A century ago, shoppers at a small general store in Hametown, Pennsylvania, could pick up groceries alongside dynamite, plow shares, shoes and fencing. Home delivery was part of the business, too. That store became Saubel’s Markets, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2026. Today, the family-owned company operates four stores in Shrewsbury, Stewartstown and East York, Pennsylvania, and Whiteford, Maryland.
The story begins with Claude Saubel, a tool and die maker who worked at the Washington Navy Yard. He left that job to help his father-in-law at the Hametown store and, in 1926, Claude and his wife took over the business. Their son, Leon, grew up in the store and later ran it with his wife, Doris
In 1966, Leon and Doris opened a 5,200-square-foot supermarket in Shrewsbury with seven new employees. The store expanded five times over the next 24 years. Greg and his brother Steve, the third generation, took over in 1991. They added stores in Stewartstown and Whiteford in 2001. In 2006, Steve and his wife, Marie, retired and Greg and his wife, Betti, took ownership. A new Whiteford store opened in 2009, and Saubel’s added its East York location in 2016.
The company’s website says Saubel’s now employs more than 350 people. Greg and Betti’s children Bobby and Kelsi work in the business and represent the fourth generation. Greg said the fifth generation has now begun with the births of two grandchildren. For Greg, the reason the business made it this far is fairly simple.
“We were noted for friendly service, clean stores, and quality and niche products,” he said.
Those niche products are a major part of Saubel’s identity. The company makes its own soups and salads, smokes meats and still grinds Saubel’s Reserve ground beef from primal cuts. Its bakery remains especially important. Asked which product would cause the biggest customer revolt if it disappeared, Greg did not hesitate: the doughnuts.
Saubel’s mixes, rolls, cuts, proofs and fries its doughnuts in-house. They are still made daily rather than brought in as a frozen finished product. That approach reflects a phrase Greg has used for years: Saubel’s is a modern supermarket that still does many things the old-fashioned way because the family believes they are better.
One example is checkout. As retailers across the country have added self-checkout lanes, Saubel’s has stayed with cashiers.
“As long as I’m alive, we will not have self-checkouts,” Greg said.
He sees staffed checkout as part of the service customers expect and a point of difference for the company. That does not mean Saubel’s has resisted change. Over the decades, it added pharmacies, expanded into beer and wine sales, grew its natural and organic selection and moved more of its advertising into digital channels. Greg’s view is that a family business has to keep up with customers without losing what brought them through the door in the first place.
Greg said his father, Leon, spent years supporting efforts to allow grocery stores to sell beer in Pennsylvania, but died in 2007 before seeing it happen. Saubel’s now sells beer and wine at one location, something Greg said his father “would be delighted to see.”
He estimates that at least 95 percent of customers come back because they were satisfied with the goods and service they received on their previous visit. Employees are part of that story. Greg said Saubel’s has had several employees reach roughly 50 years with the company, including one who worked for 51 years before her death. He chose not to single out names because, after a lifetime in the business, there were too many people he did not want to leave out.
The same is true of the communities around the stores. Saubel’s has long supported fire and ambulance companies, local school scholarships, 4-H programs and youth livestock sales. Greg remembers that when a local fire company had a major call, the family would open the store and send food for the firefighters.
Saubel’s has been a PFMA member since 2000. At 66, Greg is realistic about what another 25 years could bring for independent supermarkets. He also hopes the family name will still be above the doors.
“I hope that they’re appreciative of the legacy that we’ve kind of built and kept going, and that they’re proud of that and that helps instill them into wanting to keep it going,” Greg said.
After a century in business, Saubel’s future looks much like its past: family-led, community-rooted and full of promise and doughnuts. ■