No Frills Supermarket Founder Dies
OMAHA, Neb. -- Harold Cooperman, founder of No Frills Supermarket, Inc., died here this week at Methodist Hospital at the age of 87, according to published reports. No Frills, which Cooperman started in Council Bluffs, Iowa 25 years ago, now runs 15 stores in Iowa and Nebraska.
Although lately in failing health, Cooperman was involved in store operations until his death. He was well known to Iowans and Nebraskans for the low prices in his stores and the characters -- ranging from George Washington to Elvis Presley -- he portrayed in amusing TV commercials.
Born in Poland in 1918, Cooperman arrived in the United States at the age of 5 and began working at a family member's grocery store after graduating from high school in 1933. At the age of 20 he opened his first store, Harold's, in Omaha. After naval service during World War II, Cooperman went back to the grocery business. The inaugural No Frills store, in Council Bluffs, adhered to a warehouse format, and customers had to do their own packing.
Cooperman is survived by his daughter, Frances Juro; son-in-law Richard Juro, No Frills' current president and c.e.o.; and sister, Helen Gould, a resident of California. His wife, the former Merriam Lieb, who thought up the No Frills name, died in 1999.
Although lately in failing health, Cooperman was involved in store operations until his death. He was well known to Iowans and Nebraskans for the low prices in his stores and the characters -- ranging from George Washington to Elvis Presley -- he portrayed in amusing TV commercials.
Born in Poland in 1918, Cooperman arrived in the United States at the age of 5 and began working at a family member's grocery store after graduating from high school in 1933. At the age of 20 he opened his first store, Harold's, in Omaha. After naval service during World War II, Cooperman went back to the grocery business. The inaugural No Frills store, in Council Bluffs, adhered to a warehouse format, and customers had to do their own packing.
Cooperman is survived by his daughter, Frances Juro; son-in-law Richard Juro, No Frills' current president and c.e.o.; and sister, Helen Gould, a resident of California. His wife, the former Merriam Lieb, who thought up the No Frills name, died in 1999.