Downtown Los Angeles was essentially a small town when Charles Von der Ahe opened his 20-foot wide Groceteria on the corner of 7th and Figueroa in 1906 with $1,200 in savings.
His formula proved so successful that by 1928 Vons had expanded to 87 stores.
The most explosive growth occurred during the 1970's when Vons branched out to 159 stores with 16,000 employees, making it firmly the #1 grocery retailer in Southern California. Today the Vons operation, which includes Pavilions stores, is now a part of the Safeway family of companies. Vons stretches from San Diego to Fresno, from Clark County, Nevada to the Pacific. Its 325 stores serve millions of Southern Californians and Nevadans.