The supermarket business was changing: consolidation was driving many family-owned chains, including our own, to sell out to big, international corporations.

In June, the family-owned French chain Auchan said it had been approached by Wal-Mart.

Richmond was the home of the Ukrop's Super Market, a regional, family-owned chain of supermarkets known for its customer service and innovation.

But Wolf Furniture, a family-owned chain with eight stores in the area, said it was simply keeping on track with sales from last year.

He and his brother became heir to a family-owned chain that included 50 grocery stores and several department stores, pharmacies, and liquor stores.

Failed family-owned chains are Clemens and Giunta's.

The company is the largest family-owned, U.S.-based chain of "fine dining" restaurants.

In the 1990s, the family-owned chain was sold to a group of investors who intended to expand the chain throughout the Greater Toronto Area.

Ridley's Family Markets is a family-owned chain of grocery stores based in Jerome, Idaho.

Blue Ribbon Barbecue is a family-owned chain of barbecue restaurants in the Boston metro area.