoke at Alderwood Plaza. On March 22, 2018, the company opened their 26th location in
Hamilton at Harvard Square Plaza.
Sale of the company On September 24, 2018, Empire Company Limited, parent of the
Sobeys chain of supermarkets, announced that it had signed an agreement to purchase Farm Boy from Berkshire Partners and Farm Boy's management shareholders in a deal worth million. Regulatory approval was required for the purchase. Farm Boy founder Jean-Louis Bellemare, his co-CEO Jeff York and other members of the senior executives will stay on and reinvest to own a 12% share in the new company, which will operate as a separate entity. The business was expected to double over the next five years. Empire had no intention of integrating Farm Boy into their major chains.
Michael Medline, President and CEO of Empire Company Limited, assured consumers that they will continue to get the shopping experience that defines Farm Boy. On Twitter, he made this comment in reply to many who had expressed concern: "I can assure you that we will not screw this up." Medline also told analysts in a conference call, "We do not want to ruin the magic of Farm Boy by trying to integrate them. We love what Farm Boy is doing; it has the best brand ... we want to see it grow ... We intend to enable the leadership team of Farm Boy to do what they do best: grow a highly successful retail format at double-digit rates". Farm Boy products will not be sold in Empire's other chains nor will Farm Boy stock their brands. Farm Boy products will be included in the Ocado-based e-commerce business expected to start in 2020 but as a separate entity from the other Empire chains.
Current By September 2018, the chain had 26 stores and annual sales of million. The Financial Post summarized the store's appeal as, "It’s known for its fresh products, pre-made food, smaller stores and private label products".{{Cite news|url=https://business.financialpost.com/news/retail-marketing/we-will-not-screw-this-up-sobeys-parent-to-buy-beloved-farm-boy-in-800m-deal | title='We will not screw this up': Sobeys parent to buy beloved Farm Boy in $800M deal ==Stores==