Bag N' Box - Wash. DC Area
Posted: 17 Aug 2006 18:01
I have wondered about this store for a long time, perhaps someone out there recalls this. In the very early 1980's, there was a store in Takoma Park/Silver Spring MD called Bag N' Box (perhaps Bag & Box, not sure of exact spelling of the "and") This store was very low-frills, and the gimmick was that you either bagged or boxed your pruchases yourself, and they had a large supply of cut-open supply boxes up front. They basically saved all the boxes the distributors used to ship them the canned/packaged goods for you to use. Handy when it came to bulky stuff like packs of toilet paper or a bunch of cereal boxes.
I believe this was part of a small chain, but I can't recall any other locations specifically. I am pretty sure it would be local to the DC area if it was a chain. The store was on Piney Branch Rd, near Flower Ave. This location was formerly a branch of the Greenbelt Co-op chain, it even had a service station in the lot of the center that was branded Co-op up until the early 80's. The Co-op grocery allegedly closed around 1972, and was vacant until '79 or so when Bag n Box came. After about 5 years this store closed, and the space became an "International" market, mainly hispanic groceries these days. This center is small, and was possibly constructed as part of Kroger's abortive push into the DC market in the early 60's., though there is another small center like this up Pney Branch that I read elsewhere was Kroger. I am guessing maybe Kroger because a lot of those Kroger locations became Co-op's when Kroger left in the mid 60's.
For those in the area and who are interested, diagonally across the street from this center is a run down supermarket called "Bestway" or something that was Food Fair/Pantry Pride until the early 80's, then became "Shaprio's Food Town" before going independent (and to seed.) Behind that building is a former Super Giant. That one gave up part of it's space (where the "Super" items were sold when Super Giant concept died, only to reclaim the space in the 90's when supermarkets started to become larger in general. In the interim the excess space was rented to a postal sorting facility.
I believe this was part of a small chain, but I can't recall any other locations specifically. I am pretty sure it would be local to the DC area if it was a chain. The store was on Piney Branch Rd, near Flower Ave. This location was formerly a branch of the Greenbelt Co-op chain, it even had a service station in the lot of the center that was branded Co-op up until the early 80's. The Co-op grocery allegedly closed around 1972, and was vacant until '79 or so when Bag n Box came. After about 5 years this store closed, and the space became an "International" market, mainly hispanic groceries these days. This center is small, and was possibly constructed as part of Kroger's abortive push into the DC market in the early 60's., though there is another small center like this up Pney Branch that I read elsewhere was Kroger. I am guessing maybe Kroger because a lot of those Kroger locations became Co-op's when Kroger left in the mid 60's.
For those in the area and who are interested, diagonally across the street from this center is a run down supermarket called "Bestway" or something that was Food Fair/Pantry Pride until the early 80's, then became "Shaprio's Food Town" before going independent (and to seed.) Behind that building is a former Super Giant. That one gave up part of it's space (where the "Super" items were sold when Super Giant concept died, only to reclaim the space in the 90's when supermarkets started to become larger in general. In the interim the excess space was rented to a postal sorting facility.