Groceteria.com

There already was a "GEM" chain in various Eastern markets, which operated as a membership discount store. True. And the "Mem" in Memco tied into the membership department store concept. <<<Edited by moderator to properly frame quoted material. Please read this post for info on ...

Dean: There was a Cornet in Morro Bay. I think it was in a center with Williams Bros. Market and Thrifty Drug. The Williams Bros. is now Vons, and Thrifty is Rite-Aid. The Safeway (gable) was closed in the early 80's, became a Payless Durg, and was then demolished for a new center with Albertson's a...

Dean: I will have to ressearch that when I have some time. That building looked old when I was a kid. I always thought it was haunted!

I have heard that the Central Coast Young's were operated by different members of the same extended family. I had forgotten that Young's also had a store in Arroyo Grande which they sold to Williams Bros. along with the Broad St. store in San Luis Obispo. The Arroyo Grande store was closed and torn ...

Payless did not demolish the 1950's era Safeway/Vons at this location, but remodeled the building to move the facade from Marsh St to Johnson Avenue. This was done in response to the neighborhood outcry over the loss of the only remaining supermarket in the downtown area. Scolari's of California the...

Spencer's Morro Bay was a Young's Giant Foods originally. It was never a Coronet. You might be thinking of the center in Atascadero, off Highway 101, which housed a Safeway, Coronet and Thrifty Drug. Young's also had an identical store in San Luis Obispo on South Broad Street, which was sold to Will...

The Lucky facility was at 6565 Knott Ave., Buena Park. It served as a divisional office and distribution center for Luicky and Gemco. Up until around 1980, Grocery, Meat/Deli, Frozen, Produce, Liquor, General Merchandise and HBC was distributed out of Buena Park. The facility also contained a meat p...

1919 Fulton Avenue, Sacramento was Gemco #531.

J-Mac: You are correct. The first Fullerton store at 4100 N. Harbor, the second (#541) was at 2920 Yorba Linda Blvd. I would guess the second store was about 10 years later. I have a list of Gemcos and Lucky Stores from 1986, including all CA, AZ and NV stores. One of these days, I will try to post ...

I remember Granada Hills. It was the 13th Gemco, #514 (there was no #513). The next stores in the LA area were Glendora (#515), Fullerton (#516) and Woodland Hills (#519). Two were opened in No. California around the same time, Sacramento (#517) and Stockton (#518). Woodland Hills was still operatin...

The Durate store (Gemco #821/Lucky #676) was the last Gemco built or opened in October, 1985. It was closed following the announcement October 9, 1986 that all Gemco's would be closed.

I can remember my Grandmother buying Lady Lee milk at Lucky in the mid sixties.

I think that most of the stores not listed in the Smith's 1972 ad but listed in the 1984 Lucky ad from runchadrun's post were former Market Basket locations Smith's aquired around 1983 when Market Basket left SoCal. I know this is true of Norwalk and Newport Beach.

runchadrun:
if you post you list I can compare it to my 1986 list

To the best of my memory, Lucky aquired 34 Smith's in 1984. I have a list of Lucky South stores from early 1986, which lists 33 stores, plus one closed in Santa Barbara prior to 1986 in Santa Barbara (Milpas St).