A decade has passed since workers and shoppers rallied and boycotted Market Basket to save its ousted CEO.
The chaos surrounding the grocery chain stemmed from a family feud dating back to the 1970s.
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CEO Arthur T. Demoulas was long praised by Market Basket employees and loyal customers. He was fired in 2014 — his cousin, Arthur S. Demoulas, heads the branch of the family that controlled the board.
With "Artie T." representing the store's commitment to low prices and fair treatment of workers, huge protests formed outside Market Basket stores all summer, with shoppers boycotting it in favor of rival grocers.
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Ultimately, shareholders agreed to sell a majority stake to Arthur T. Demoulas' faction, putting him back in control of the company.
In a video posted to social media Tuesday, Market Basket commemorated the saga.
"Imagine a group of people standing up together for something they believed in so strongly that they were willing to risk it all — for a culture, a way of life, a 100-year legacy," the narrator says in the video. "Imagine that their cause grew so big that it encompassed an entire region and brought so many different people together. And imagine that their genuine act of loyalty and passion was a triumphant success."
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The Boston Globe reported Tuesday that the chain, which accrued $1.6 billion in debt during the battle in 2014, has cleared most of it in the ensuing decade. Only $150 million remains, the paper reported, with the company saying that will be paid off within four months.
Market Basket has stores in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine and Rhode Island.
