A&P in South Philadelphia

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Ephrata1966
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A&P in South Philadelphia

Post by Ephrata1966 »

I think either the Rite Aid or possibly Save-A-Lot on Snyder Ave (between I-95 Water, Jackson, and Swanson St) in South Philly was a circa 1957 A&P. Can anyone confirm?
JoshAustin610
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Re: A&P in South Philadelphia

Post by JoshAustin610 »

Nope, both Snyder Plazas (North and South) were built in the 80s. Snyder Plaza South with Rite Aid and the then-new to the area Save-A-Lot opened around 1986, and Snyder Plaza North with Caldor and Shop-Rite opened around 1987. Looking on HistoricAerials.com it looks like both centers used to just be industrial/ factory space.
Ephrata1966
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Re: A&P in South Philadelphia

Post by Ephrata1966 »

I still wonder where the A&P was in this part of the city. There had to be one somewhere. We know there was Acme (now Oregon Chinese Market), Food Fair (later Channel, now ALDI), Penn Fruit (later Thriftway, now CVS), and Penn Fruit (later Acme, now Ross).
werememberretail
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Re: A&P in South Philadelphia

Post by werememberretail »

Ephrata1966 wrote:I still wonder where the A&P was in this part of the city. There had to be one somewhere. We know there was Acme (now Oregon Chinese Market), Food Fair (later Channel, now ALDI), Penn Fruit (later Thriftway, now CVS), and Penn Fruit (later Acme, now Ross).
The Acme on Oregon Ave is actually a Vietnamese Market not Chinese The smaller Penn Fruit on Oregon was never a Thriftway, it was a Shop N Bag that closed just after the merger with Thriftway
maynesG
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Re: A&P in South Philadelphia

Post by maynesG »

Hi, I can!t think of the name of the small strip center or the name of the street in South Philadelphia that lays in the shadow of elevated I 76 on the Way of the Walt Whitman Is Bridge lies your answer. There was a colonial A&P that was a Super Fresh to the late 1990!s
when it closed. I will be in the area on Friday and will find the store. The only other A7P in the area that I remember was on Broadway and closed when A&P closed the division.
I guess the store could have been on Packer Avenue
Thanks Gerry
maynesG
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Re: A&P in South Philadelphia

Post by maynesG »

Hi, The super Fresh/ A&P was on Packer Avenue and is now a location of Chick and Petes !
Hope it Helps Gerry
Ephrata1966
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Re: A&P in South Philadelphia

Post by Ephrata1966 »

Thanks! I have seen that A&P but never knew it was a Super Fresh. There was another Acme on Wharton Street, now a church. This was near the current Grays Ferry Pathmark. When did Pathmark open here? Was it around 1975, at the same time as the Oregon Pathmark/Kmart?

The Oregon Acme started in 1964 as a standard A Frame, but was expanded doubling its size during the Super Saver era. Thus the change would have happened when the store was under ten years old. So the Pathmark and Kmart next door still would not have been built. But it never was a Super Saver. For a while after Acme closed, this was a "Value Warehouse" furniture store. They had another store in the old Costless Home Store between the 1995 Acme and Home Depot in Clifton Heights. That store is now a United Furniture, which for years has had a store in the old Rite Aid (down from Acme) in Sharon Hill.

I wonder if by any chance, Oregon Market was connected to the now closed Great Valu Westlawn Super Market (Vietnamese) in Falls Church, VA. That store started as a Grand Union in 1965 and could easily be mistaken for a former Acme or Food Fair. So sadly they are tearing it down for Honda dealership expansion. I think this Grand Union closed around the same time as Food Fair.

And perhaps the Food Fair/Pantry Pride closed and became a Channel Home Center before the Food Fair bankruptcy. This was small for a Food Fair and now is an Aldi. The same thing may have happened in Brookhaven, except the store is today Save-A-Lot.
JoshAustin610
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Re: A&P in South Philadelphia

Post by JoshAustin610 »

The Grays Ferry Pathmark didn't open until 1988 according to articles; it sounds like that area of town just didn't have a supermarket at all for a while. Info on Whitman Plaza (on Oregon Ave) says that it was built in 1980, meaning it would have been a slightly later Kmart (it does look a little different, with tan brick instead of gray). I would think the Pathmark opened around that time as well; I believe the Monument Ave location is also an early 80s store.
maynesG
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Re: A&P in South Philadelphia

Post by maynesG »

The FoodFair in Brookhaven was a Thriftway for about ten years after the Bankruptcy. What Killed it was the Giant that opened down the street.
JoshAustin610
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Re: A&P in South Philadelphia

Post by JoshAustin610 »

I've also just found out that the Oregon Ave Kmart will be closing early next year; that leaves the Target and Walmart as the main two discount stores in south Philly (although there's still the Kmart in the Gallery). I don't know if that Walmart can handle any more customers than it has, although they are expanding it at some point (if you ever want a laugh read the reviews of that store on yelp.com; there isn't a single review that's more than one star, and many state that's only because they couldn't go into zero or negative stars!).
neil mcauliffe
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Re: A&P in South Philadelphia

Post by neil mcauliffe »

In the 60s I know of 2 A&Ps in South Philly. 2120 South 23rd Street and 1500 Packer Avenue. There were Food Fairs at 25th and Snyder and 31st and Reed that were later converted to Pantry Pride. There was an older Food Fair at Broad and Oregon that was never converted which I think closed in the 70s. The Pantry Pride at Front and Shunk was built on the site of the Best Markets warehouse and general offices.

Is the former Penn Fruit at 20th and Oregon still an operating supermarket?
Ephrata1966
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Re: A&P in South Philadelphia

Post by Ephrata1966 »

Oh yes, the Kmart closing has been in our papers for a couple weeks now! Perhaps the Pathmark will follow? I seriously wonder how long Sears Holdings, A&P, Safeway, and Rite Aid can all hold on. The Wine & Spirits store in South Philly sounds extremely profitable. This was briefly a PLCB "outlet" store. But I suppose there will be no more discounts. The place was just converted to "Fine Wine & Good Spirits". I meant to check out the Andorra Wine & Spirits, but it just moved to the Super Fresh plaza in Roxborough. The old store looked really unique, very tiny and in the little opposing strip by the road. Also notice the lack of "shoppe" on the sign, so this must have been an older remodeled store. Imagine "counter service!" There is a home-brew beer business in the same strip. Now it might lose business. Funny how the Acme/Kmart center in Hockessin, DE had the same odd design.

I am dying to pin down when the Clifton Heights Kmart opened. That had to be either 1974-1975, 1977, or 1980. Notice the "Clifton Gas & Wash" gas station next door. That must have started around 1974 as a trademark Mobil. Kmarts and Mobil stations from that era used the same kind of stucco. So did many JCPenney stores like the one at Granite Run Mall. That place has never changed! But I wonder why this Mobil was closed/sold probably 20+ years ago. More recently it was a Coastal and is now a mostly unbranded gas station. The wonders of automatic car washes! More recently, Lukoil stations (converted from Mobil) have been closing soon after the change. Seems like they are pulling an Eckerd/Rite Aid! Thus the Kmart here was probably built in 1974. I suspect the well-preserved one in Avenel, NJ was from the same batch.

Also, on historicaerials.com I noticed that the Food Fair in Brookhaven is actually now demolished. You can see it had a tower sign. There just might have been a similar store at 1 Baltimore Pike in Springfield, where the Red Lobster (across from Walgreens) is now. The other side of Bishop Ave is Clifton Heights/Upper Darby. What is ironic is that if the Giant in Brookhaven killed the Food Fair, the CVS moved from next to Giant to the old Food Fair site.
maynesG
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Re: A&P in South Philadelphia

Post by maynesG »

Hi, I believe you mean the K Mart and Acme Plaza is in Pike Creek Delaware. There is an Acme in Hockesin , but the center does not have a K Mart or any other large Anchor store.
werememberretail
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Re: A&P in South Philadelphia

Post by werememberretail »

Ephrata1966 wrote:Oh yes, the Kmart closing has been in our papers for a couple weeks now! Perhaps the Pathmark will follow? I seriously wonder how long Sears Holdings, A&P, Safeway, and Rite Aid can all hold on. The Wine & Spirits store in South Philly sounds extremely profitable. This was briefly a PLCB "outlet" store. But I suppose there will be no more discounts. The place was just converted to "Fine Wine & Good Spirits". I meant to check out the Andorra Wine & Spirits, but it just moved to the Super Fresh plaza in Roxborough. The old store looked really unique, very tiny and in the little opposing strip by the road. Also notice the lack of "shoppe" on the sign, so this must have been an older remodeled store. Imagine "counter service!" There is a home-brew beer business in the same strip. Now it might lose business. Funny how the Acme/Kmart center in Hockessin, DE had the same odd design.

I am dying to pin down when the Clifton Heights Kmart opened. That had to be either 1974-1975, 1977, or 1980. Notice the "Clifton Gas & Wash" gas station next door. That must have started around 1974 as a trademark Mobil. Kmarts and Mobil stations from that era used the same kind of stucco. So did many JCPenney stores like the one at Granite Run Mall. That place has never changed! But I wonder why this Mobil was closed/sold probably 20+ years ago. More recently it was a Coastal and is now a mostly unbranded gas station. The wonders of automatic car washes! More recently, Lukoil stations (converted from Mobil) have been closing soon after the change. Seems like they are pulling an Eckerd/Rite Aid! Thus the Kmart here was probably built in 1974. I suspect the well-preserved one in Avenel, NJ was from the same batch.

Also, on historicaerials.com I noticed that the Food Fair in Brookhaven is actually now demolished. You can see it had a tower sign. There just might have been a similar store at 1 Baltimore Pike in Springfield, where the Red Lobster (across from Walgreens) is now. The other side of Bishop Ave is Clifton Heights/Upper Darby. What is ironic is that if the Giant in Brookhaven killed the Food Fair, the CVS moved from next to Giant to the old Food Fair site.
I'm Doubtful that the Pathmark on Oregon will close. (at least I hope not, I tend to visit that store when I'm in the area ) it's one of the busier Pathmarks in Philadelphia if any pathmarks are going to be shut it's going to be the Ex-Superfreshes that got converted to Pathmark. Ive heard those units are doing lousy. the Historic (pre A&P) Pathmarks like Oregon Ave. tend to do well even with an Acme 2 shoprites 2 Save A lots an Aldi Walmart Target and a large Superfresh on Columbus Blvd, which (to bring the focus of the thread back to history as our host intended ) was the successor/replacement store of the old A&P/Superfresh on Packer
Ephrata1966
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Re: A&P in South Philadelphia

Post by Ephrata1966 »

Hey wait a minute, why were these Penn Fruits so close together? (20th and Oregon, now CVS and 24th and Passyunk Acme/Ross)

Are we sure one of these was not actually a Food Fair? Maybe even A&P? Take a look at the old Food Fair in Stratford, NJ (later Phar-Mor, now Goodwill) if you think that is not possible. And compare the Cheltenham/Melrose Penn Fruit (later Shop 'n Bag, now Save-A-Lot) and the Wyncote A&P (later a Centennial A&P, then Super Fresh, now Aldi). Most Acme/A&P/Food Fair/Penn Fruit/Pathmark stores and others were developed/built by the same people.
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