Red Food was started in 1908 by Frank McDonald. During
World War II, for the first time, Red Food sold turkeys for forty-five cents per pound to customers for
Thanksgiving. They also told customers to "invite a soldier and serve turkey this Thanksgiving." for $23 million (~$ in ). By 1980, the acquisition was completed for a total of $36 million (~$ in ). The Red Food purchase gave Promodès 34 supermarkets in Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama. By 1988, the chain's sales reached $600 million, 30% of Promodès' consolidated sales. A month later, the FTC issued a complaint, challenging Red Food Stores' $6.5 million acquisition of all seven Kroger Co. grocery stores in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The commission lodged the complaint after a Federal appeals court rejected its request for an injunction blocking the transaction. In 1994, Red Food Stores, Inc. was bought by
Ahold for $129 million, while Red Food stores were changed into Ahold's
BI-LO stores in 1995. Merging the Red Food stores was tenuous because of the stores' outdated computer system, but the acquisition effectively grew Ahold's yearly benefits. In July 2015,
Southeastern Grocers, the current owner of BI-LO, announced the sale of its 21 BI-LO stores in the Chattanooga market and eight stores in Northern
Georgia to
K-VA-T Food Stores, which would rebrand the stores under its Food City banner. This sale ended BI-LO's presence in the Tennessee market. ==Logos==