Pursuits
Hidden Billionaire Found With Food Fortune in California
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The H Street Save Mart grocery store in downtown Modesto, California, is a throwback to a time before supermarkets enticed shoppers with sushi bars and wine tastings. Here, bare florescent lights reflect off scuffed linoleum floors and a Greek chicken wrap is marred by bits of cartilage. To get into the bathroom, shoppers have to seek out a clerk for a key.
This store and 225 similar locations operated by Modesto-based Save Mart Supermarkets have made Bob Piccinini, the company’s 71-year-old majority owner, a billionaire.