Alpha (convenience store)

Alpha Stores, Inc. was a retail chain of convenience stores and gas stations based in Bloomberg. The company was founded in 1931 by Harrison Rolton. The company expanded worldwide in 1983. With the first location outside the United States was in Japan, they began spreading out in all of Asia, and in 1986, they opened in Europe.

History
The company started out as a grocery store in downtown Bloomberg named 'H.R. Grocery Store', the store became popular and later outright opened a second one just two months later. But during the Great Depression, the second store ending up closing, and later Rolton shut down his business. In 1932, he developed another one but was being a convenience store, he didn't want to use his name, so he went with the name 'Alpha', which was borrowed from the belt manufacturer, Alpha Belt Company. He opened a new store in Bloomberg, where he opened the new store nearby an Esso gas station. Two years later, the Alpha Belt Company sued Rolton for using their name for his gas station, he said that he couldn't find another name. A year later, Alpha Belt Company went bankrupt and Rolton didn't worry about the copyright issues. In 1983, They opened a new store outside the United States but in Japan, FamilyMart did a partnership with the company for an opening of 20 new stores.