Alice Jean Fry, a Bay Area retail legend and matriarch of the Fry’s Electronics family, has died at age 94, her family announced. Fry passed away at her Paradise Valley, Ariz., home on Feb. 24. 

Fry was born in Longview, Texas during the Great Depression, and married Charles “Chuck” Fry in 1951. The young couple moved to Kansas, where Alice worked at Cessna, which was headquartered there. Her earnings laid the “financial foundation" for the couple to move to California, her obituary recounts, and start their first grocery store with Chuck’s brother Donald. The first Fry’s Food Stores opened in Richmond in 1955 and would soon grow to over 40 locations. 

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Her family called Alice Fry the “steady hand behind the vision,” advising managers even after the chain was sold to Dillons in the 1970s. The grocery stores first launched the slogan, “Your best buys are always at Fry’s,” a catchphrase that would become famous nationwide in the coming decades.

Alice and Chuck had three sons, John, Randy and Dave, who grew up on the family ranch in Martinez. In 1985, inspired by their parents’ business, they opened the first Fry’s Electronics in the South Bay. Known for their elaborate store themes, the big box chain expanded around the country amid Silicon Valley’s tech boom. 

Alice Jean Fry, seen in a portrait provided by her family.

Although Fry’s supermarkets closed in the Bay Area, they remain open in Arizona, where Alice and Chuck Fry moved to enjoy their retirement. Chuck Fry died in 2020 at the age of 92. 

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“Theirs was a love story for the ages — 68 years of building a life together, raising a family, and leaving a legacy that touched countless lives,” her obituary reads. 

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Alice Fry is survived by her three sons, 10 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. A memorial will be held in Lafayette, the obituary said.

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— Man found guilty of murdering Sierra LaMar has conviction overturned— Barnes and Noble to close one of last Bay Area stores after 20 years— 2-year-old child killed after being struck by driver in San Francisco— Bay Area retail legend, matriarch of Fry’s family dies at age 94

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