Search found 663 matches

by rich
22 Feb 2006 20:40
Forum: History: USA California
Topic: Check cashing machines at Alpha Beta
Replies: 10
Views: 10191

There are non-luddite reasons to avoid debit cards. They don't have the legal consumer protections of vanilla ATM cards and they are incompatible with some ATMs, esp. overseas.
by rich
16 Feb 2006 08:54
Forum: History: Drugstore Chains
Topic: Rite Aid, Walgreens and Longs
Replies: 39
Views: 27584

Many Rexall's were chains, including some that were local co-ops. Gray, Marshall (Cunningham), and the Leader co-op operated as Rexall drug stores at various times in Cleveland. I think Gray & Marshall exited Rexall in the 60s, while Leader stayed much longer. Perhaps, Walgreen bought some chain...
by rich
05 Feb 2006 22:48
Forum: History: Miscellaneous and Not Region-Specific
Topic: KMart grocery stores before SuperKMart
Replies: 76
Views: 87931

Wrigley was their main brand. This was a little after they consolidated their banners in Detroit (where they also operated Packer stores), although they kept operating as K-Mart foods until the end of the decade. In Detroit, they merged with Great Scott! a year later and went to format that included...
by rich
18 Jan 2006 17:13
Forum: History: Miscellaneous and Not Region-Specific
Topic: New Uses for Grocery Stores
Replies: 90
Views: 94173

One of the early Giant super markets in DC was in the Tenleytown neighborhood on Wisconsin Avenue, N of Albermarle. For years, it was a Hechinger DIY store and now it has a big box retailer (Staples or Office Depot, I think). It was an early example of a tight urban super market location with parkin...
by rich
18 Jan 2006 17:08
Forum: History: Miscellaneous and Not Region-Specific
Topic: Store #1
Replies: 31
Views: 23413

I once found the original National Tea store which was on Belmont Avenue, W of the "L" probably in the 1200 or 1300 block. It was a nondescript storefront being used by a retail business. Store #1 can be semi-misleading. The Pick-n-Pay grocery chain in Cleveland (later Finast, now Tops) gr...
by rich
18 Jan 2006 14:58
Forum: History: Miscellaneous and Not Region-Specific
Topic: 7-11
Replies: 36
Views: 24853

In DC, the 7-11s probably continue to thrive because there are relatively few 24 hour super markets or fast food places and much of the diner trade is overpriced faux diners in the suburbs. They also never had significant competition and had gained a foothold by buying High's Dairy which had had &qu...
by rich
17 Jan 2006 21:02
Forum: History: Department Store Chains
Topic: Zody's
Replies: 88
Views: 72344

Britt's was a unit of Newberry's. The stores were much like larger Newberry units, which were basically small, low-end department stores. I only ever saw a few Britt's & there was no logic to the locations. The same could be said of Newberry's--they that three stores in the Cleveland area. One w...
by rich
13 Jan 2006 17:52
Forum: History: Miscellaneous and Not Region-Specific
Topic: Vintage Supermarkets in Movies and TV (Old Ones Only Please)
Replies: 178
Views: 142558

More groceries in film...

There's a Winn-Dixie in "Goldfinger", when the MI-5 guys are trailing the guy who wanted his gold (he and the subsequently car get compacted) they pass it in the background. THe grocery store in "The Deer Hunter" (where Meryl Streep works) is on Professor Avenue in Cleveland. It'...
by rich
06 Jan 2006 17:45
Forum: History: USA Southeast
Topic: Savannah Highway, Charleston SC
Replies: 18
Views: 17583

Name that store...

The high pylon and no parking in front would have dated back to the early 50s and might be a long ago chain--a predecessor of W-D, Kroger, etc.?. It looks Safeway-ish, but they were never that far south. The front of the pylon has what look like spots for 6 or 7 letters. Does that provide more clues?
by rich
04 Jan 2006 20:17
Forum: History: Department Store Chains
Topic: KMart Cafeteria and Other Restaurants
Replies: 72
Views: 95440

K-Mart Cafeterias

The popcorn & the 3/$1 subs (they may have called them "hoagies") were not included from the prototype they developed around 1983. The mere mention of the popcorn & subs reminds me of the distinctive stench they gave to K-Marts. The mid-80s format was when they first tried to draw ...
by rich
04 Jan 2006 20:04
Forum: History: Drugstore Chains
Topic: JCPenney and Drugstores
Replies: 9
Views: 10095

Eckerd

The different Eckerd chains were started by different branches of the same family. The earlier incarnation of this message board had some detail about this--I forget if they were siblings, cousins or different generations. It's doubtful that Eckerd "saved" JCP or had better management. A f...
by rich
04 Jan 2006 19:47
Forum: History: Miscellaneous and Not Region-Specific
Topic: First supercenter
Replies: 30
Views: 24455

Superstores & service departments

There were early experiments with delis, bakeries (often leased departments) and coffee shop-type restaurants going back to the 50s. Typically these were in the Northeast & Midwest. The Fisher Foods chain in Cleveland had delis in almost all of the stores it opened from the mid-50s onward. Delis...
by rich
04 Jan 2006 19:17
Forum: History: Miscellaneous and Not Region-Specific
Topic: KMart grocery stores before SuperKMart
Replies: 76
Views: 87931

Zayre Foods

Colonial operated a small number of stores under the "Zayre Foods" banner. More commonly, they had Albers, Colonial, or Big Star stores in shopping centers with Zayre.
by rich
28 Nov 2005 18:19
Forum: History: Department Store Chains
Topic: Best Products
Replies: 42
Views: 32524

Best Products

Best had a number of stores in the Cleveland area. None of them were of the architecturally distinctive variety (those came in the mid- to late 70s). The one near me was a former Federal Dept Store (a low-end chain based in Detroit) that was among Best's first Cleveland stores (circa 1972). It later...
by rich
20 Nov 2005 21:27
Forum: History: USA Northeast
Topic: Central Massachusetts
Replies: 6
Views: 6572

What about Stop & Shop (they were everywhere), Big Y (out of Springfield), or Star?