Stong’s Market’s Brian Bradley on championing indie grocers
Every now and then someone will ask Brian Bradley, “Why are you in the grocery business? Are you crazy?” He quickly laughs it off. Working in grocery may be a tough gig, he concedes, but it’s also fun, fast-moving and incredibly rewarding.
Bradley would know—he has spent most of his life in and around grocery stores. Growing up in Vancouver, his father owned a few IGA franchises, though he sold them before Bradley was of working age. Still, the business pulled him in. While in high school, he landed a job at Safeway. “I started there with really no plans of making it a career,” he recalls. “But it was a great job at the time, and it paid well.”
He ended up sticking around for 31 years. “I was fortunate. I worked for some really good mentors that took an interest in me, and I started to advance into management at a fairly young age,” he says of his Safeway experience that set him on a path across markets in British Columbia, Alberta then back to Vancouver for his last 14 years with the company.
Then Stong’s came knocking.
At first, Bradley wasn’t interested when a headhunter approached him about an opportunity at Stong’s Market, a Vancouver-based independent grocer with deep community roots. But at the time, Safeway had been acquired by Sobeys and was undergoing a period of transition. When the headhunter called again, a month later—on what Bradley says was “maybe a frustrating day”—he agreed to meet.
“It kind of grew from there. The more I heard about the opportunity and what it would be like on the independent side of the business, it just intrigued me,” he says. “And a lot of the executives and leaders at Safeway that I’d worked with for many years were either leaving or had already left, so for me it felt like the right time to make that transition.”
In 2017, Bradley made the move from a big chain to an independent grocer, joining Stong’s as its general manager. About two years later when Cori Bonina—who’s great-grand- father founded Stong’s—stepped down from leading the business, Bradley stepped up and has been its president ever since. “It’s a big responsibility when you take over running a company that’s nearly 100 years old,” he says, “but the board and ownership group provide me with full autonomy to lead the business.”
Having experiences at both a big operation and a smaller one, gives Bradley a unique perspective.
“Working for a multinational chain, you learn a lot about structure and processes … And obviously you have a huge support network and subject matter experts in every area of the business,” he says, “and then you transition to the independent side and you really do become the subject matter expert for everything. You wear many hats—all in one day.” It’s also more entrepreneurial and you can make things happen quickly, he adds.
That entrepreneurial spirit has defined Bradley’s tenure at Stong’s. Under his leadership, the company has expanded and experimented with new concepts.
Late last year, for instance, it opened its first Stems by Stong’s floral and giftware location across the parking lot from its Northwoods store. Within its grocery stores, Stong’s floral business was strong but had outgrown the space, so they took a leap and opened a standalone shop. “It’s been a runaway success since day one,” says Bradley, adding that the success of the venture has attracted top floral designers from all over Vancouver who want to work for Stems. “We’ve got some real experts in there now that are driving that business.”
Also last year, a third Stong’s Market opened in a new community for the business—Squamish, a town half-way between Vancouver and Whistler. A smaller footprint store, it was initially designed to cater to people on quick shops, stopping in to grab snacks or meals-to-go. “What surprised us is that people are coming in to buy their produce and their groceries,” says Bradley. “We’re still selling a lot of foodservice items, but the grocery side has been a pleasant surprise.” What’s next? A second Stems and a fourth Stong’s Market are set to open later this year in Surrey, B.C.
Staying true to roots
Bradley is keenly aware that as the company expands and experiments with new concepts, it’s crucial to maintain what’s special about Stong’s.
“It’s a great fear, I think people have that as you grow, there’s a risk that you can lose your identity,” Bradley says. For him, it comes down to having the right people running the stores who are aligned with the company’s vision. “We’ve put a lot of work into succession planning and developing our talent from within,” he says. “When you have good succession planning in place, it allows you to expand at the right pace and have those people who understand our culture and [who can] carry that forward to the next store.” Core to that culture is top-notch customer service, deep community engagement (something Bradley says “really” helped build its business in Squamish) and a relentless focus on local, which is a key point of differentiation for Stong’s.
“Local is who we are, what we’re known for,” says Bradley. “We’re the local independent grocer and so many items that we get in are from local suppliers or people just starting out trying to launch a new item.” Often, he says, Stong’s is one of the first places that will give a new item a shot. His team members also regularly frequent farmers markets to seek out
new, local offerings. To Bradley, it’s win-win. “And especially during this current political landscape, the support for local has never been stronger,” he says.
When asked what’s the best part of his job, Bradley says he gets the biggest satisfaction from watching people grow within the company. “I have two store managers now and I was there the day they got hired,” he says. “[They] were working as clerks or cashiers and now they’re running stores and they’re successful doing it—that’s fun to watch and I really take a lot of pride in that. And the ability to give people that opportunity is great.”
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Championing independents
Bradley’s next challenge will be helping make things better for the country’s independent grocers. In October, he becomes chair of the Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers (CFIG), taking over from Erin Higdon of Newfoundland’s Powell Group of Companies.
Stong’s has a tradition of being part of CFIG; former CEO Cori Bonina served as chair back in 2010. Once he joined Stong’s, Bradley quickly saw the value of the organization in terms of shared learnings and networking, so he joined the board in 2020 to play a bigger part and to support the wider independent grocer community. “CFIG has been a strong advocate for independents and to be part of that, to help other independent operators … it’s the right thing to do,” he explains.
It’s not an easy time to be an independent grocer. Costs — from goods to employee benefits and equipment et cetera — continue to soar, while competing on price with the national chains in price-sensitive markets is a constant battle. “It’s a challenging time,” says Bradley.
A key focus for Bradley during his tenure as chair will be educating CFIG’s members on the ins and outs of the Grocery Sector Code of Conduct, which — after years of effort — is expected to come into effect on Jan. 1. “We have a seat at the table and CFIG and board members were obviously instrumental in developing the code, now we need to help everybody understand how it’s going to work and how it’s going to help them,” he says. Navigating the ongoing challenges related to tariffs will be another area of focus for Bradley and CFIG in the year ahead. “We’ll be looking at anything we can do to help our members with that,” he says.
Looking ahead, Bradley is optimistic about the future for independents. The national chains are investing in building new stores and they’re placing a big focus on discount operations, he says. “I think that creates an opportunity for independents,” he adds, noting that as discount operators duke it out in a “race to the bottom,” independents can “stay in their lane” and focus on their communities and grow their businesses. “I’m excited about that,” says Bradley. “Strengthening that community engagement is what’s going to help independents succeed.”
This article was first published in Canadian Grocer's September/ October 2025 issue.
