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Rick Wright led the grocery chain that was founded by his father.
Rick Wright, the CEO of Market of Choice, died at his Eugene home Sunday, June 29. He was 62. A statement from the company said Wright died of natural causes.
Market of Choice was founded by Wright’s father, Richard Wright Sr., in 1979, and expanded to 12 locations across Oregon, making it the largest independent, family-owned grocer in the state.
The statement from Market of Choice said Rick Wright “helped redefine what a grocery store can be — not just a place to buy food, but a force for sustaining local economies, fostering innovation, and nourishing the spirit of Oregon. At his core, Wright was a steward of good food, of local communities, and of people.”
Wright spoke to Lookout Eugene-Springfield last week for an article about disruptions in the supply chain after a national food supplier fell victim to a cyberattack.
He took pride in his company’s distribution system, which meant Market of Choice wasn’t too reliant on any single distributor.
Originally using a 50,000-square-foot warehouse, the company during COVID expanded it to 100,000 square feet and added refrigerated warehousing. The company also has its own central kitchen where it produces many prepared foods for its stores.
“It was a huge investment for a company our size to get into our own self-distributing, and we don’t even quite distribute 10 percent of our products to ourselves, but it certainly helps when we have these types of supply disruptions,” Wright said. “You don’t normally see 12-store chains invest this type of capital into a project like this, but with all the disruptions that we’ve seen over the years, we just knew that we had to have some sort of a backup when there’s a crisis.”
According to the statement from the company, Wright was active in philanthropy with such organizations as Doernbecher Freestyle, Angel Hair Foundation, Food For Lane County and Kidsports.
He is survived by his wife, Debbie, his mother, Marsha, three siblings, three children and two grandchildren.
Vanessa Salvia contributed to this report.
