In 1897, a young man named William Remke had the foresight and determination to start his own business. He opened a Meat Market at the corner of 13th & Holman in Covington, KY. Things went well, and the store moved twice to larger locations. In 1922 William moved the store to a third location at 19th & Holman. A Remke Market remained in that same location almost 70 years. William passed away in December of 1932, not living to see his three sons expand the Remke business. In 1935, William Remke’s son, Robert, along with his brothers, William H. and Louis, opened a store in Ft. Mitchell. The three sons had the vision to expand their horizon. They didn’t just open another meat market, but offered their customers more than meat, adding produce, canned goods and bakery products along with their top quality meat products. This was one of the first self-serve grocery stores in the area.

In 1957, having outgrown its facilities, the Ft. Mitchell store moved to its present location at the corner of Dixie Hwy and Orphanage Rd. In November of 1970, Robert passed away, leaving the store in the hands of his wife, Frances. William had left the company in 1942, and Louis had also passed away. A few years later, Robert’s son, a young Bill Remke, bought out his mother, and took over store operations. Bill continued the tradition of expanding Remke horizons. During his years as Owner, President, and now CEO, Remke Markets has expanded to eight locations.

In 2002 Remke Markets added Remke’s Drugstore with the opening of two full-service pharmacies in our Taylor Mill and Newport stores. We have since added pharmacies to our Buttermilk, Turfway, and Hebron locations.

In 1990, the warehouse and corporate office were moved from the Ft. Mitchell store to a 67,000 square foot building in Covington. In 2002 the warehouse and corporate office was moved to Erlanger to a 83,000 square foot building.

Remke Markets had a significant change in 1996, when Bill Remke transferred the majority of stock ownership in the company to the employees.

As Remke Markets have spanned the centuries, from 1897 to the present year, we have always remained on the cutting edge of technology. From the purchase and warehousing of product, to our Information Technology System, to the Front End System, to our Preferred Customer Program, Remke Markets is state-of-the-art. We’re proud of our heritage and proud of the fact that some things never change...Remke Markets is here to stay

Remkes has always concentrated on customer service. All supermarkets claim to give good customer service, but at Remkes this is our way of life and all customer requests are treated the same whether it is made of a bagger, a cashier, a store manager or the president of the company. For example, at other supermarkets, when a customer asks a clerk where an item might be located in the store, they more than likely would reply that it is in aisle so and so. At Remkes we walk the customer to the item to make sure that they find it. This kind of service is found in all of our departments. We make sure that the customer gets what they want. If they want a special cut of meat, the meat cutters cut it for them. If they want their lunch meat cut a certain way in the deli, we make sure that it is sliced that way. Our goal is for all cashiers to speak to our customers and to use their name. This is made easy with the institution of our Preferred Customer Program.

In 1996 we gave all of our customers a card. Every time that they shop, we swipe that card and their name appears on the monitor at the register. Their sales are accumulated in our system and once a month, if the household averages $30 or more, they receive coupons for free items selected especially for that household. The value of the coupons increases with the spending of that household. The value of those free items accumulated over a year, usually equals about a week’s worth of spending for that household. There are no other supermarkets in the area who give the equivalent of a free week’s worth of groceries back to their best customers every year. As you can see, just as we were able to do in 1897, when you knew every customer who walked through the door, thanks to technology, we can still give the same personal thanks, service, and recognition to our customers.

Of course Remke Markets cannot exist except within the extraordinary communities we serve. We are always amazed at the tremendous effort on the part of so many people to make this world a better place. We want to help. That is why Remke Markets instituted the Caring Neighbor Program whereby schools, churches, and other non-profit organizations can earn thousands of dollars every year based off of the spending of their members at Remke Markets and we track it all for them automatically. We also want to publicize the good that goes on in our community. That is why Remke Markets started the Remke Student Achiever Program. This program showcases students throughout Northern Kentucky High Schools who excel in academics, sports, and community involvement. This program is done with the cooperation of the Cincinnati Enquirer and Insight cable Company. At the end of the year a recognition banquet is held and scholarships are given.
Remke Markets also spearheaded the televising of high school football games.

Once a year, Remke Markets hosts the Remke Charity Golf Classic which raises money to benefit the The Point/Arc of Northern Kentucky. Their mission is to provide opportunities to people with intellectual/developmental disabilities to reach their highest potential educationally.

Remke Markets, along with the help of their extraordinary customers raise a large sum of money on behalf of the American Heart Association and are a major sponsor of their Golf Charity Fundraiser and also raise money on behalf of the American Cancer Society.

The success of Remkes was brought about by diligent work and insight into the future by a variety of thoughtful employees over the years. This is reflected in our motto “Our Service Wears a Smile” The future is also very much dependent on the same and we will only grow to the extent we can service our customers.