Legend

2022 Inductee

Samuel Steinberg

A Hungarian immigrant, Sam Steinberg parlayed his mother’s humble Montreal grocery store into a major supermarket chain spanning two provinces. In 1934, Steinberg opened his first self-serve grocery store, and transformed food retailing through mass merchandising, mechanization, and personnel management that included mandatory bilingualism. In 1959, he expanded into Ontario with the acquisition of 38 Grand Union stores. By the time of his passing in 1978, Steinberg’s was the largest supermarket chain in Quebec.