Groceteria.com

I have found a reference to a "National Association of Food Chains" circa 1957. If anyone finds their newsletters or reports (assuming that any ever were produced), I'm sure that they contain a "gold mine" of information.

I learned about the "NAFC" from a reference to an "NAFC Good Citizenship" award. Chains in the "Western Area" included: Tradewell Stores of Seattle; Purity Stores of San Francisco; Safeway Stores of Oakland; Fitzsimmons Stores, Ltd. Of Los Angeles; Von’s Grocery Co of Los Angeles; Jim Dandy Markets Division of Lucky Stores, Inc., Los Angeles.

I have never heard of Tradewell, Fitzsimmons and Jim Dandy.

Jim Dandy rings a bell and I am not referring to just the song with that same name by Black Oak Arkansas. :)

I have definitely seen newspaper ads for Tradewell stores in some of my research, but without going back and looking I don't know if I could pin down a date range on these. I'll have to go back at some point and see if I can figure this out. I also seem to recall that these stores may have included Van de Kamp's bakeries.

Jim Dandy Markets...Ah brings back many happy memories. Jim Dandy acquired the four
Dollar Market stores located in Long Beach together with the five Jim Dandy Stores they
already had bringing their total to nine.
I started working for Jim Dandy #5 in Bell on Atlantic Blvd. in 1953 as a boxboy, checker
and stock clerk. In 1958 I was transferred to #11 in Lomita, Ca. located at Western and
Lomita Blvds. as a stock clerk. A year later I was transferred to the Redondo Beach store
on Pacific Coast Hwy. as the 3rd Man. I believe it was about this time that Jim Dandy was
acquired by Lucky Stores. I then became Assistant Manager of the new Lucky Store in
Norwalk on Pioneer Blvd. It was about this time that Lucky Stores acquired the five Hirams stores. I transferred to the Lucky-Hirams store in Long Beach as their assistant manager. The store managers name was David Main. And it was located at Palos Verde and Spring street. This was in or about 1960. Then in 1961 I was promoted to Store Manager in of all places Lomita #11. Later transferring again as store manager to the Lucky-Hirams store in the Lakewood Shopping Center in Lakewood. Love to talk with anyone about my experiences or theirs during this time.
Larry Corbett