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A&P stores in Maine in 1990s

Posted: 30 Oct 2016 16:41
by jamiel
Were there any A&P stores left in Maine in the 1990s? I spent a couple weeks in Bangor for work, and the off weekend took a drive out to New Brunswick, and vaguely recall one east of there which was a very ramshackle looking building (didn't seem to be a Centennial--was more like a general store which had been added onto multiple times). This would have been in the spring of 1993...curious if anyone knows.

Re: A&P stores in Maine in 1990s

Posted: 31 Oct 2016 12:20
by BillyGr
I do not know, but certainly a possibility, especially in one of the smaller towns. After all, we had one location here in NY until 1997 (in an area where most had closed a decade plus earlier) and a couple in the northern part of the state held on even longer.

Re: A&P stores in Maine in 1990s

Posted: 05 Jan 2021 18:41
by nysw3636
Here is a link to an Annual Report from THE GREAT ATLANTIC & PACIFIC TEA COMPANY, INC. showing stores as of February 26, 1994. It lists stores per state, but not actual locations. As of the date of this link, 2 stores were operating in Maine. I was curious myself, so looked it up...


http://getfilings.com/o0000043300-94-000011.html

Re: A&P stores in Maine in 1990s

Posted: 05 Jan 2021 20:42
by BillyGr
Look for the site of Calais alumni . org - Calais is a small town in Maine that fits the original poster's description (it is actually a small point of ME surrounded by New Brunswick on 3 sides), and would be a logical routing from Bangor into Canada as the poster suggested.

The site has some photos of an older store in Main St. and a later version (not 1990's, but maybe 1970's, based on the cars), so between knowing that they had an A&P even then, and the company's actions elsewhere keeping some of these small, isolated stores open, it wouldn't be surprising to see that being one of those two listed still in ME in 1994.

Re: A&P stores in Maine in 1990s

Posted: 06 Jan 2021 15:58
by nysw3636
BillyGr wrote: 05 Jan 2021 20:42 Look for the site of Calais alumni . org - Calais is a small town in Maine that fits the original poster's description (it is actually a small point of ME surrounded by New Brunswick on 3 sides), and would be a logical routing from Bangor into Canada as the poster suggested.

The site has some photos of an older store in Main St. and a later version (not 1990's, but maybe 1970's, based on the cars), so between knowing that they had an A&P even then, and the company's actions elsewhere keeping some of these small, isolated stores open, it wouldn't be surprising to see that being one of those two listed still in ME in 1994.
While doing some more research on this subject, I came across 5 stores that were still operating in Maine in 1989. This came from this message board under "A&P in New Hampshire". I'll post the link at the bottom. The 5 stores operating were Eastport, Greenville, Machias, Waterville, and Dover/Foxcroft. The only 2 that were east of Bangor were Machias and Eastport, with Eastport being on the New Brunswick border. I hope I didn't break any rules on this reply post.

https://www.groceteria.ca/board/viewtop ... =16&t=3302

Re: A&P stores in Maine in 1990s

Posted: 06 Jan 2021 16:16
by BillyGr
Glad you spotted that post. Looks like it could be either of those, all depending on what routing was taken fro Bangor (as one could access Eastport via the route that goes through the Calais area, or could go more towards Bar Harbor and pick up US 1 there to go north towards Eastport, which goes right through Machias as well).

Gets confusing with these posts from several years back, that you even forgot you replied to once (and apparently, with that NH post never saw the last reply to answer that one).

Re: A&P stores in Maine in 1990s

Posted: 19 Feb 2021 01:22
by the506
This IGA in Lubec ME (the most easterly town in the US) is also an obvious former A&P:

https://www.google.ca/maps/@44.8578382, ... 328!8i1664

Re: A&P stores in Maine in 1990s

Posted: 24 Dec 2023 20:20
by Max
nysw3636 wrote: 06 Jan 2021 15:58
BillyGr wrote: 05 Jan 2021 20:42 Look for the site of Calais alumni . org - Calais is a small town in Maine that fits the original poster's description (it is actually a small point of ME surrounded by New Brunswick on 3 sides), and would be a logical routing from Bangor into Canada as the poster suggested.

The site has some photos of an older store in Main St. and a later version (not 1990's, but maybe 1970's, based on the cars), so between knowing that they had an A&P even then, and the company's actions elsewhere keeping some of these small, isolated stores open, it wouldn't be surprising to see that being one of those two listed still in ME in 1994.
While doing some more research on this subject, I came across 5 stores that were still operating in Maine in 1989. This came from this message board under "A&P in New Hampshire". I'll post the link at the bottom. The 5 stores operating were Eastport, Greenville, Machias, Waterville, and Dover/Foxcroft. The only 2 that were east of Bangor were Machias and Eastport, with Eastport being on the New Brunswick border. I hope I didn't break any rules on this reply post.

https://www.groceteria.ca/board/viewtop ... =16&t=3302
After going to Newspapers.com, I ascertained that the last A&P store in Maine to close was the location in Machias, which shut its doors during the final week of January 1996. (I could not ascertain the specific closing date: A 1/6/96 article in The Bangor Daily News stated that the Machias A&P was scheduled to close on Jan. 26, while a 1/11/96 article in The Ellsworth American stated an upcoming closing date of Jan. 25.)

FYI, there is a photo of the Machias A&P in the 4/13/89 edition of The Bangor Daily News, although the picture only shows a portion of the supermarket. From the portion of the A&P that was visible in the photo, the store's exterior looked very unusual; in fact, the best way I can describe it is that it looked like the A&P was on the bottom level of a house. (On the upper level of the "house," there were windows and there was siding; the A&P oval/sunrise logo was placed in front of a portion of the siding.)
Were there any A&P stores left in Maine in the 1990s? I spent a couple weeks in Bangor for work, and the off weekend took a drive out to New Brunswick, and vaguely recall one east of there which was a very ramshackle looking building (didn't seem to be a Centennial--was more like a general store which had been added onto multiple times). This would have been in the spring of 1993...curious if anyone knows.
The A&P store that the above poster described most likely was the aforementioned Machias location, since (1) this description seems to correspond to my prior description of the supermarket's exterior appearance, (2) the town of Machias is to the east of Bangor, and (3) the Machias A&P was still open in 1993.

Re: A&P stores in Maine in 1990s

Posted: 25 Dec 2023 00:35
by Groceteria
Max wrote: 24 Dec 2023 20:20 From the portion of the A&P that was visible in the photo, the store's exterior looked very unusual; in fact, the best way I can describe it is that it looked like the A&P was on the bottom level of a house. (On the upper level of the "house," there were windows and there was siding; the A&P oval/sunrise logo was placed in front of a portion of the siding.)

Not really unusual for an A&P that opened before, say, the late 1940s (or maybe even a bit later in a small town in New England). They were often located on the ground floor of two- or three-story urban buildings. What's unusual, though, is that any of these lasted into the 1990s. Most would have closed twenty it thirty years or more before. Interesting find! (I assume the attached photo is the one you mean.)

The_Bangor_Daily_News_Thu__Apr_13__1989_.jpg

Re: A&P stores in Maine in 1990s

Posted: 25 Dec 2023 00:54
by Groceteria
I'm almost positive that this building (torn down sometime between 2011 and 2019 per Google Street View) would have been the location.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/U8sRzZN9hTn1hw7n8

Screen Shot 2023-12-24 at 11.52.09 PM.jpg

Re: A&P stores in Maine in 1990s

Posted: 26 Dec 2023 00:43
by Max
Groceteria wrote: 25 Dec 2023 00:35
Max wrote: 24 Dec 2023 20:20 From the portion of the A&P that was visible in the photo, the store's exterior looked very unusual; in fact, the best way I can describe it is that it looked like the A&P was on the bottom level of a house. (On the upper level of the "house," there were windows and there was siding; the A&P oval/sunrise logo was placed in front of a portion of the siding.)

Not really unusual for an A&P that opened before, say, the late 1940s (or maybe even a bit later in a small town in New England). They were often located on the ground floor of two- or three-story urban buildings. What's unusual, though, is that any of these lasted into the 1990s. Most would have closed twenty it thirty years or more before. Interesting find! (I assume the attached photo is the one you mean.)


The_Bangor_Daily_News_Thu__Apr_13__1989_.jpg
I did not realize that you could share and upload clippings from Newspapers.com. It is awesome that one can do that. As you suspected, the photo you attached to your post was indeed the one I was referring to.

Thanks very much for sharing your insights regarding this particular A&P location. I too am virtually certain that the (former) building shown in the Google Street View was the Machias A&P.

Re: A&P stores in Maine in 1990s

Posted: 30 Dec 2023 10:26
by jleyerle
Original poster....yeah that was likely it...just a weird space all around.

Thanks for the detailed information! Looks like that store and French Quarter LA were the two weird final locations (not in NYC)

Re: A&P stores in Maine in 1990s

Posted: 30 Dec 2023 15:34
by BillyGr
jleyerle wrote: 30 Dec 2023 10:26 Original poster....yeah that was likely it...just a weird space all around.

Thanks for the detailed information! Looks like that store and French Quarter LA were the two weird final locations (not in NYC)
Seems to make sense, given that the town is small (still shows population around 2,000) and somewhat remote area. They did keep stores in a few similar areas long after they had left most other stores (for instance the one in Margaretville, NY, that was the last one outside their "main" areas, being at least an hour's drive from the next closest store when it was last open, or a couple in small towns in the Adirondacks that made it through to 2000 when most north of Dutchess County had closed a decade or more earlier).

Those stores I reference looked more like A&P, but still older designs (the Centennial or other similar designs near that timeframe) and they kept them but never updated them (save adding the sunrise logos if they were built prior to that, which they still had upon closing)- this being such a small area this odd store was probably enough for the people that went there.

Re: A&P stores in Maine in 1990s

Posted: 31 Dec 2023 18:06
by Groceteria
jleyerle wrote: 30 Dec 2023 10:26Thanks for the detailed information! Looks like that store and French Quarter LA were the two weird final locations (not in NYC)
Just FYI, the 93-year-old Royal Street (French Quarter) store is sill plugging along as a Rouses. I was just there last week. It almost feels even smaller now than when it was still A&P, but I'm sure it's just me.