Food Barn/Liquor Barn

Uh...California.

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javelin
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Food Barn/Liquor Barn

Post by javelin »

As a kid I thought these were odd names for stores, they seemed to be coming out of nowhere in Southern California in the early 80's. The earliest reference of Liquor Barn I can find is from 1979 (never was in one of course), and found it interesting that the same guy who started Liquor Barn for Safeway now owns Beverages and More (BevMo).

But no reference to Food Barn before 1984 and in the Midwest. I remember the stores looked cheap, usually older Safeways and even carried the same store brands and Safeway meat. They disappeared by the mid 80's.

Glad to see they've gone upscale with the Vons takeover. Seems the only place that says Vons is the sign outside. I rarely shop there, but they have a Starbucks and a Panda Express inside.

So when was Food Barn started? Before or after Liquor Barn? And where?
Jeff
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Post by Jeff »

Liquor Barn has all but disappeared too. Only one that I know of remains in Whittier.
Terry K
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Post by Terry K »

Food Barn was a Kansas City thing. If I can find it, I have a pic of one of their shopping carts, you all will get a kick out of, the one in question was a converted Safeway cart (complete with the S on it)
javelin
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Post by javelin »

Terry K wrote:Food Barn was a Kansas City thing. If I can find it, I have a pic of one of their shopping carts, you all will get a kick out of, the one in question was a converted Safeway cart (complete with the S on it)
Yeah, it had the "S" logo on the side had orange or brown handles. The whole store was orange and brown IIRC. But I remember one near L.A. though they were based in KC.
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Post by marshd1000 »

I believe that Food Barn was a Safeway attmept at a warehouse type store. In Bellingham, WA where I lived in the early 1980's, we had a fairly new Safeway Superstore that was converted into a Super Food Barn. And while the graphics on the inside of the store were changed some, the clerks still wore Safeway pins and there were still Safeway products. I believe that there may have also been one more of these stores in Washington in Snohomish.
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Groceteria
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Post by Groceteria »

Jeff wrote:Liquor Barn has all but disappeared too. Only one that I know of remains in Whittier.
Most of the Northern California locations eventually became BevMo stores. I think there may now be a new chain using this name; I saw a new store sporting the banner in Fresno about a year ago.
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storewanderer
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Post by storewanderer »

There is one in Redding.
Jeff
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Post by Jeff »

Groceteria wrote:
Jeff wrote:Liquor Barn has all but disappeared too. Only one that I know of remains in Whittier.
Most of the Northern California locations eventually became BevMo stores. I think there may now be a new chain using this name; I saw a new store sporting the banner in Fresno about a year ago.
The one in Whittier is still the old logo, old signage, and a huge parking lot.
Paper or Plastic
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Post by Paper or Plastic »

the one up here off of Auburn Blvd became a Russian church. ( Sacramento Ca. )
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Post by tkaye »

marshd1000 wrote:I believe that there may have also been one more of these stores in Washington in Snohomish.
The Safeway at 111 112th St. E., just east of Pacific Avenue in Parkland, was converted to the Super Food Barn format in the late '80s before being closed for good a couple of years later. After a spell as a second-hand store, it's now a West Coast Grocery Cash & Carry warehouse, but unfortunately they built a new facade last year obscuring the Marina arch.
TheQuestioner
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Post by TheQuestioner »

Groceteria wrote:
Jeff wrote:Liquor Barn has all but disappeared too. Only one that I know of remains in Whittier.
Most of the Northern California locations eventually became BevMo stores. I think there may now be a new chain using this name; I saw a new store sporting the banner in Fresno about a year ago.
Sounds like Food Barn was similar to Safeway's "Price Chopper" brand they used in the early 80's in the east coast. They took old Safeway locations and converted them to the Price Chopper format. They may have even said "Price Chopper Food Barn" on them, but it's been over 20 years so I can't recall.

Was the Drug Barn chain associated with Liquor Barn? In the Bay Area, there are two Drug Barn stores, in Colma and in Sunnyvale. The Colma Location is in the same center as a BevMo, so perhaps they were once a pair. Does Drug Barn still exist anywhere else? If it was associated with Liquor Barn, is it still owned by whoever owns BevMo?
crucial2

Post by crucial2 »

Where is the Liquor Barn in Whittier? I can't find mention of it in the yellow pages or online.
Jeff
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Post by Jeff »

crap, I'm thinking liquor mart.
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TheStranger
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Post by TheStranger »

TheQuestioner wrote: Was the Drug Barn chain associated with Liquor Barn? In the Bay Area, there are two Drug Barn stores, in Colma and in Sunnyvale. The Colma Location is in the same center as a BevMo, so perhaps they were once a pair.
Actually, no: the BevMo is in a building that once held the AMC theaters in Serra Center. (I remember going to a movie there about 13 or so years ago.)
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Daniel
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Post by Daniel »

And that Liquor Barn in Clovis is gone now, too. It originally took up all of the Payless Super Drug space, then they divided it in thirds with Liquor Barn only keeping the right hand side, with the disused Garden Center. That third is now empty, last being used as a Halloween Superstore.
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