Strack & Van Til is a grocery store chain with locations in Northwest Indiana and operates stores under the banners of Strack & Van Til and Town & Country Food Market. The chain emphasizes value-driven pricing and locally sourced products in a region spanning from the Indiana sand dunes to the Chicago suburbs. In October 1960, Ernie Strack and Nick Van Til partnered and opened their first Strack & Van Til store in Highland, Indiana, and have grown to become one of the leading grocery chains in the Chicago metropolitan area.
On April 17, 2024, the chain announced it was being acquired by Hy-Vee, a Midwestern grocery chain headquartered in West Des Moines, Iowa. The stores will retain their current branding and become a subsidiary of Hy-Vee, with all 22 store locations in Northwest Indiana and the Chicago, Illinois, suburbs remaining open as Strack & Van Til. Hy-Vee did not reveal the purchase price, but described the acquisition as one of the largest in its history.
Retail Formats and Where It Operates
Strack & Van Til operates stores under the banners of Strack & Van Til and Town & Country Food Market. The primary banner, Strack & Van Til, focuses on full-service grocery retail with an emphasis on fresh foods and competitive pricing. The Town & Country Market in Valparaiso operates as an upscale experience focusing on premium meats and specialty imports.
The chain’s stores concentrate in Northwest Indiana, including cities such as Highland, Schererville, Merrillville, Munster, Crown Point, Cedar Lake, Hobart, Chesterton, Valparaiso, and East Chicago, with additional locations extending into the Chicago suburbs. Strack & Van Til is positioned near the massive vegetable farms of Jasper and Porter Counties, and in 2026 partnered with local farms for a hyper-local produce section.
Company Background
In 1930, Meinhard Nissen and Ernie Strack opened the Royal Blue grocery store in downtown Griffith, Indiana. Their partnership lasted until 1943. In 1946, Strack built an additional store. In 1936, Nick Van Til, a grocery delivery boy, entered into a partnership with his employer. His partner later sold him the store. Van Til grew the business by adding many product lines and opening earlier in the day.
In October 1960, Ernie Strack and Nick Van Til partnered and opened their first Strack & Van Til in Highland, Indiana. The partners founded the chain with a modern supermarket vision, expanding their individual store operations into a coordinated regional chain.
The chain expanded gradually through organic growth and acquisitions over subsequent decades. By 2012, the chain reached 30 stores. On November 27, 2012, it was announced that Strack & Van Til would purchase seven stores from WiseWay Supermarkets. WiseWay Supermarkets started in Gary, Indiana, in 1940. Before the acquisition it operated eight stores in the region under the name WiseWay and PayLow. By 2014, the chain had 38 stores.
In 1997, Strack & Van Til was sold to Central Grocers, a Joliet, Illinois-based wholesale cooperative, which acquired 80 percent of the chain. For 20 years, the company was owned by Central Grocers until the Strack and Van Til families bought it back in 2017.
The company faced significant challenges in the mid-2010s. On March 2, 2017, Strack & Van Til announced the closure of six stores, four Ultra Foods stores and two Strack & Van Til stores. Following the announcement of those closures, parent company Central Grocers announced the closure of nine Ultra Foods stores located in Illinois. On May 2, 2017, an involuntary petition under Chapter 7 of the US Bankruptcy Code was filed against Central Grocers, Inc, parent company of SVT, LLC. The petitioning creditors were The Coca-Cola Company, General Mills, Inc., Mars Financial Services, and Post Consumer Brands. The remaining open stores in Northwest Indiana were sold in bankruptcy auction to the Strack and Van Til families and the Indiana Grocery Group.
Strack & Van Til returned to expansion in 2021 with the purchase of Tysen’s Country Market in Demotte, Indiana. The store took the Strack & Van Til name.
Ownership, Structure and Financial History
Strack & Van Til has operated as a privately held company throughout its history. After being sold to Central Grocers in 1997, the company was acquired by a newly formed ownership group called the Indiana Grocery Group, which includes the Strack and Van Til families. Strack & Van Til became a subsidiary of Hy-Vee in 2024 while retaining its own logos, name, and branding.
As a regional grocery operator, the chain’s economics reflect typical thin-margin grocery retail dynamics. The business model emphasizes everyday low pricing and value-oriented private-label offerings to compete with larger regional and national chains. Hy-Vee is now a member of Associated Wholesale Grocers, which supplies Strack & Van Til’s stores.
Product Range and Store Brands
Strack & Van Til offers a range of groceries including fresh produce, dairy, meat, deli items, seafood, bakery goods, floral arrangements, and beer and wine, as well as household and pet supplies. The chain emphasizes fresh perishables and prepared foods as key differentiators in its marketplace positioning.
Best Choice and Always Save are Strack & Van Til’s own brands and are backed by a 100% guarantee or money-back promise. Clearly by Best Choice products include organic and gluten-free options. Following Central Grocers’ bankruptcy in 2017, the stores transitioned to Associated Wholesale Grocers’ Best Choice and Always Save labels for private-label products. After the 2024 acquisition by Hy-Vee, Strack & Van Til began integrating Hy-Vee’s proprietary brands, such as That’s Smart for value-oriented items, while retaining some existing private labels during the transition.
Strack & Van Til provides in-store services including custom deli and meat counter preparation, on-site bakery operations for fresh-baked breads and pastries, and floral department services for bouquets and arrangements. The chain offers digital services including a mobile app for personalized shopping, online ordering via Strack & Van Til To Go, and curbside pickup and delivery, introduced in 2021 and continuing post-acquisition.
In August 2026, Strack & Van Til made grocery delivery more affordable by offering the same prices customers see in-store across third-party delivery platforms, including Instacart, DoorDash, and Uber Eats. The new pricing initiative removed additional markups customers often encounter when shopping through third-party delivery services.
People and Workplace
Jeff Strack, grandson of founder Ernie Strack, remained president of Strack & Van Til after the sale to Hy-Vee. Strack & Van Til has approximately 2,800 employees.
The company has cultivated a workplace culture emphasizing customer service and community involvement. As a longstanding neighborhood fixture, Strack & Van Til fosters community engagement through partnerships with local products, charitable initiatives, and events, creating a sense of belonging.
Market Position and Competition
Strack & Van Til operates in a highly competitive regional market dominated by larger chains such as Jewel-Osco (Albertsons), Meijer, and Whole Foods. Whole Foods entered the market with a store in Schererville in 2015. The chain competes on the basis of neighborhood convenience, fresh local products, and value pricing rather than scale economies.
In 1983, Strack & Van Til rolled out a Mega Mart concept during a recession, gaining sales and market share to repel big national chains. The chain has historically responded to competitive pressures by emphasizing product quality, store format innovation, and community focus.
Notable Developments and Outlook
In 2014, Strack & Van Til committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions from energy and waste by 40% by 2026. Reduced GHG emissions from electricity by 48% since 2014. Overall, since 2014, Strack & Van Til has reduced its GHG emissions from total energy use by 42%. The company began a program to recycle organic waste from produce and dairy in 2018. Since then, Strack & Van Til has diverted 2,335 tons of waste that would have ended up in a landfill.
In 2026, several store locations house NorthShore Health Centers. Customers can check in for a checkup, finish their grocery list, and get a text when the doctor is ready. This integration of healthcare and grocery retail reflects the chain’s efforts to position itself as a community wellness destination.
The chain struck up a tie-up with e-commerce provider Homesome and rolled out personalized digital circulars through partnerships with Ideal by Design House and Birdzi. These digital tools support the chain’s effort to compete with larger retailers in the e-commerce and personalization space.
As Hy-Vee continues to expand into Indiana and the Southeast region, Strack & Van Til represents the Iowa chain’s entry into the Indiana market. The acquisition positions the chain for potential further expansion while maintaining its regional identity and focus on Northwest Indiana communities.
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