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The specialty food industry lost a number of industry trailblazers during the past year.
Joe Coulombe, founder of Trader Joe’s, passed away at the age of 89. Coulombe opened the first Trader Joe’s location in 1967 in Pasadena, California, going against industry norms at the time to introduce Trader Joe’s private label products in 1972. He retired from the company in 1988.
Dorothy Agnes Tracy, co-founder and namesake of Dot Foods, passed away at the age of 91, earlier this year. Dorothy and her husband Robert Tracy founded the company in 1960 and she played an integral part in the company’s early success by helping with bookkeeping, secretarial, and delivery duties.