Groceteria.com

If anyone is passing by Weirton, WV there is an old Kroger on Main Street about a mile off the Route 22 Main Street exit. Store is still operating and looks as thought the interior has not been updated since the late 70's. As soon as I get my photos developed (still shoot film) I will post a photo of the exterior.

This is a really cool store and has been featured on the site before (not that I wouldn't love to see more pictures). The interior signage actually dates from within the past ten years, though, and is fairly current, despite the size and layout.

Exterior photo:
http://www.groceteria.com/kroger/galler ... age23.html

Interior photo:

Thanks. My exterior photo would be the same as the link above . I did a search for Weirton Kroger here and nothing popped up.

We were through there a couple of years ago. This Kroger looks like it belongs there. If you come in from the northern part of the WV panhandle, you have to drive through the guts of a steel mill to immediately come out into the downtown area. this Kroger is just beyond downtown Weirton. I thought it was the only store in town, so that's why it was still open. Driving east toward Pittsburg on US 22 just before you are funneled onto I-30, there is another, much-newer new Kroger surprisingly close by. That picture makes the store look bigger than it really is. There is an old residential area both behind the Kroger, and across the street behind the main business streets. It looks like the kind of neighborhood with a loyal customer base.

Not too far north of Weirton is a strange Big Bear. This store looks as if it took over a local grocer and exists in a corrugated metal building turned sideways from the road.

A real oldie. I don't think I've ever seen a Kroger with tile facing. Usually Kroger used red or tan brick with nothing over it. The one chain that adopted tile in a big way was Jewel, which was no where nearby, and the blue edging is definitely Kroger. Kroger has used variations on blue signage since at least the late 40s, although some stores used red rather than blue neon lights during the mid-50s. White with blue piping sometimes was used in the late 50s to mid 60s. The store probably dates back to the mid-50s.

Another notable store in Weirton--there should be a former Loblaw on Rt 22. It was one of a very few combo food-drug units (Kare drug was their brand) in the Youngstown division and it was one of a small number of these stores that stocked ready to wear clothing. Loblaw's parent, National Tea made very little investment in the Youngstown-Pittsburgh region during the 60s and early 70s, but somehow Weirton warranted an experimental store.

This is an old thread...but for the sake of interest, I'd like to update it with some bits of information I've uncovered.

First, a date: The store opened on June 5, 1956.

Second, here are photos of the store that appeared in local newspaper ads of that period. Judging from this, the store originally had neon silhouette letters mounted atop the walkway canopy, and a vertical street-facing sign similar to this in front. The porcelain enamel tile is original. And third: The store is still open today! Judging by Google, the tile has been painted beige for reasons unknown and the signage has been updated yet again, but the store exterior still substantially reflects its original appearance. And 60 years in the same building is quite an accomplishment for any grocery store.

And this store closed in August, 2020. We drove through Weirton returning from a Labor Day weekend in Pittsburgh, and the store had literally closed the week before.

And this store closed in August, 2020. We drove through Weirton returning from a Labor Day weekend in Pittsburgh, and the store had literally closed the week before.

jleyerle wrote: ↑21 Dec 2020 22:36 And this store closed in August, 2020. We drove through Weirton returning from a Labor Day weekend in Pittsburgh, and the store had literally closed the week before.

Sigh...