Founder of Raley's grocery markets.

"The founder of Raley's Inc., Thomas P. Raley, was born in 1903 in Carrollton Hollow, Arkansas, the 13th in a family of 14 children. Raley's father, a Baptist preacher and farmer, gave his son the opportunity to become a farmer like himself, but when Tom graduated from high school he decided to attend Springfield Business College in Missouri. However, the young man grew increasingly dissatisfied with his studies and dropped out of school after six months. He went to work in a wheat field and, with four of his fellow workers, suddenly decided to travel west to seek his fortune." (From Raley's Inc. History)

Tom Raley moved to Los Angeles, CA where he learned the grocery business in the 1920's and 1930's. In 1935 he opened his first store in Placerville, CA. In a 1972 interview with The Sacramento Bee, Tom Raley described the challenges he faced in opening his first store, which had a price tag of $9,000: "I wanted to build a store in Placerville and I had only $120," Tom Raley told The Bee. "I needed credit, so I listed the chairman of the board of Safeway as a reference. Suddenly everybody was willing to help me." Opening his Placerville store with only two assistants ­ a clerk and a butcher ­ Tom Raley experienced much success with his store, which led to his additional success in Sacramento. His good fortunes with the Placerville store ended when it was destroyed by fire in 1942. Less than a decade after opening his first Sacramento store, Tom Raley was at the helm of a chain of eight stores, including a store at 1700 Capitol Ave., where Compton's and Rick's Uptown markets were later located. And this was definitely only the beginning of Raley's growth, as the chain continued to expand throughout the years, making possible Tom Raley's goal of establishing 50 stores by Raley's 50th anniversary in 1985."

He continued expanding his family business and was working right up until his passing in 1991. Raley's Inc. continues and flourishes these 80 years later since its founding by grocery market visionary, Tom Raley.