Rick Little

Rick Little (born in Little Rock, Arkansas) is the founder an owner of V. Richard's supermarket in Forest Park.

Little grew up in the grocery business. His father, Vincent, worked for Kroger Foods and was relocated several times, from Little Rock to Kentucky, Virginia, Ohio, and then Wisconsin. Little graduated from the University of Wisconsin and then, on his father's advice, entered the grocery business himself.

When the owners of the Milwaukee store where he worked planned to retire in 1977, Little bought the business from them. He gradually expanded to incorporate other specialty groceries and re-branded them under the name of V. Richard's Markets.

In the mid-1990's Little left Wisconsin in search of a warmer climate. He settled on Birmingham and opened V. Richard's in Forest Park in 1995. The store expanded in 2006 to a larger building adjacent to its original location. Little's wife manages the company's books, and his son, Rickey, a member of the first graduating class at Culinard, handles the catering division.

References

• Sepsas, Niki (May 2007) "The Hometown Grocer." Birmingham Magazine. Vol. 47, No. 5, pp. 134-5