Nugget Celebrates 9th Appearance on ‘Best Companies’ List
For the ninth year running, Woodland, Calif.-based Nugget Markets has made Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” national ranking. Ringing in at No. 36 among the country’s top 100 companies, Nugget Markets moved up one spot from last year.
“Our associates and leadership team work hard every day to provide outstanding guest service and quality products,” affirms Eric Stille, CEO and president, Nugget Market, Inc. “Building creativity, humor and hard work into every day, the team has created a spirited culture where camaraderie and teamwork reign. Together with my family and leadership team, I thank every associate for making Nugget Markets and Food 4 Less the stores they are today.”
Stille’s leadership places a high value on the family-oriented work environment that supports the health and well-being of every associates’ professional and personal life.
An excerpt of Fortune’s accolades about “What Makes Nugget Market, Inc. Great” follows: “You can't talk about working at Nugget without talking about team or talking about fun. While some companies may set time aside for special celebrations and fun activities, creativity and humor are built right in to how Nugget does its business. Every day starts with a spirited ‘rally’ at each Nugget location, where teams share critical information for the day and get psyched up.
Their annual Bag-Off Championship lets courtesy clerks compete for the title of Best Bagger; last year the full-scale production was built around movie themes and held at the Crest Theatre in downtown Sacramento. Not a bagger? Maybe you could win the Gangam Style Dance-Off during the Spirit Competition.
Year-end parties are held at locations like the Palms in Las Vegas, the Hard Rock Cafe, and Alcatraz. Management meetings have taken place in rented wrestling rings. It's not just managers who get to attend these events, though: When Nugget took the company whitewater rafting this past summer, they held multiple events so as many employees of all levels as possible would be able to attend — and they are paid to do so.”
Chris Carpenter, Nugget Markets’ COO and VP, gives hearty props to the company’s base of talented and empowered associates, whom he describes as “the difference-makers that separate us from our competition. We take every opportunity to reward and celebrate our people,” explains Carpenter, noting the company’s prevailing belief, “that when our associates are having fun and feeling valued, there is an energy and enthusiasm that is created – and it transcends right through the guest experience."
With a keen eye on hiring associates with a passion for food and guest service, positive mindset, desire to work as a team, commitment to constant improvement and interest in working in a retail environment, Carpenter says these attributes are integral in delivering outstanding service, support, and quality products to guests and associates alike.
Owned and operated by the Stille family since 1926, Nugget Market, Inc. has nine Northern California locations in Davis, El Dorado Hills, Elk Grove, Roseville, Sacramento, West Sacramento, Vacaville and Woodland. The company’s three Food 4 Less stores are located in Cameron Park, Vallejo and Woodland.
– Meg Major