Retail | Wholesale | Food | Beverage 2023: STEVEN C. ‘STEVE’ SMITH

Smith is carrying on his family’s legacy at the helm of K-VA-T, the Southwest Virginia operator of Food City supermarkets. His father, Jack C. Smith, grew the K-VA-T empire from a single Piggly Wiggly store opened in Grundy in 1955. Steve Smith joined the family business after graduating from James Madison University in 1979, becoming CEO in 2001.

Today, Smith oversees a grocery corporation with $3.8 billion in annual revenue, 18,100 employees and 138 retail supermarkets across Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, Kentucky and Alabama.

In August 2022, K-VA-T acquired six Fresh n’ Low stores and Cooke’s Food Store & Pharmacy in the Cleveland, Tennessee, area, near Chattanooga, and this year, the company announced plans to build more Food City locations in Alabama and Tennessee. In June, Food City donated $4 million to Emory & Henry College for the naming rights of its sports complex.

Smith serves on the Governor’s Advisory Council on Revenue Estimates.

WHAT MAKES ME HAPPIEST: Being able to help our company continue to grow and succeed, and watching our teammates advance in their careers. On a personal note, my wife, Debbie, and I are very excited to become grandparents this year!