Ray’s Food Place

Ray's Food Place is a regional grocery retailer that has served small and rural communities across Oregon and Northern California for nearly seven decades. The company was founded in 1956 by Ray and Ruth B. Berry in Brookings, Oregon, initially operating under the C&K Market banner. Throughout the following decades, Ray's Food Place built a reputation for bringing full-service supermarket operations to towns often overlooked by larger national chains, offering fresh produce, meat, bakery, and deli departments alongside conventional grocery selections.

The company faced significant headwinds in the early 2010s as competition intensified and consumer shopping patterns shifted. In 2013, the parent company C&K Market, Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Rather than disappear, the organization restructured, closed underperforming locations, and emerged from bankruptcy in 2014 with a leaner but more sustainable store portfolio. That disciplined approach to rightsizing proved effective, and the company has since stabilized its operations.

As of November 2025, Ray's Food Place operates approximately 18 stores, the vast majority in Oregon with a small presence in Northern California. The stores maintain the company's original mission of serving rural and small-town markets where national competitors have minimal footprint. Ray's Food Place remains privately held and headquartered in Brookings, Oregon, with active engagement on social media platforms including Facebook and Instagram.

The company is not pursuing aggressive expansion at this time. Instead, Ray's Food Place is focused on investing in its existing locations and carefully evaluating new opportunities that fit its community-focused operating model within its established geographic markets. For landlords and developers in rural Oregon and Northern California, Ray's Food Place represents a stable, locally rooted anchor tenant with demonstrated resilience and a genuine commitment to underserved communities.