ST. CLOUD, Minn. – While the Sullivan’s supermarkets are under new ownership, customers at the store at 605 Tenney St. won’t notice much of a difference.

“I don’t expect that they’ll see any significant changes,” said Dennis Host, senior vice president for marketing and communications for Coborn’s, the St. Cloud-based supermarket chain that is purchasing the 11 Sullivan’s stores in Illinois.

Host said there may be some “little modifications here and there to the building,” but other than that, few changes are planned.

Life will change, however, for the Sullivan’s employees. Coborn’s stores are employee-owned, and while Host said the details of employee relations for the Sullivan’s stores are yet to be worked out, there are “certainly advantages for our employees.”

Throughout the Sullivan’s chain there are about 800 employees, Host said. “Sullivan’s team has done an outstanding job of operating in the 11 communities they serve,” he said.

Kathy Christensen, daughter of Sullivan’s founder John Sullivan, said her late father was pleased that Coborn’s was the company taking over the Sullivan’s stores. Christensen said her father started the business in 1967 when he purchased a two-lane grocery store in Savanna, Ill. He soon built a larger, more modern store in the town.

Sullivan eventually built the business to 11 locations in northern Illinois, including the store in Princeton. He purchased the former Eagle Supermarket in Kewanee in 2004.

Host pointed out that the Sullivan’s stores will “continue to operate under the Sullivan’s banner.” Coborn’s signed a purchase agreement that includes all 11 Sullivan’s supermarkets as well as the company headquarters in Stockton, three Ace Hardware stores the company owns and a convenience store in Savanna.

“This sale makes perfect sense for our family and for our employees,” said Sullivan’s family member Susie Dauphin. “Coborn’s has long been a highly-respected company and our family felt perfectly aligned with their values, operational standards, support of the communities they operate in and most importantly the company culture and commitment to their employees,” she added. “We are grateful to all our guests and employees who have helped us build our business over the past five decades. I know our communities and employees are in good hands as we make this transition.”

“Guest satisfaction has always been a core value of the company and he has always operated with that as a high priority that is instilled in all the stores today,” Host said.

Sullivan’s Foods is supplied by Associated Wholesale Grocers (AWG) as their lead wholesaler, giving the company a competitive advantage. They will continue this relationship with AWG, he said.