 The company opened grocery stores in 1935 and sold off its department store division following a 1966 acquisition by The Jewel Companies, Inc.Jewel was sold to American Stores in 1984 and Buttrey was sold off as a separate company in 1990.The company was sold to its main competitor, Boise, Idaho-based Albertsons, in January 1998 and the Buttrey name was retired.