Keeping a Family Legacy Alive
For more than 30 years, Super King Foods has been the neighborhood grocery store for families across Stockton, California. When the founder retired, his children faced a choice: They could let the business go, or they could leave their corporate careers and keep it running for the community that depended on it.
They came home.
What they found behind the counter surprised them. The stores carried more than 15,000 products, and every invoice was still tracked by hand. The business their parents built still ran on paper.
The family brought the challenge to Les Fong, director of the San Joaquin SBDC, part of the Norcal SBDC Network. He connected them with AWS funding programs and AWS partner Minfy Technologies. Today, Super King Foods is modernizing its operations and using AI to take the manual work off its team’s plate.
The family never lost sight of the people who built the business with them. To celebrate its anniversary, the company gave each employee $100 for every year of service; its longest-tenured employee has been with them for 37 years.
Now they are thinking bigger. Super King Foods is preparing to sell nationwide through the Amazon Store and plans to open its third location in December 2026.
Northern California Small Businesses Show What AI Can Do
Super King Foods is one of many small businesses ready to put AI to work. In July, more than 50 of them applied to pitch their AI ideas at a competition hosted by Norcal SBDC in Cupertino, California. More than 160 people came to watch.
Each owner had to name a real problem in their business and show how AI could solve it. Every presenter walked away with a certificate and a direct line to advisors and AWS partners who can help them build it.
Cupertino Mayor Kitty Moore spoke to the crowd about how the city itself uses AI to work more efficiently. Her message to the entrepreneurs was a practical one. The tools they were pitching are already making a difference in their own community.
Where It All Starts
Both stories began the same way: a business owner talking with an SBDC advisor they already trusted. The advisor knew the business. The connection to AWS, its funding programs, and its partners supplied the technical help to move from idea to results.
That model is spreading. SBDC networks in North Texas, Connecticut, Nebraska, Kansas, Maryland, North Carolina, and beyond are now exploring AI workshops, pitch competitions, and training for the businesses they serve.
Ready to explore what AI could do for your business? Find your local SBDC.