Kroger superstore decor in Toni Basil's "Shoppin' From A to Z" video

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Andrew T.
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Kroger superstore decor in Toni Basil's "Shoppin' From A to Z" video

Post by Andrew T. »

I don't know how I didn't know about this before...but this is a fascinating link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdrYuki61FI

This is the music video for "Shoppin' From A to Z," Toni Basil's unsuccessful follow-up to "Mickey" in 1983. The song scraped the bottom reaches of the Top 100 (peaking at #77 in March 1983), and seems to be largely forgotten about today. I've never heard it on the radio. But not only was this a song about grocery shopping (hardly a large genre), but the music video was filmed in an actual supermarket...decked out in what surely looks to be Kroger superstore decor in 1970s gold-and-avocado glory!

All brand logos have been turned around or covered over, but I'd recognize this look anywhere. You see close-ups of the brick-style floor tiles and checkout stands, and broad shots of the produce section and the wooden pergolas hanging from the ceiling. If you squint a little around the 2:15 mark, you can even make out some of the cartoon-food signs on the back wall.

There are some details that look un-Krogerlike, such as terrazzo and 1960s-style floor-to-ceiling windows. Because of this and because Toni's US label and most video production services were on the West Coast, I have a hunch that this was actually filmed in a Market Basket store remodeled under Kroger ownership. Market Basket was in the midst of being shut down and sold off at the time this song and video came out, so it's quite possible that this store had just closed and was available as a filming location for this very reason.

I wonder if any other music videos were filmed inside supermarkets? Or if any other video footage of 1970s Kroger interiors exists?
"The pale pastels which have been featured in most food stores during the past 20 years are no longer in tune with the mood of the 1970s."
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Re: Kroger superstore decor in Toni Basil's "Shoppin' From A to Z" video

Post by klkla »

You could be right about the Market Basket connection. I remember the Market Basket at 3rd & Fairfax in Los Angeles had the same interior features as the store in that video. The main difference was the store front which was not glass at that particular Masket Basket.
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Re: Kroger superstore decor in Toni Basil's "Shoppin' From A to Z" video

Post by Groceteria »

Nicely spotted. I agree about the potential Market Basket connection. I often wondered if any of these stores has Kroger interiors, and apparently they did.
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Re: Kroger superstore decor in Toni Basil's "Shoppin' From A to Z" video

Post by terryinokc »

Just watched this....towards the end when she names grocery item names for each letter of the alphabet--it shows a meat department label...I think this is the same one that Kroger used to use on the fresh cut meat. The grocery bags had red printing on them...not seen a Kroger bag with red lettering but not sure what Market Basket had.
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