Larry Nakata remembers the days when walking into Town & Country Market felt like an impromptu family reunion. “Mom worked in the meat department. Our auntie worked at the front.” Uncles and cousins stocked produce and filled bags.
Brothers John and Mo Nakata opened the original Town & Country on Bainbridge Island in 1957 with friend Ed Loverich. Their younger brothers, Ken and Jerry, came, too. From there, children, grandchildren, and extended family sprinkled across the company. Larry Nakata, who retired as CEO in 2010, succeeded his cousin, the late Don Nakata, who grew the business from a single market to six spread across the Puget Sound region.
But in 2023, the family reached a quiet crossroads.
Looking at Longevity
Transition was on their minds, says Larry. They faced “the very real possibility that there will no longer be a Nakata at some point in time in the company.” That wasn’t a day anyone wanted to see.
The senior Nakatas knew they needed to take action to safeguard Town & Country’s future as an independent, family-owned company. “We’re so fortunate that we get to work in a business that touches people on a regular basis,” says Susan. “Grocers are meant to be a presence in the community.”
She, Ron, and Larry sent a letter inviting members of their respective family branches to gather on the eve of what would have been Don Nakata’s 89th birthday. It was time to consider a new way of being a family business.
Independent, but Interconnected
John and Mo Nakata and Ed Loverich built one of Bainbridge Island’s first modern supermarkets on a vacant lot where they had played baseball as children. They were serving their own community, which meant giving out free coffee during power outages, or making personal condolence calls—and bringing a ham—when a customer passed away.
Today, as an independent grocer, Town & Country still centers the community in business matters, like the decision to not sell placement. That’s the industry term for asking manufacturers to pay to place their products on the most desirable eye-level shelves. It’s a common practice, says Susan Allen. But Town & Country decided it wasn’t in guests’ best interests. “We decide what products are going to go where.”
Ryan Ritter, who became CEO in 2024, sees firsthand how Nakata values guide the company. During leaner times, he says, the board has declined to reduce employees’ hours to preserve profitability. “We’re able to serve our values as a company, and who we choose to be,” he says. “That comes at the cost of the ownership taking home less dollars.”
Pursuing their Passions
Susan, Ron, and Larry ultimately followed in their fathers’ footsteps to make their careers at Town & Country. Ron describes his years as director of people development, then operations, as “the biggest part of my life, something I cherish.” But from their kids’ perspective, he allows, “we were never home.”
Today you might see Larry’s son, Reid, at the Shoreline location or Susan’s daughter, Katy, working in marketing. However the senior Nakatas did not want the next generation to feel any pressure to enter the grocery business.
“We wanted to allow our kids to pursue their passions,” says Susan. “But everyone has a deep care and love for the company.” In planning for the next stage of leadership, the Nakatas consulted with Rich Simmonds of the Pacific Family Business Institute. From there, the idea of a family council took shape.
Family Matters
Ed Nakata’s only official tenure with Town & Country was short stint a courtesy clerk in high school. But he absorbed plenty over the years from his father, Ron. Like the instinct to fix any disheveled store shelves he might encounter. “I always kept that habit of pulling all the cans to the front,” says Ed. To him, the family council sounded like a way to become involved without giving up an enjoyable career in management information systems.
Ultimately 15 Nakatas, including spouses, made the significant commitment to be part of the new era of family leadership (20 family members are part of a broader family assembly). As council president, Ed helped put core family values into writing, to ensure principles like integrity, personal growth, and environmental stewardship remain a codified part of how the markets operate. Many family members say their favorite part of quarterly meetings is CEO Ryan Ritter’s presentations on topics like SKUs or pricing.
Larry’s daughter, Kara Van Voorhis, followed a markedly different career path: She’s a veterinarian. But as family council vice president, she was able to attend board meetings and overlap with her father during his final year as chairman. “That was so meaningful and a really special way to connect with him.”
Preparing for What’s Next
The council takes occasional votes on matters of values rather than operations, a structure designed to preserve autonomy for Ritter and company leadership. This approach brings more Nakatas into the business, says Susan, especially compared with the traditional approach where just a few family members have board seats and voting responsibilities.
“Town & Country is greater than our individual roles and responsibilities,” she says. “It allows the family and the business to coexist in a way that keeps things alive and growing.” It also leaves space for a future generation to step back into leadership.
A History of Bold Decisions
The family council is not the Nakatas’ first time making foundational changes to preserve the essence of Town & Country. Appointing Bill Weymer as the first non-family CEO back in 2010 felt radical at the time. Other changes, like the in-store Field House restaurants, would have been unimaginable in John and Mo’s time. But they have allowed Town & Country to evolve along with guests’ needs.
In 2001, Town & Country assumed ownership of the 15-acre strawberry farm that his grandparents, Jitsuzo and Shima Nakata, purchased in1924. Today the land where generations of Nakatas played in the grass, splashed in the creek, and put down community roots is known as MiddleField Farm (“Middle field” is a direct translation of “Naka ta”). These acres supply organic produce and flowers for Town & Country, while an onsite training program educates the next generation of farmers who will be growing guests’ food, and connecting us to the land.
Service Across the Years
John and Mo Nakata might be surprised to see Town & Country now spans six stores, from Poulsbo to Bellevue. And that the average number of items sold in each market has grown from about 4,000 to 80,000. The brothers probably never imagined a T&C where you can order a matcha latte or a plate of crispy fish tacos, then fill your cart with canned craft cocktails, plant-based burger patties, and sourdough made with locally milled grain.
But the warm welcome would feel familiar. So would the counter where butchers cut your meat to order, and the abundance of local produce, and products made by other local family-owned businesses.
During his tenure as CEO, Don Nakata continuously fine-tuned and articulated Town & Country’s values to the rest of the family. These included Japanese concepts imparted from his parents, like kaizen, or continuous improvement. One cool morning, looking out on MiddleField Farm, Larry Nakata puts it another way: “You need to earn every piece of business you get, regardless of whether you’re family owned.”