Michael's Market Orange CA

Uh...California.

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OCRedCub
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Joined: 30 Aug 2006 01:29

Michael's Market Orange CA

Post by OCRedCub »

I check in pretty often on a blog about local history in Orange County, CA. This week, the author posted some photos from the "Prospect Plaza" shopping center in the city of Orange, on the southeast corner of Chapman and Prospect Avenues.
The 1966 photos (which you can see in greater detail by clicking on each) show a store I've never heard of - Michael's Market. One commenter says there was at least one other location a few miles away in Placentia.
Take a look here: http://ochistorical.blogspot.com/2008/0 ... -park.html
What bargains - Pork n Beans for 19 cents! And Fryers for 29 c/lb!!!
Does anybody have more information on this small local chain?
wayne winterland jr.
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Re: Michael's Market Orange CA

Post by wayne winterland jr. »

I was wondering if anyone remembers Michael's Markets which started with their first store in Orange, Calif. on Tustin Ave. This small grocery chain was started by a man named Joe Goodnight who used to work for Alpha Beta Markets in Calif. before starting his own grocery store business. He named his stores after his son who was named Michael thus the name Michael's Markets. I one thing that i especially remember was in the way of service. In those days the checkstands were the turnstyle type where the customers put their groceries on the turnstyle but at Michael's Markets they had a box boy (or bag boy or clerks helper) standing in front of the checkstands to unload the customers groceries and put them on the turnstyle to be checked out.
This was kind of a forerunner to the type of checkout system where the cashier takes the customers purchases out of the shopping basket and rings them up. It was a nice touch in those days.
At the time that Michael's Markets started business I was working for Alpha Beta Markets and worked just down the street from one of the Michael's Markets on the east side of Orange, Calif. and every time that
Alpha Beta's weekly ad came out it was always suspicious that Michael's Markets would have several of the same exact items on their ad at a lower advertised price. It doesn't take a genius to figure out how that happened. It was most likely that Joe Goodnight still had friends at the Alpha Beta Main Office who no doubtedly gave him a copy of Alpha Beta's Ad for the upcoming week so he could pick which items he would advertise at a lower price than Alpha Beta's ad. I have to give Joe Goodnight credit for doing his homework and trying to undercut his competitors prices and it wouldn't have been nearly so easy to do if Alpha Beta Markets had treated their employees a lot better than they did. I believe that in those days Joe Goodnight got some of his financing to start his business from the Challenge Dairy Company as they and other product companies as well offered some financiang to people wanting to start their own grocery stores and why not because that way they would most likely be assured of having their products carried in those stores. I know that in those days my father was offered the opportunity to start his own grocery store and the backing would have come from people he knew at the Foremost Dairy Company.
Let me know if anyone remembers this small grocery company.

thanks, Wayne Winterland Jr.
wayne winterland jr.
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Re: Michael's Market Orange CA

Post by wayne winterland jr. »

I also remember that Michael's Markets at one time in an effort to become larger bought a small grocery store chain called Smith's Markets (this Smith's had nothing to do with the Smith's Food King or any other close named grocery store chains. I can remember driving on the highway to Corona and just as I got to Corona I saw a Michael's Market on the right side of the road and then when I went west on the road to Norco I also found one of the Smiths Markets and another one in Perris. This was just about the time that Michael's Markets was in the process of acquiring Smith's Markets.

I'm sure that Michael's Markets liked the town of Orange because they had 3 stores in the town. The one at East Chapman and Prospect Ave, another on North Tustin Ave which was the first store that Michael's Markets opened and another store on North Main St. just south of West Chapman Ave.

If you had ever been in the small Alpha Beta #10 Store during the 19 1/2 years before Alpha Beta Stores finally closed that store you may have met my dad who was the store manager and his name was Wayne and the small Alpha Beta Market in downtown Orange located at 178 South Glassell since my dad opened that store and worked there until about 6 months before he transferred to the Alpha Beta #128 Store in Leisure World, Laguna Hills.

I hope that some of the information that I've given you about Michael's Markets was some help.

Sincerely , Wayne
Last edited by wayne winterland jr. on 01 May 2008 01:33, edited 2 times in total.
wayne winterland jr.
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Re: Michael's Market Orange CA

Post by wayne winterland jr. »

The location of Michael's Market on Main St. in Orange, California should have read that it was located on Main St. just south of West Chapman Ave. sorry that I listed it in my e-mail in error.
Jack
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Joined: 08 Sep 2009 18:07

Re: Michael's Market Orange CA

Post by Jack »

wayne winterland jr. wrote: I can remember driving on the highway to Corona and just as I got to Corona I saw a Michael's Market on the right side of the road
Yes, there was a Michael's Market on West Sixth Street in Corona. It would have been on the right-hand side of the road if you were driving in from Orange County.

There was another Michael's in Corona at the intersection of North Main Street and Parkridge Avenue. There weren't many other businesses nearby, although I do recall a small hamburger stand named Hamburger Jubilee located at the far side of the Michael's parking lot.

I can remember shopping in the Parkridge Avenue Michael's store as a little kid, but I don't know exactly when both of the Michael's stores in Corona closed down -- I'm guessing that it was 1969 or 1970.
Larcor
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Posts: 13
Joined: 15 Jun 2011 17:16

Re: Michael's Market Orange CA

Post by Larcor »

OCRedCub wrote:I check in pretty often on a blog about local history in Orange County, CA. This week, the author posted some photos from the "Prospect Plaza" shopping center in the city of Orange, on the southeast corner of Chapman and Prospect Avenues.
The 1966 photos (which you can see in greater detail by clicking on each) show a store I've never heard of - Michael's Market. One commenter says there was at least one other location a few miles away in Placentia.
Take a look here: http://ochistorical.blogspot.com/2008/0 ... -park.html
What bargains - Pork n Beans for 19 cents! And Fryers for 29 c/lb!!!
Does anybody have more information on this small local chain?
OCRedCub,

Thanks for the link showing a picture of Michael's Market #2. I worked there 48 years ago. Brings back alot of great memories.

Larry Corbett
swede917

Re: Michael's Market Orange CA

Post by swede917 »

My father Vern Sandstrom worked for Michael's Markets, he was the Manager of the Meat & Deli Dept for all the stores. His office was at the main distribution warehouse for Michael's at 1148 N. Lemon St in Orange, this is a fork lift rental / parts center now. Michael's main office (no longer there) was on the corner of Katella and Batavia 1220 N. Batavia also in Orange. There were markets in Orange at 3400 E. Chapman, 330 S. Main, 764 N. Tustin and one listed at 303 E. Grove though I don’t remember a store at that location. My brother worked at the store in Anaheim on Lincoln at State Collage and the store on the corner of Ball and Beach in Stanton. Spent a lot of time with my dad going to the different stores, he always had a company car usually a Ford station wagon with the fake wood sides. There were stores in Placentia on Palm Dr, one in Corona, one on Alessandro Blvd. in Riverside and maybe one in Hemet. Remember him speaking of Joe Goodnight, he also worked with and was in partners on some rental properties with Dave Chavez.

Great to hear everyone’s stories.

Steve
Larcor
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Re: Michael's Market Orange CA

Post by Larcor »

Hi Steve,

I remembered your father Vern very well as we both worked for Michael's Markets at the same time. He was well liked and respected at Michael's and was a good friend of Joe Goodnight. As you know the company had service meat departments, on his visits to the stores if customers were waiting for help at the meat counters it was common for him to take off his sport coat and put on a white apron and help the butchers behind the counter even though he was the overall meat supervisor. I also remember the station wagon company cars that all of the supervisors had. It was common for supervisors to pick-up and deliver any items that stores were out of, hence the need for station wagons.

We possibly crossed paths way back then, as I opened the store at Beach & Ball as the store manager and your Dad was a frequent visitor. Your Dad also hired my meat department manager. His name was John Nelson and was one of the finest men I have ever meet.

Larry Corbett
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