TORRANCE : New Owners to Expand Bristol Farms

Bristol Farms Gourmet Specialty Food Markets will be acquired by an investment group as part of a plan to expand the chain.

Kidd, Kamm & Co. Inc., a Beverly Hills investment company, is buying the Torrance-based gourmet food market, according to Irv Gronsky, owner and president. Company officials declined to reveal any financial arrangements but did say the sale is in escrow.

Since 1982, when Gronsky founded the first Bristol Farms in Rolling Hills Estates, it has become one of the Southland’s most successful upscale food retailers, generating just over $50 million in sales annually. Its South Pasadena store, which opened in 1985, is now one of that city’s largest generators of taxes.

The change in ownership is part of a plan to finance new Bristol Farms markets across the Southland, said Louis A. Kwiker, who will take over as chief executive officer and chairman.