History
The company was founded on November 26, 1905 when Florence Butt opened the C.C. Butt Grocery Store on the ground floor of her family home in
Kerrville, Texas.
[12] In 1919,
Howard Edward Butt, Florence's youngest son, took over the store upon his return from World War I. Shortly after becoming owner of his mother's small store, Howard tried four expansions into Central Texas, including one in
Junction, all of which failed. Finally in 1927, Howard launched a successful second store in
Del Rio, Texas, followed by the purchase of three grocery stores in the
Lower Rio Grande Valley. The first initials of Howard E. Butt became the name of the store.
[13]
Charles, the younger son of Howard E. Butt, became president of the H.E. Butt Grocery Company in 1971. As of 2010, Charles Butt is
chairman and
CEO of HEB Grocery Company, LP, having grown the business from annual sales of $250 million in 1971 to $13 billion in 2006. In 2010, Craig Boyan was named H-E-B's
President and
COO.
[14] In 2011, the company was #12
[15] on
Forbes' list of largest privately held companies; H-E-B is also the largest privately held company in Texas.
[16]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H-E-B
my mistake, wasn't Charles, but his father Howard E. Butt, who banned alcohol sales.