Fareway

Fareway Stores, Inc. is a Midwest grocery store chain based in Boone, Iowa. It operates 137 grocery store locations in Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota, Kansas, and Missouri.^[1]

Fareway Stores, Inc.

Trade name	Fareway Meat & Grocery
Formerly	Fareway Economical Food Stores
Company type	Private
Industry	Retail
Founded	1938 (87 years ago) (1938) in Boone, Iowa, U.S.
Founder	Paul S. Beckwith
Headquarters	Johnston, Iowa, U.S.
Number of locations	141 (2025)
Key people	P. Sue Beckwith, MD, Chairman of the Board Reynolds W. Cramer, CEO Garrett S. Piklapp, President
Products	Bakery, dairy, delicatessen, frozen foods, grocery, lottery, pharmacy, produce, meats, snack food, liquor, flowers, and Western Union
Revenue	US$1.5 billion (2021)
Owner	Beckwith family
Number of employees	12,000+
Subsidiaries	FarewayMeatMarket.com Midwest Quality Wholesale McGonigle's KC BBQ + Catering Brewer Foods
Website	fareway.com

History

On May 12, 1938, Paul S. Beckwith opened the first Fareway store in Boone, Iowa located at 624 Story Street. Beckwith chose the name "Fareway" as he emphasized treating customers and employees fairly.^[2] By 1950, there were 6 locations across Iowa.^[3]

On February 23, 1964, a massive fire caused $1 million in damages to the original Fareway store and warehouse in Boone.

In 2013, Fareway expanded and opened its first store outside of Iowa, opening a store in Tea, South Dakota.

In December 2018, Fareway announced a new plan to help eligible full-time employees pay off their student loan debt. This benefit gives $100 a month with an upper limit of $5,000 total. This adds Fareway Stores, Inc. to the roughly four percent of companies across the nation that offer employee benefits concerning student loan debt.^[4]

In 2024, Fareway moved their headquarters from Boone, Iowa to Johnston, Iowa. The current CEO, Reynolds Cramer, officially announced the company's departure from Boone in 2023.^[5]