[11] The family settled in Brooklyn, New York City, where Meyer completed his education up to the fifth grade and later worked in his father's grocery store.
[13] Relocating to Seattle in 1906, Meyer worked for a small grocery and the Grand Union Tea Company until 1909, when he moved to Portland, Oregon.
[15] Thereafter, Fred established a separate business using horse-drawn wagons to deliver coffee, tea, and spices to Portland residents and groceries to nearby logging camps and farms.
[16] By 1911, Meyer was managing Mission Tea, and after a dispute with William, he acquired a new partner and renamed the business the Java Coffee Company.
[17] Sometime after arriving in Portland,[18] Frederick Grubmeyer shortened his name to Fred G. Meyer; a 2001 Oregonian article said the change was made "for convenience and maybe to save money on signs".
[16] In its obituary, Portland's The Oregonian described Meyer as "the venerable merchant whose name and shopping-center empire have been linked for almost 70 years with the city's growth".