Weirdest combination of grocery store and other business?

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rrr

Weirdest combination of grocery store and other business?

Post by rrr »

What's the strangest combination you've seen? The oddest I can come up with, and it should be very easy to top this, is when the Minneapolis Holiday superstores degraded into a combination of Applebaum's grocery and the old Holiday sporting goods department. Need a trolling motor to go with that tartar sauce?

Anyhow, I'm sure others can come up with some better ones.
wnetmacman
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I got a better one......

Post by wnetmacman »

In New Iberia, LA, there is a combination store called Fremin's Food & Furniture. One side of the store is an independant grocer, the other side is a mid-range furniture store. And yes, they are connected. And they have commercials......on regional TV. I went there once, and was truly amazed.
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Utah

Post by storewanderer »

I visited a Ream's Store in Taylorsville, Utah a few years back. The store was pretty run down and I walked through it starting at the end with produce and going forward to the opposite end of the store. On the opposite end of the store, aside from the expected bakery and deli, was a large western ware display involving clothing, shoes, hats, etc. Very out of place.
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Post by Jeff »

Before Albertsons owned the Sav-On Drug store chain, Sav-On had a store that was located in the same building as a Ralphs market, only thing was there were checkouts between the two stores and nothing else.

In the mid 90's Ralphs closed the store (they had opened a Food For Less about a mile away) and Sav-On stayed.

Try an abanonded Supermarket and Drug Store Combo.

This was like this for years before a few years ago they decided to wall off the supermarket, which is still empty. The city recently started to build a new Sav-on in the same parking lot and will tear down the store soon.
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Re: Ream's

Post by tesg »

storewanderer wrote:I visited a Ream's Store in Taylorsville, Utah a few years back. The store was pretty run down and I walked through it starting at the end with produce and going forward to the opposite end of the store. On the opposite end of the store, aside from the expected bakery and deli, was a large western ware display involving clothing, shoes, hats, etc. Very out of place.
Most of the Ream's stores have complete western wear departments just like the Taylorsville one. Never quite understood that either.
r wrote:What's the strangest combination you've seen? The oddest I can come up with, and it should be very easy to top this, is when the Minneapolis Holiday superstores degraded into a combination of Applebaum's grocery and the old Holiday sporting goods department. Need a trolling motor to go with that tartar sauce?
Cash-Wise Foods in Fargo, ND also had a sporting goods department around 1990. They removed the wall between the grocery and the liquor store and used the expanded space for sporting goods. I remember grocery shopping one day and suddenly going down an aisle of bicycles.

That was such a great grocery store. They sold stuff you never found anywhere else (Shasta in glass bottles, for example.)
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Post by Toby Radloff »

A current example of a weird supermarket/retail combination would be the Fred Meyer jewelry store at the new Kroger Marketplace at Graceland Shopping Center in Columbus...where else can you get a Rolex and a rump roast, or a diamond ring and Diamond Walnuts under the same roof? :shock: :shock: :shock:
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Post by jamcool »

Kroger's "Marketplace" format has its basis in the Fred Meyer superstores in the NW and Smitty's (now Fry's Marketplace) in AZ. Both were a supermarket and dept. store combo. Smitty's not only sold jewelry and clothing along with groceries, but also sold sporting goods - including guns.
They also sold liquor and had in-store banks (not a great combo with firearms!) :lol:
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Post by krogerclerk »

I went in an independent grocer in North Myrtle Beach, SC that was also a hardware store as well. I don't remember if was Ace or True Value but I'm leaning to the latter. I was located along the beach as the chains, Kroger Sav-On, A&P, Harris-Teeter and Food Lion were along Kings )Highway(US 17) and business seemed to be very variable seasonally.

My experience has been its not unusual for chains to add merchandise to touristy areas that is not normally found in their mainstream outlets. Beach gear and related in coastal areas, fishing supplies in lake areas, etc. I recall a beach area Wal-Mart that had an airbrushing kiosk, not sure if the kiosk was Wal-Mart operated or leased out.
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Kroger/Frys Marketplace

Post by storewanderer »

Well, none of the Frys Marketplace locations in Arizona have the in-store Fred Meyer Jewelers (actually operates more like a sub-tenant, such as a bank in a supermarket, even in the full format Fred Meyer locations) as that Graceland Kroger Marketplace has. The Frys Stores do not handle clothing anymore either. They basically handle home decor and patio merchandise, with a real heavy emphasis on kitchen supplies and seasonal goods.

I don't think the Fred Meyer Jewelery store needs to do many sales to turn a profit. It will be interesting to see if they add that into more of the stores.

The Smiths Marketplace Stores in Utah also do not have the Fred Meyer Jewelery operation within their stores, even though these were former Fred Meyer Stores. They did not have the department when they were Fred Meyer, either. Kind of odd.

Smiths has a store in Wendover, NV, just over the Utah border. The store was built in the mid 1990's as Frontier Food Town, or something. It became Smiths by 1997. The store retains an odd hardware aisle complete with a small paint mixing stand, wire that can be cut from large rolls, and the other hardware items you would expect to find. The store has an odd looking Coast to Coast sign on the storefront. I suspect this is a leftover from Frontier. Nice to see them having the customary, year-round Smiths Sidewalk sale. Ugh.
http://www.geocities.com/norcalstorepic ... smiths.jpg
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Post by jamcool »

Having odd store combinations is nothing new for Kroger and its various store brands. The City Market in Cortez, Colo has a JC Penney catalog desk and a Blockbuster Video outlet.

BTW, the City Market in Cortez has an interesting history. It was a smaller store in the downtown area of that town, then around 1980 they built a new CM on the East side of Cortez-right next to a 70s Safeway "Super-S" store. Shortly after that Safeway closed its Cortez store, leaving City Market as the only grocer in town until Super WalMart opened around 2000. Then Safeway reentered Cortez with one of their basic small-town food&drug outlets and a plan to sell gas (the sign included a block where gas prices would have been shown). As of today the gas pumps have still not been installed.
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Re: Kroger/Frys Marketplace

Post by tesg »

storewanderer wrote:The Smiths Marketplace Stores in Utah also do not have the Fred Meyer Jewelery operation within their stores, even though these were former Fred Meyer Stores. They did not have the department when they were Fred Meyer, either. Kind of odd.
Uh, yes they do, and they always have. I was in the Smith's Marketplace on 9000 South in West Jordan last week. It absolutely had a Fred Meyer Jewelers. It's right inside the food entrance, just like most every other (present or former) Fred Meyer. The one off downtown SLC also has one, and the old Fred Meyer in Ogden (now closed) had one too.
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Post by Super S »

In SW Washington/NW Oregon, Hi-School Pharmacy operated combination drug and hardware stores. the hardware section depending on location was an Ace or True Value. Sadly, many were bought out by Walgreens recently, although a few still are open.
rrr

Post by rrr »

Huh, looks from the picture like that Wendover Smith's had a Coast to Coast hardware franchise and kept the sign even after True Value bought out Coast to Coast.
boostergold

weirdest combination of grocery store and other business

Post by boostergold »

I remember one store which was just outside Topock, AZ, can't remember the name of the store (possibly Best Buy, but don't quote me on that) one side was a grocery store, the other side was a small resturaunt, coffee shop type place.
rrr

Post by rrr »

Stelloh's, a country-style grocery in Barre Mills, WI, had a horseshoe shaped bar in the middle of the store. Gave the men something to do while the ladies were shopping. But it wasn't a supermarket by any stretch.
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