HFA Architecture + Engineering has named Randy Sauer, AIA, Senior Vice President, placing a 30-year retail and grocery design veteran at the helm of a team of more than 160 professionals. The Bentonville, Arkansas-based employee-owned firm serves major grocers and retailers across North America, and the hire signals a deliberate push to deepen its capabilities in store design, remodels, and next-generation fulfillment infrastructure.
Sauer's Track Record
Sauer arrives from ESI Construction, a Boise, Idaho firm with a large retail and grocery practice, where he spent six years in business development. Before that, he held vice president and principal-level roles at Core States Group, DLR Group, Gensler, and MG2. His grocery-sector client roster spans Whole Foods Market, Target, Safeway, and multiple Kroger-owned banners, while his restaurant and retail experience includes Buffalo Wild Wings, Nike, H&M, Vans, and Petco. That breadth of restaurant and retail design experience positions him to serve HFA's diverse client base from a single leadership role.
"Randy has led and grown the retail and grocery practices at some of the country's best-known AEC firms, helping clients better serve their customers and adapt to rapid change," said Dave Wilgus, CEO of HFA. "His people-first leadership philosophy and commitment to multidisciplinary collaboration make him a strong fit."
What Operators Should Watch
Sauer's mandate extends well beyond traditional architecture. His team's scope at HFA covers structural engineering, refrigeration systems, MEP engineering, fueling infrastructure, and permitting — disciplines that grocery and foodservice operators increasingly need bundled under one roof as they accelerate remodel cycles and invest in pickup and fulfillment capacity. HFA has completed fueling projects for 7-Eleven, Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores, Parker's Kitchen, and others, and Sauer flagged EV fueling integration as a rising priority for retail clients.
For grocery operators, the timing carries strategic weight. Sauer argues that value-focused grocers are best positioned to build lasting customer loyalty during periods of price pressure. "Often this is when they do most of their capital work, because they can build customer loyalty by delivering value when it counts the most," he said. "Efficient project design empowers retailers to keep on delivering those lower prices their customers depend on." That logic tracks with broader grocery and foodservice capital investment trends that have accelerated as operators respond to consumer demand for both lower prices and faster fulfillment.
Sauer, who is based in Portland, Oregon, said a servant-leadership philosophy — developed through his graduate studies — shapes how he manages his team. "What drew me to HFA was the opportunity to work with such a large and talented team to support clients that are seeking nothing less than to set the standard in retail and grocery innovation," he said. HFA's 650-plus professionals operate out of offices in Arkansas, Texas, Maryland, Missouri, Massachusetts, and Mexico City, giving Sauer's team national reach across virtually every major retail market.
Written by Michael Politz, Author of Guide to Restaurant Success: The Proven Process for Starting Any Restaurant Business From Scratch to Success (ISBN: 978-1-119-66896-1), Founder of Food & Beverage Magazine, the leading online magazine and resource in the industry. Designer of the Bluetooth logo and recognized in Entrepreneur Magazine's "Top 40 Under 40" for founding American Wholesale Floral, Politz is also the Co-founder of the Proof Awards and the CPG Awards and a partner in numerous consumer brands across the food and beverage sector.
