Yellow Banana is a retail grocery platform that owns and operates 38 stores under the Save A Lot banner across the Cleveland, Chicago, Milwaukee, Jacksonville and Dallas metropolitan areas. Save A Lot was founded in 1977 and is one of the largest discount grocery store chains in the United States. Yellow Banana is proud to be Save A Lot’s third-largest Retail Partner.

Business With A Purpose

Yellow Banana was founded by four entrepreneurs with a passion for service and a desire to contribute to society. We are a former grocery bagger, an immigrant whose father’s first job in the United States was as a retail cashier, a childhood customer of one of the stores that Yellow Banana now owns and a founder of a microfinance nonprofit institution. Two of our co-founders are Black and a third is both Black and Latino, so our ownership looks like many of our customers. We believe in commerce with a mission, and we work every day to solve food insecurity across our country.

The majority of our stores sit in census tracts with limited access to affordable, quality food. We recognize the impact that the non-availability of nutrition has on individuals, families and communities. We believe that economic disadvantages should never determine a person’s social, financial and healthcare outcomes, and the fact that this remains the case presents a compelling social impact opportunity. In addition to our daily work, we are also committed to donating a percentage of our annual profits to non-profit organizations that address food equity issues in the United States.

We source as much of our inventory as possible from local small businesses. We hire local talent, because they are best positioned to serve their own neighbors, friends and families. And we work closely with state and local governments, development organizations, community leaders and other relevant stakeholders to ensure that we are meeting the needs of our customers and communities every day.

Our 400+ colleagues, all of whom share our passion and believe in our mission, are automatically enrolled in our 401k program with a company match. We also offer an employee assistance hotline, access to financial planning educational material and other discounted benefits to all of our colleagues. Our full-time employees are eligible for medical, dental, vision and short-term/long-term disability insurance. 20 of our 38 store managers across the country are minorities, and 19 are women.

Our Mission

Yellow Banana delivers essential nutrition to working families at affordable prices. We accomplish this every day by creating a safe, approachable and welcoming shopping environment in each of our stores. We believe that by treating our colleagues, customers, communities and counterparties with dignity and respect, we will earn their trust and become their neighborhood grocer of choice.