Local Ray’s Food Place in the Furber Plaza, part of C&K Markets, has completed a transaction to become 100% employee-owned through an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) trust. This enables employees to receive retirement benefits linked to the company’s future equity value.
“At our core, we’re a community grocery store that proudly serves its neighbors,” said Karl Wissmann, president and CEO of C&K Market. “We tailor what we offer to meet the needs of each community we serve. That commitment continues through our Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), which allows us to maintain our independence and lets employees benefit from our success.”
Wissmann noted that the ESOP builds on C&K Market’s strengths: employees who go the extra mile for their customers, strong community connections and a passion to continually improving and updating its stores and their offerings.
The C&K Markets chain started in 1956 with one market in Brookings, OR. Today it has 38 stores in Oregon and northern California, operating under the banners of Ray’s Food Place, Shop Smart and C&K Market. Currently, more than 1,200 people are employed by the company, which is now employee owned.
Ray’s Food Place Now Employee Owned
