The first Brookshire Brothers store opened on September 21, 1921. It was started by two brothers, Austin and Tom Brookshire. The building occupied by the first Brookshire Brothers food store was located near the Angelina County courthouse square. In the early days, so many folks congregated in front of the store to swap tales and visit, the street became known as "Spit and Whittle." The history of this family is similar to that of many of the families who first settled in East Texas. Some were born in log cabins, knew the hard life of being raised on a poor East Texas farm.

As the family participation increased, new stores were opened and in 1928 the family, which by now, included several cousins and a few friends, decided to form a common group and to work toward a common goal of making this fledgling group of food stores a strong regional company.

The business prospered and soon there were thirty-three Brookshire Brothers in east Texas. In 1929, Wood Brookshire and a cousin, W.A. Brookshire withdrew from the company, taking four stores in Tyler, Texas. This was the start of the Brookshire Grocery Company currently located in Tyler. From that day, both companies have operated separate of the other.

In 1952, the company purchased the Moore Grocery and Lufkin Produce Company businesses and building located on the north side of the courthouse square in Lufkin. With the purchase of these businesses the company entered the wholesale trade and began selling to other stores. By 1968, Brookshire Brothers moved to the west loop in Lufkin and built a facility where it operated for about ten years until purchasing a parcel of land on the north loop and constructed a warehouse and corporate office which is continues to operate from to this day.

Lee Brookshire held the position of president of the newly-incorporated grocery chain until his retirement in 1966 when the torch was passed to three brothers, Eugene, Oscar and R. A., all three sons of Austin Brookshire.

The new generation of Brookshire brothers presided over a period of significant growth and diversification of the company, expanding to 69 stores throughout eastern Texas and western Louisiana. New formats were introduced in addition to the Brookshire Brothers banner. Budget Chopper and B&B Foods stores were opened. The Company diversified its operations in 1991 by opening its first gasoline station on the parking lot of its supermarket. These units were able to take advantage of the low incremental capital costs of construction and the leverage of store management to provide consumers a convenient, attractive, and low-cost facility to purchase their fuel needs. Today, Brookshire Brothers is one of the world’s leading retail distributors of Conoco Phillips branded gasoline.

Diversification of operations came again in 1997 as the Company opened its first Tobacco Barn. Specifically designed for the convenient and effective distribution of a full line of tobacco products to consumers, the Tobacco Barns continue to grow in volume. In 1999, the Company opened its first combined gasoline station and Tobacco Barn. Both have proven successful as individual operations, and, when combined as a single venture, again mark a successful transition to servicing the customers’ needs.

As the three brothers reached retirement, a transfer of ownership was made. A complicated ESOP or Employee Stock Ownership Plan was developed permitting the family to sell the business to company employees. This decision ushered an era of ownership that has since expanded to 100% employee ownership for the 5,600 employees of Brookshire Brothers.

The traditions that began in 1921 continue today with a focus on our customer offering quality goods and services and a steadfast belief in family and community.