The first HG Hill Food Store was opened in downtown Nashville in 1895. The operation was very successful and began to expand additional locations to the surrounding neighborhoods. By 1906, HG Hill was the dominant grocery retailer in the Nashville market with 12 locations. It was during this time that the Hill family acquired the “Fit for a King” coffee label and coffee roasting facilities for which HG Hill would gain fame. The chain began to experiment with some innovative operational and marketing strategies, was one of the first to advertise in newspapers, pioneered the “cash & carry” concept, opened it’s own bakery, and became self supplied with new warehouse facilities. As a result, by the 1920’s HG Hill dominated the middle Tennessee market with 102 locations, long before out of state chain operations began to have a market presence. The Hill family eventually owned chain operations in Chattanooga, Birmingham, Huntsville, Montgomery, and New Orleans and was a major player in grocery retail in the southeast with over 500 stores.
Today, after over 128 years, HG Hill Food Stores are still a familiar part of the middle Tennessee landscape, still serving the neighborhoods where they are located with friendly faces and fresh product. And today, as in the past, HG Hill is still at the forefront of grocery industry trendsetters. HG Hill has come full circle with the opening of Urban Market in the Nashville central business district.
If you haven’t visited an HG Hill Food Store recently, come in and re-discover your friendly, fresh, and convenient neighborhood market, and be reminded once again of why HG Hill Food Stores have been your neighbor for over 128 years
