Smith's Food King in Socal--with store locations

Uh...California.

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rnaikens
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Re: Smith's Food King in Socal--with store locations

Post by rnaikens »

This one was disappointing. I took a picture in front of the former Smith's Food King in Indio last April. I see it burned down May 7th, 2015.

http://www.desertsun.com/story/news/201 ... /27025861/

It was a cool store back in 1984 when it first opened.

RIP
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Re: Smith's Food King in Socal--with store locations

Post by rnaikens »

From my April 2014 Palm Springs trip. This is a former Smith's Food King on Date Palm in Cathedral City CA. It isn't listed in a LA Times ad from January 1980 and must have been built shortly there after. It looks just like the the old Nellis Blvd (#374) Food King in Las Vegas.
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Re: Smith's Food King in Socal--with store locations

Post by rnaikens »

Former Smith's Food King at 1751 N Sunrise, Palm Springs. This World Gym building looks just like the 1977 era Smith's #371 that was at 95-Jones in Las Vegas before they remodeled it in 1986. Smith's Intercom newsletter said they opened a new Palm Springs store in 1977. The Albertson's next door, same address, looks like the old Green Valley-Henderson Smith's. Sadly, doing additional research, the Albertson's was built as a Lucky in 1996.
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Re: Smith's Food King in Socal--with store locations

Post by rnaikens »

The last two locations I visited was 73411 California 111, Palm Desert and 2400 N Palm Canyon. The first was being gutted and the second was torn down.

Out of Smith's 5 locations in the valley in 1984, it appears three are gone for good.
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Re: Smith's Food King in Socal--with store locations

Post by rnaikens »

I was able to spend a morning with the USU Dee Smith Special collection. Here's an article from the September 1971 company newsletter with the original 26 Southern California store locations I thought the board would find interesting.
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submariner
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Re: Smith's Food King in Socal--with store locations

Post by submariner »

rnaikens wrote:This one was disappointing. I took a picture in front of the former Smith's Food King in Indio last April. I see it burned down May 7th, 2015.

http://www.desertsun.com/story/news/201 ... /27025861/

It was a cool store back in 1984 when it first opened.

RIP
I was wondering what it was... I couldn't find anything online other than it'd been closed for a long time. Did they never find a second tenant?
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Re: Smith's Food King in Socal--with store locations

Post by Steve Landry »

This one: 73411 California 111, Palm Desert

was supposed to be a new Fresh Market but the company changed its mind about expanding any further in California.
The Food Fair Empire
rnaikens
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Re: Smith's Food King in Socal--with store locations

Post by rnaikens »

For submariner. When I drove by this store around 2002, it was closed. Where Cardenas is now was some type of Albertson's or Lucky's warehouse type store.
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Re: Smith's Food King in Socal--with store locations

Post by rnaikens »

Some of the moderators questions.

August 5th 1982, the LA Times has an article stating Smith's bought 6 Market Baskets (Palmdale, Lancaster, Newport Beach, Norwalk, Mission Hills and West Covina). Some were existing stores and some were under construction. In the November 1982 newsletter, Dee Smith welcomed new employees from Market Basket's in Costa Mesa and West Covina. He noted they were purchased on September 12, 1982. I believe the LA Times article incorrectly stated West Covina rather than Covina. The paragraph ends with, "This will make a total of ten new and acquired stores In California in 1982, and
Confirms our commitment to stay and grow in California."

The December 1982 newsletter says that on November 9th, 1982 the store in Covina opened. November 16th the Upland store opened. It is noted that the Director of Produce located this site. So this site wasn't part of the Market Basket acquisition. The Mission Hills store opened on December 2nd. It must have been under construction at the time of purchase. My brother worked for Lucky's at the Mission Hills store in 1997. He said it was a dump by then.

The October 1983 newsletter mentions three stores planned for California (Walnut, Rialto and Indio). A newsletter from early 1984 says that Indio opened on January 24, 1984. Walnut certainly opened around the same time. I don't think Rialto ever did. The Lucky's press release from 1984 said they also acquired two sites from Smith's. In speaking to the Commercial Agent that handles Sunrise Square Shopping Center in Palm Springs, she said the current Albertson's opened in 1984 as a Smith's Food King. I was likely the last new store to open before Dee Smith passed away.
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Re: Smith's Food King in Socal--with store locations

Post by rnaikens »

I thought this merchandising strategy of Smith's CA division in the mid 70's was interesting.
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Re: Smith's Food King in Socal--with store locations

Post by javelin »

Help me solve a question. According to fellow Downeyites, 10231 Lakewood, Downey CA used to be a Smith's Food King. I remember it as a Market Basket. It's now a Pep Boys. It was originally a Raisin's.
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Re: Smith's Food King in Socal--with store locations

Post by rnaikens »

Lakewood and Florence in Downey. You heard correctly!
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blivet
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Re: Smith's Food King in Socal--with store locations

Post by blivet »

runchadrun wrote: ***Santa Monica Bl at Westwood Bl, Westwood--The closest thing I can think of is the Ross on Westwood Blvd but I always thought that was an Alpha Beta. It is definitely not the Cost Plus, which was built in the mid 90's, and it's not the Bristol Farms, which is a former Westward Ho market.
http://local.live.com/default.aspx?v=2& ... ne=3581573
It's what is now the Ross on Westwood. I used to live in the area in the late 1970s/early 1980s, and shopped there once in a while.
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