The company began during the Great Depression as a market opened in Birmingham, Alabama, by Joseph Sam Bruno (October 2, 1912 – January 24, 1996), the son of immigrants from Bisacquino, Sicily.

The senior pilot, John Tesney, who had been flying since World War II, was known for not following procedures and taking unnecessary risks.

Neglecting for known knowledge of the heavy fog, TV tower, and small student aircraft that was observed and notated upon landing, the Beechjet received clearance to take off and began to taxi down the runway and lift off and fly to Huntsville, AL. Once in the air, the pilot, John Tesney, became aware of the smaller student aircraft, the TV Tower, and the very low ceiling.

Unsure of his proximity to Lavender Mountain, Tesney pulled the aircraft to make a right 360-degree turn to take off and circle back over the airport and then push through the clouds on the way to Rome.

[citation needed] Following the crash, only 3-5 executives were left, including founder Joe A. Bruno, who would pass away, at age 83, in 1996, his nephew CEO Ronald G. Bruno, who inherited his father's shares of the company stock making him the de facto chairman of the Board, Executive VP Paul Garrison, and Senior Vice President of Store Operations, Samie Manzella, with a few others.

[citation needed] The crash caused a large outpouring of grief among the Birmingham metropolitan community due to the family and the company's well-known philanthropic contributions.

The experimental store featured a wide variety of prepared foods such as seafood, bakery goods and take-out meals as well as regular grocery sales.

That acquisition was ill-fated, as the company's debt structure combined with management missteps and increased competition from Wal-Mart Supercenters to drive it into Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The new management struggled as well, and in 2005, Ahold finally sold the combined operation to Lone Star Funds, a private investment company which also owns Captain D's and Shoney's restaurants.

On March 20, 2007, Lone Star Funds announced it had spun out Bruno's from BI-LO creating a separate corporate entity.

In October 2008, Bruno's announced plans to close 22 of their 40 in-store pharmacies "because of their consistently low performance over the last several years and the lack of prospect for turning them around."

President and CEO Kent Moore resigned and the Company appointed Jim Grady, Senior Director with Alvarez & Marsal, as Chief Restructuring Officer.

[citation needed] On March 9, 2009, Bruno's filed a motion in bankruptcy court requesting approval to renegotiate its agreement with UFCW Local 1657.

The successor-ship clause requires any acquirer of the company or any of its stores to agree, as a term of the sale, to honor the collective bargaining agreements which are currently in place.

Court documents show that Southern Family Markets, a subsidiary of C&S Wholesale Grocers, was the only bidder for a significant number of stores.

[9] In June 2009, Bruno's ceased to exist as stand alone company, with 31 of its locations being absorbed into the Southern Family Markets chain.

As a requirement of the sale agreement, Bruno's petitioned bankruptcy court to change its name to BFW Liquidations, LLC.

[11] In late 2011, newly formed Birmingham-based Belle Foods purchased Southern Family Markets and its 57 stores in Florida, Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi.

The company announced they would rebrand all locations to the Belle Foods name, eliminating the Bruno's brand entirely.