Search found 661 matches

by rich
10 Mar 2024 23:32
Forum: History: USA Northeast
Topic: Historical Information About ShopRite Locations (Past & Present)
Replies: 10
Views: 450

Re: Historical Information About ShopRite Locations (Past & Present)

Although I cannot figure out how to post an image from Newspapers.com that allows one to zoom in, I think I figured out a way to share a link which allows one to view an image or article (and enlarge it) properly. In 1977 and 1978, a number of ShopRite newspaper ads listed all of the chain's locati...
by rich
01 Feb 2024 18:06
Forum: History: Drugstore Chains
Topic: What happened to drugstore lunch counters?
Replies: 12
Views: 1128

Re: What happened to drugstore lunch counters?

Growing up in suburban St. Louis, the Walgreens at Crestwood Plaza (built roughly 1958) had a lunch counter until the mall was fully enclosed (it was built as an open air mall with Kroger at one end, Sears and Woolworth mid and Vandervoort's (department store) at the far end. Mid 60s an enclosed ad...
by rich
23 Jan 2024 14:09
Forum: History: USA Northeast
Topic: Acme locations in Upstate NY (1979-07-03)
Replies: 4
Views: 588

Re: Acme locations in Upstate NY (1979-07-03)

Interesting that they were mostly a small town operator by that point. No stores in Syracuse (maybe I'm missing some suburbs), but just a few in the Buffalo and Rochester areas. They also covered a lot of ground from Erie PA (where they never had more than a couple stores) to the "North Country...
by rich
23 Jan 2024 12:38
Forum: History: USA Mid-Atlantic
Topic: archives for "Giant" grocery store
Replies: 3
Views: 427

Re: archives for "Giant" grocery store

The Jewish Historical Society site looks like it's been hacked, but here is a summary of material they used to have online: https://parkviewdc.com/2011/10/26/history-of-giant-food-highlight-of-jewish-historical-societys-51st-annual-meeting/ I seem to recall that the Jewish Historical Society also ha...
by rich
21 Jan 2024 11:36
Forum: History: Drugstore Chains
Topic: What happened to drugstore lunch counters?
Replies: 12
Views: 1128

Re: What happened to drugstore lunch counters?

As I understand it, some of these drugstores did not have actual pharmacies, and the lunch counters were replaced by pharmacies. (There are some CVS stores that don't have pharmacies, though mostly in tourist locations). Walgreens does this too; I went to a store in Orlando near Disney last summer ...
by rich
15 Jan 2024 09:43
Forum: History: Miscellaneous and Not Region-Specific
Topic: "End of the line" supermarkets
Replies: 19
Views: 2070

Re: "End of the line" supermarkets

You could also make a case for Kmart Food, which really wasn't a leased department but a chain of supermarkets operated by different licensees around the country (ACF/Wrigley, Colonial/Big Star, miscellaneous wholesalers, etc.). Aside from the name, they were, as I understand it, pretty much comple...
by rich
14 Jan 2024 21:46
Forum: History: Miscellaneous and Not Region-Specific
Topic: "End of the line" supermarkets
Replies: 19
Views: 2070

Re: "End of the line" supermarkets

I should also mention that to Southeast, Florida Choice (owned by Kroger and eventually dismantled), The Family Mart (owned by A&P and eventually dismantled), and Big Star Markets (owned by Grand Union and eventually dismantled) should be added. Earth Fare refers to the original chain that clos...
by rich
11 Dec 2023 19:19
Forum: History: USA Northwest/Rockies/Alaska
Topic: Colorado Soupers and City Supers
Replies: 7
Views: 3033

Re: Colorado Soupers and City Supers

Copy cat names were not uncommon: Numerous "Big Bears" used the name of a pioneering NJ store (Ohio, Michigan, California come to mind). The same names often competed near each other Food Fair had to call itself Foodlane in DC because there already was a local Food Fair chain. In NE Ohio, ...
by rich
15 Jul 2023 22:47
Forum: History: USA Midwest/Plains
Topic: NEW: Springfield OH 1925-2020 (good one)
Replies: 1
Views: 1012

Re: NEW: Springfield OH 1925-2020 (good one)

I’m a little surprised that Marsh never went this far East. They had stores in nearby towns like Xenia for awhile and had some long running stores in the outer fringe areas of Cincinnati and Dayton. Maybe this was too large a market for them. Liberal was based in Dayton and a major player there as w...
by rich
09 Jul 2023 08:20
Forum: History: USA Northeast
Topic: Shop-Rite's discount dept. store division?
Replies: 7
Views: 1902

Re: Shop-Rite's discount dept. store division?

Uncle Bill's & Ontario shared a parent with Pick-n-Pay Fisher Foods owned Claber's Kohl's supermarkets and department stores originally had the same parent Farmer Jack (Borman) owned Yankee Drug store chains also got into diccount department stores, sometimes because they had leased departments ...
by rich
04 Jun 2023 18:52
Forum: History: Miscellaneous and Not Region-Specific
Topic: Kroger Family Centers
Replies: 126
Views: 87182

Re: Kroger Family Centers

Newspaper archives suggest that the Kroger opened about 1972, which was after the Family Center experiment more or less ended (I think) and was a couple of years before the first superstores. The first superstore opened in 1972 and they quickly built a lot of them. That was shortly after they exite...
by rich
25 May 2023 09:24
Forum: History: USA Northeast
Topic: NEW: Elizabeth NJ, 1925-1967
Replies: 1
Views: 1145

Re: NEW: Elizabeth NJ, 1925-1967

Big Bear had at least one location before the 40s: take a look at https://www.nj.com/galleries/EHWGU5QDZNCG5PVZJF6RIKX4WM/ and scroll down. It's an old warehouse on Newark Ave and fits the descriptions I've read of their original location. I've seen different dates for the opening--probably 1933. Th...
by rich
23 May 2023 20:39
Forum: History: USA Midwest/Plains
Topic: NEW: Bloomington IN 1929-2020
Replies: 2
Views: 833

Re: NEW: Bloomington IN 1929-2020

I lived there in the late 80s. Eisner was a downstate Illinois/Indiana subsidiary of Jewel from the 50s to the 80s; Jewel kept Bloomington and West Lafayette, renaming them Jewel, but sold the others in Indiana and much of downstate Illinois in the early 80s. There was a KMart Foods, probably 3175 E...
by rich
12 Mar 2023 19:19
Forum: History: Canada
Topic: Digitized annual reports
Replies: 4
Views: 1341

Re: Digitized annual reports

It's difficult to find information about Better Markets. Loblaw did add a small number of stores. Many chains wanted in on the growth in southern California--Kroger and Market Basket, Fisher Foods (Cleveland) and Shopping Bag, Acme and Alpha Beta, but only Acme was successful. Peter Schmitt was a wh...
by rich
01 Feb 2023 20:26
Forum: History: Miscellaneous and Not Region-Specific
Topic: If you could bring a defunct store back.....
Replies: 44
Views: 33369

Re: If you could bring a defunct store back.....

Having worked for one of K-Mart's better regional competition, I can tell you that you're missing something big: K-Mart's inexpensive, but often poor quality house brand merchandise, which was a long-term liability. It helped them live through the stagflation era of the 70s and 80s and it was margin...