had come to Canada in 1927. Stavro and his sister, Gloria, attended Duke of Connaught Public School and Riverdale Collegiate Institute. They also attended Bulgarian language classes at Sts. Cyril & Methody Macedono-Bulgarian Orthodox Church, where Stavro's parents were active members. He worked in his father's store, Louis' Meat Market, in Toronto's east end at Queen Street and Coxwell Avenue and left school after Grade 10 to work full-time. In 1951, he opened his own fresh produce stand across the street under the Knob Hill Farms name. Stavro said he took the name from a box of produce from California. By 1954, he was running his own traditional grocery store at 425-427 Danforth Avenue. By the late 1950s, Stavro was operating nine grocery stores and outdoor markets in Toronto. Knob Hill Farms Steve Stavro, founder of Knob Hill Farms, was a serial innovator and one of the early adopters of the concept of a big box retailer. Knob Hill Farms bought in very large volumes to secure maximum discounts from brokers, wholesalers and farm co-operatives. Knob Hill Farms advertised heavily in Toronto area newspapers and customers flocked to the stores for prices, wide selection and the unique experience. The decision to purchase stock in bulk necessitated the construction of "food terminals” that were significantly larger than any competitors at the time. Over the years Knob Hill Farms would construct the largest grocery store in Ontario, then Canada, followed by North America and finally the world with the construction of Knob Hill Farms’ Cambridge terminal in 1991. Knob Hill Farms’ stores were located close to major transportation arteries for the delivery of bulk goods (and the convenience of the driving public) and many of the stores were serviced directly by railway spur lines (and one directly accessed the Port of Toronto on Lake Ontario). As a result of Knob Hill Farms large individual store sales volumes and the frequent occurrence of customers leaving with bulky orders, Knob Hill Farms adopted a company-wide policy of providing their customers first with large, re-usable, cardboard boxes (for five cents each) and then with sturdy, re-usable plastic baskets, to take their groceries home. These baskets held significantly more than any paper or plastic grocery bags. This initiative represented one of the first examples of a retailer abandoning plastic and paper bags in favour of a reusable and environmentally friendly alternative. Stavro brought a focus to