Food Fair/Pantry Pride: How did they fall (esp in Phila)

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u-save
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Food Fair/Pantry Pride: How did they fall (esp in Phila)

Post by u-save »

This subject has proababy been thrown around before, but I'm still unsure
what caused Food Fair's initial 1978 bankruptcy, and it's sudden exodus from its' Philadephia "home" division It seems that they were doing everything right, l mean according to the penn fruit article on the site, PP/FF actually gained market share and bought 17 of the best PennFruits.
Was it unions, outdated sites bad periphiral investments?
Steve Landry
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Post by Steve Landry »

Catastrophic corruption, nepotism, accounting methods, etc.

The GIANT company that was diversified more than anyone knew (in and out of the industry) was headed for a meltdown. The grocery store part of the company was the only division feeding profits to corporate.

For years and years their innovative stores were bled dry to feed so many other divisions (J.M.Fields, Ideal Shoe Stores and several drug store, gas station, and various other divisions that were run by relatives). The Friedlands even diversified into major hotels, resorts, gigantic land (community) developements (they "found" Palm Beach in Florida) and far away retail in Israel.

Their 2 efforts for a comeback were doomed from the get go. No one in the industry "liked" Food Fair nor anything connected to it. So, however successful Pantry Pride or Pantry Pride Food Emporium was and could be, would be short lived. You need money to make money. Credit extensions, like "water" was what the company starved for. Even with NEW people at the helm (non relatives), it seemed too late.

It was amazing to see how the arrogance of the (specifically the younger, like Jack) Friedlands could have such a long lasting effect, way after their departure.

Food Fair was an extremely powerful company who liked to go it alone in all they did. Of the top 5 retailers in their day, no one was as "young" as Food Fair. Their "rise" was precedent setting. Their ability to develop independent (no relatives) allies was bankrupt.

A bit verbose here, I could go on with loads of details....but I wont ;)

I guess this may explain why I am so intrigued with this company. So powerful, so ahead of their time (though never given credit for it), so much potential, so many assets........so much effort to keep alive and yet.......gone.....hardly a trace or mention......scant historical data.......and very little "interest" out there :)

Somewhere in Revlon.......there is some Pantry Pride (Food Fair) left....lol
The Food Fair Empire
Transit Road
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Post by Transit Road »

I am amazed at the amount of former Food Fair/Pantry Pride stores still standing in the Baltimore/Washington area. When I had first moved to the area many years ago, I would see many smaller, supermarket sized buildings with the tall pylon attached to the building and the top of the pylon denuded of the brick that was clearly visible on the rest of the pylon. (It turns out that this is the site where the Food Fair logo resided on the pylon) Since the pylon brickwork matched the building's brickwork, I knew that all of these locations that I was seeing around the area were somehow related.

Over the years, and though message boards like this one, I have been able to deduce that many, if not all, of these buildings are former Food Fair/Pantry Pride stores. They seemed to follow the population trends in the area. Inside the Baltimore Beltway (I-685), as the population moved out of the urban core, stores must have popped up in the newly developing areas. As you follow the major roads out of town - Liberty Road (MD 26), Reisterstown Road (MD 140, former US 140), York Road (MD 45), Harford Road (MD 147), and Belair Road (US 1), you can see still standing examples of the stores. Yes, some have been converted to other uses - auto parts stores, independent grocery stores, clothing stores, drug stores, plus a few Mars Supermarkets (Randallstown and Dundalk), while others are heavily remodeled and unrecoginizable unless you saw the demolition crews removing one facade to reveal the old Pantry Pride logo underneath - this happened at both the former locations at Perring Plaza Loch Raven Boulevared and Joppa Road (next to a former Korvette's location) and at the former Perry Hall Shopping Center location

From what I understand, there is also a connection to Twin Fair Discount Stores - Macandrews and Forbes had also purchased Twin Fair for their real estate holdings in the early 1980's and the chain was also liquidated.

Since this topic intrigues me also, please continue with any details there may be. I would be interested in finding out more about this organization.

The funny thing about this chain is that I had never heard of it until it had been closed down and liquidated.
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Groceteria
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Post by Groceteria »

Steve Landry wrote:A bit verbose here, I could go on with loads of details....but I wont ;)
Actually, we'd all probably love it if you would :)
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