Dale's Markets, San Fernando Valley, 1984

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runchadrun
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Dale's Markets, San Fernando Valley, 1984

Post by runchadrun »

Dale's was a chain off 11 stores in the San Fernando Valley that was bought out by Lucky in March, 1984. Their first store opened in Glendale in 1929. The buyout took place a few days after Thriftimart sold most of their stores to Safeway. Lucky closed 10 of the stores for inventory and conversion later that month. The 11th store was the Sherman Oaks store, which had already been sold to the USPS to become a post office. The company sold the supermarkets but kept their Dale's Jr convenience/corner stores but those have all (or I think all) changed names over the last 4-5 years.
Image Image
Below are the locations. Interestingly only (edit) two of the locations is an Albertsons today.

**Edits! I corrected the information on the Granada Hills and Sun Valley stores and added the 18555 Devonshire and 18300 Vanowen stores.**

18555 Devonshire, Northridge--Albertsons. From the ground level it has a very cool brick mid-70's look to it.
http://local.live.com/default.aspx?v=2& ... ne=6707419
Here is a picture of the exterior that I took 4 years ago when they were remodeling the shopping center and was afraid they would also remodel the Albertsons, which they didn't do. It still looks like this today.
http://homepage.mac.com/runchadrun/groc ... hridge.jpg

10859 Oxnard, North Hollywood--Vallarta Market
http://local.live.com/default.aspx?v=2& ... ne=6779603

19611 Parthenia, Northridge--Office Depot. This store has a very cool architecture with blue tiles all over. This is the store that I was researching that led me to learn about Dale's.
http://local.live.com/default.aspx?v=2& ... ne=6730300

9772 Laurel Canyon, Pacoima--This is a closed Hispanic market that's in really bad shape. It appears open in the pictures but the last time I was over there it was closed.
http://local.live.com/default.aspx?v=2& ... ne=3142291

14530 Nordhoff, Panorama City--Kragen Auto Parts
http://local.live.com/default.aspx?v=2& ... ne=3124385

8231 Woodman, Panorama City--Seafood City Supermarket
http://local.live.com/default.aspx?v=2& ... ne=6742776

19301 Saticoy, Reseda--Albertsons
http://local.live.com/default.aspx?v=2& ... ne=3102576

18300 Vanowen, Reseda--Ralphs
http://local.live.com/default.aspx?v=2& ... ne=3112394

14900 Magnolia, Sherman Oaks--Post office (new build)
http://local.live.com/default.aspx?v=2& ... ne=3352762

6821 Lennox Ave, Van Nuys--Some kind of office building
http://local.live.com/default.aspx?v=2& ... ne=6761893

17625 Sherman Way, Van Nuys--Asian market
http://local.live.com/default.aspx?v=2& ... ne=3131693

***Corrections to my original post: These were NOT stores as of the 1984 Lucky buyout.***

16210 Devonshire, Granada Hills--Smart & Final. ***This store became a Liquor Barn sometime in 1983***
http://local.live.com/default.aspx?v=2& ... ne=2993833

8523 Lankershim, Sun Valley ***Not a Dale's as of the Lucky buyout. Dale's was based in Sun Valley so this could have been their warehouse/offices***
http://local.live.com/default.aspx?v=2& ... ne=6743085
Last edited by runchadrun on 13 Nov 2006 20:43, edited 2 times in total.
klkla
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Post by klkla »

Most of these locations were viable as grocery stores and a few that are closed had even been remodeled by Lucky. It's amazing how Albertson's screwed up so badly in California.

I also remember that store in Northridge. Very cool retro architecture and the store was a huge success for Dales and is located in a very affluent area.
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Post by TheStranger »

klkla wrote:Most of these locations were viable as grocery stores and a few that are closed had even been remodeled by Lucky. It's amazing how Albertson's screwed up so badly in California.
I wonder how many of these locations were still part of Lucky though by the time of the 1999 merger.
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Post by runchadrun »

This was probably a Lucky screwup instead of Albertsons. The deal came a few days after Safeway bought 23 Thrifitmarts and my guess is that Lucky didn't want to fall behind. They already missed out in the Market Basket deal 2 years before. In reality, most of the Dale's were small and it's not surprising that only 4 are operating as supermarkets today (plus the Smart & Final which is small).

I don't think the Thrifitmart deal worked out for Safeway like they wanted to either. How many of those Thriftimarts are operating as Vons today? (That's a rhetorical question though I'm sure someone knows.)
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Post by mgrmk »

runchadrun wrote:16210 Devonshire, Granada Hills--Smart & Final. I always thought that this was a Thriftimart. The conversion to Lucky wouldn't have lasted long since the former Smith's Food King in Granada Hills is a mile to the north at San Fernando Mission and Woodley and became a Lucky in October, 1984.
This exact location was a Thriftmart, Dale's was further west on Devonshire, on the Northwest corner of Devonshire and Reseda in a large shopping center that also had an Oshman's sporting goods and Ole's Home Center and later REI.
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Post by runchadrun »

mgrmk wrote:This exact location was a Thriftmart, Dale's was further west on Devonshire, on the Northwest corner of Devonshire and Reseda in a large shopping center that also had an Oshman's sporting goods and Ole's Home Center and later REI.
It looks like they were both Dale's. The store at 16210 Devonshire became a Liquor Barn sometime between April 1982 (the last Dale's ad I see them listed) and January 1983 (the first Liquor Barn ad). I doubt it was ever a Thrifitmart. There was a Thriftimart at Chatsworth and Zelzah, my guess is it was where TJ Maxx is now.

18555 Devonshire at Reseda was the store that Lucky got, and it's an Albertsons today. It's another store with very 1970's architecture. They have rebuilt and remodeled the entire shopping center in the last 3-4 years but fortunately this store has remained untouched.

I'll make the corrections in the above store listing.
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Post by greebs »

The Ralphs in Reseda is a new building. It may be on the site of the old Dales, but this store was built in 1997 or early 1998.
DuBois

Dale's

Post by DuBois »

I worked at Dales for 9 years...from 1972 to 1981. It was started by two brothers, Barney and David Dale. Barney retired just before I started. David was a high-profile President, continually visiting the stores. I worked at several of the stores including the Dale's Jr. Markets. I left L.A. in 1981. As far as I know, David's son's (Steve and David Jr.) were running the Jr. Markets after they sold the supermarkets to Lucky. David Jr. was a friend of mine and great guy. I have no idea what happened to both Steve and Dave Jr. David Sr. passed away a few years ago.

I worked while going to high school and college. I have very, very fond memories of my days at Dale's, even though at the time I thought of it as slavery. What did I know? The "Supervisors" could be intimidating at times and you knew the ones to stay away from. Several of my best friends in life, I met at Dale's. When I visit the valley, sometimes I'll drive past an old Dale's or Dale's Jr. and I'll see suttle rememberances...like an old sign or marqee. Looking back fondly, it was a great place to work.
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Re: Dale's Markets, San Fernando Valley, 1984

Post by runchadrun »

Jeff
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Re: Dale's Markets, San Fernando Valley, 1984

Post by Jeff »

Was the tiles originally blue, Chad? Or were they painted over the years.
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Re: Dale's Markets, San Fernando Valley, 1984

Post by runchadrun »

Jeff wrote:Was the tiles originally blue, Chad? Or were they painted over the years.
I don't know. On the inside of the store the tiles have been painted beige. The color is less important to me than the fact that they still exist :)
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Re: Dale's Markets, San Fernando Valley, 1984

Post by ValleyGuy »

Glad I found this thread. I worked at Dale's while a senior in high school, 1978-79. A few thoughts:
  • The store at Devonshire and Reseda was Store #31, considered the "flagship" of the chain. David Dale (Sr.) personally shopped there each Sunday morning, as he lived in Granada Hills.
    I remember going to the grand opening of the shopping center as a child, probably around 1969 or '70. The center ended at the Dales, and had a drug store called Guild Drug to the east. The usual strip mall stores were in between. Out at the far reaches of the parking lot were a huge Exxon station (now a Mobil) and a Bob's Big Boy (now a Carrows).
    In the front corner of the store there was an independently-run bakery.
    Of the chain, store #2 in Pacoima was a bit of a dump, often referred to as "Two the Zoo" due to high theft rates, a rather run-down building, and a generally down-scale clientele. The dented cans and damaged packages were collected from our store in a bin and sent there to be sold at a discount
    Supposedly, when David Dale was negotiating the sale of the chain to Lucky Stores, he wanted to keep #31 and run it as a one-off. That obviously didn't happen, as Lucky really wanted that Northridge store and its demographic of customers.
Generally, a really fun place to work. If any other former Dale's employees want to chime in, feel free.
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Re: Dale's Markets, San Fernando Valley, 1984

Post by TheStranger »

ValleyGuy wrote:Glad I found this thread. I worked at Dale's while a senior in high school, 1978-79. A few thoughts:
  • The store at Devonshire and Reseda was Store #31, considered the "flagship" of the chain. David Dale (Sr.) personally shopped there each Sunday morning, as he lived in Granada Hills.
When did this store become the Korean-oriented Galleria Market that is there today? (It was Albertsons when this thread was started)

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Resed ... c9!6m1!1e1
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Re: Dale's Markets, San Fernando Valley, 1984

Post by klkla »

If I'm not mistaken the Galleria market is where Ralphs used to be. The former Dales/Albertson's is now a Smart & Final Extra located to the north of that intersection.
ValleyGuy

Re: Dale's Markets, San Fernando Valley, 1984

Post by ValleyGuy »

TheStranger wrote:
ValleyGuy wrote:Glad I found this thread. I worked at Dale's while a senior in high school, 1978-79. A few thoughts:
  • The store at Devonshire and Reseda was Store #31, considered the "flagship" of the chain. David Dale (Sr.) personally shopped there each Sunday morning, as he lived in Granada Hills.
When did this store become the Korean-oriented Galleria Market that is there today? (It was Albertsons when this thread was started)

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Resed ... c9!6m1!1e1
As the other poster noted, the store at the southwest corner of Devonshire and Reseda was built as a Ralphs (around 1977) after a Zodys discount store that had been on that site for many years had been torn down. It was some kind of prototype for a larger and/or more upscale Ralphs market with the sub-name of Villa Grande. I guess that must have eventually morphed into the Fresh Fare sub-brand, as I don't recall any others. It was closed and the building turned into the Korean-themed market sometime in the 1990s, due to shifting demographics of the area. There is also now a large Ralphs up off Rinaldi west of Tampa, so maybe that was in the works already and replaced this location for Ralphs.

The Dales (then Lucky, then Albertsons, and now Smart and Final) was built new on the northwest corner around 1970, along with the first phase of the shopping center. It originally ended at Dales, but a few years later other stores were added, with Ole's home improvement store (becoming Builders Emporium in the early '80s) anchoring the other end.
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