KMart grocery stores before SuperKMart

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WeisAdam

Post by WeisAdam »

I've photographed two former Kmart Foods in Pennsylvania: one a former Weis, and one a current Weis.

Former Weis: http://www.weisproject.com/past_detail.php?num=6

Current Weis: http://www.weisproject.com/store_detail.php?store=82
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Groceteria
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Post by Groceteria »

WeisAdam wrote:I've photographed two former Kmart Foods in Pennsylvania: one a former Weis, and one a current Weis.
Just out of curiosity, does the current store still have aisles that run parallel to the front of the store like a lot of the old Kmart foods did? They may have stopped that by the time the two you photographed were built...
WeisAdam

Post by WeisAdam »

Groceteria wrote:Just out of curiosity, does the current store still have aisles that run parallel to the front of the store like a lot of the old Kmart foods did? They may have stopped that by the time the two you photographed were built...
By now, I'm having trouble picturing the interior of the store since it's been so long since I've been there. But I'm sure I would have noted something as strange as differently-oriented aisles, so I would have to say that, no, the aisles weren't set up like that.
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Post by Groceteria »

WeisAdam wrote:But I'm sure I would have noted something as strange as differently-oriented aisles, so I would have to say that, no, the aisles weren't set up like that.
Yeah, I think that was more a peculiarity of the 1960s stores than the 1970s ones with the mansard-type overhangs andf arches at the entrances.
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Post by Groceteria »

By the way, I notice we seem to be using the same message board program on both our sites...
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Former KMart Foods

Post by krogerclerk »

Seeing the pictures of the ex-KMart Foods reminded me of the Kroger in Kingsport, TN, obviously in a former KMart Foods. The exterior was very similar to the phots Adam provided of the Weis stores, but the interior was 1980's greenhouse Kroger. Nearby was an empty superstore-era Kroger, but I'm not aware if it closed as a KMart Foods in the early-80's or if there was ever another grocer in the store in between KMart Foods and Kroger. Food City and Food Lion are the dominant grocers in the region and I don't see Kroger taking any of their castoffs. Winn-Dixie even outnumber Kroger, locationwise, until the late-90's. Ingle's arrival is later than Kroger and KMart Foods, so I can't imagine who would have been the operator of the KMart Foods.

Closer to Atlanta, Alterman's operated KMart Foods and most were rebannered Food Giant during the 1970's. Colonial had the franchise for other areas, but this is outside any of their marketing areas at the time or any time prior.
WeisAdam

Post by WeisAdam »

Groceteria wrote:By the way, I notice we seem to be using the same message board program on both our sites...
I noticed that too. The last time I stopped by here, you were still using boardhost.
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Re: Former KMart Foods

Post by Groceteria »

krogerclerk wrote:Seeing the pictures of the ex-KMart Foods reminded me of the Kroger in Kingsport, TN, obviously in a former KMart Foods.
One of the last Krogers to open in Greensboro NC before they pulled out of the market was in a former Kmart itself (not the food part). For a while, I think it was the largest supermarket in NC.

Interestingly, this store relocated from across the street, where it had taken up residence a decade earlier in ANOTHER closed discount store, this one a former King's. AND, the Food Lion which was in the old Kmart Foods space prior to its conversion moved across the street into the former Kroger/King's building.

Confused yet?
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Post by danielh_512 »

SuperTarget is all run by Supervalu in the food areas, which would lead me to suspect that Archer Farms/Market Pantry merchandise is the same as Flavorite/Richfood brand merchandise sold at Supervalu chains here in the Mid-Atlantic.

David's right on Gold Circle acquiring Richway (When I moved to NC in 1988, Target had just bought them). I also remember Gold Triangle in NC, which I believe was the same store as Gold Circle. Gold Circle was all over, they had stores in Cincinnati (not sure what happened to these), Indianapolis, Pittsburgh and Cleveland (which went to Kmart and Hills, depending on the locations).

It should be added that the May company while having Venture, also bought Caldor in the 1980's (Northeastern chain that was spun off, and then folded in 2000). They acquired Caldor through their acquisition of Associated Dry Goods in the mid-80's, which got them Lord & Taylor and some other stores that I can't remember, but aren't relevant here.

I have a vague memory of what was a former Kmart Foods in Altoona, PA that operated as a Shop N Save, and the aisles I remember were not parallel to the front of the store (as many Giant Eagle stores in the Pittsburgh area are). This operated as a Shop N Save until about 1992, when the Kmart remodeled, and expanded into the former food space, creating one of the largest regular Kmarts around.

Something of note: Not all small food spaces next to Kmart stores were Kmart Foods. Grand Union had a contract to build these stores with Kmart in the greater Washington area, probably because of the strong union ties in Washington (which still exist today) that kept non-union Kmart from opening their food operations. AFAIK though, the rest of these spaces on Kmarts built before 1972 (when the Kmart Food plan folded) were Kmart Foods at one time or another.

A previous post mentioned Zayre Foods. What do you know about them? While fairly familiar with Zayre, I had never heard of them having any food operations, at least with their Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic stores that I am familiar with.
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Post by Edric Floyd »

I remember the KMart on Oakland Park Blvd in the Ft. Lauderdale area had a K-Mart Foods store in the early 1970's. Also there were two K-Marts that had Pantry Pride Supermarkets attached, also in the early 1970s. They were located in Margate on State Road 7 and in Pompano Beach at US1 & Copans Road. All three of these stores had a passage way between the two sides and were later walled off completely.

The Oakand Park store's food side closed sometime in the late 70's and operated briefly with an independant, then as a Party supply store. Last time I passed that store, the K-mart was still open (now as a BIG K) and it appeared to include the entire building. I dont remember any other K-Mart food combos in South Florida where I grew up.

The Margate and Pompano Beach stores are the same style as the Bradlee's/Food Fair combos in the North east circa 1960's/1970's. And Pantry Pride/Food Fair was a dominant chain in South Florida well into the late 70's.

The Pantry Pride stores began to disappear in the early 1980's so the Margate K-Mart grocery store remained vacant while the K-Mart remained open for another decade. There was a Winn-Dixie location at the other end of the Margate Shopping center, first as Winn-Dixie's "Table Supply" warehouse type supermarket in the mid 1980's and later as a Winn Dixie Marketplace. And that closed in the early 1990's. Now, the Margate K-Mart and the former grocery next to it are demolished, as is the Winn-Dixie at the other end of the center. There is a Wal-Mart Supercenter there now.

The Pompano Beach K-Mart/Grocery combo would change from a Pantry Pride in the 1970's to a SUN Market (renaming of several Pantry Pride stores in the 1980's) and the grocery closed by the early 1990's. The grocery side was demolished and a Movie Theatre was built in the late 1990's. The K-Mart remains to this day and my sister worked there for two years until this past November.

Another K-Mart location with a supermarket attached that I know still exists is in Albany Georgia. It is an older K-Mart on Dawson Road and the Supermarket space is that of an local chain in Georgia called Harvey's.

I don't know the history of this location but it appears that the Harveys has been operating there for a very long time.

Previously in Macon, Georgia, there were K-Marts with Piggly Wiggly stores attached. One on Riverside Drive that closed in the mid 1980's and was demolished after being flooded in 1994. The other was on Pio Nono Avenue. The grocery side is now an Office Depot. The K-Mart side is a furnature store. The Pio Nono location may have also been a Kroger sometime in the 1970s before a "greenhouse" Kroger was built further west.

K-Mart had re-located their Pio Nono Av store to a newly built "BigK" about a mile west in 1997! That store was large enough to be a Super Kmart, but for some reason they chose to not make this large store a Super K. And this was at least 3 years before the FIRST Wal-Mart Supercenter opened in Macon. K-mart could have easily gained the upper hand against the small old Wal-Marts in this town. In 2000 Wal-Mart built replaced their two old stores with THREE supercenters around Macon and the "Big K" closed as part of the bankruptcy closings. The BigK without a grocery did not last 5 years!
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Post by Steve Landry »

Great stuff Edric :)

There were notable numbers of Kmart/Kmart Foods in Miami. One I remember well was on Coral Way (24 St.) and Galloway (87 Av.). The food part was run by Allied Foods. This 4 corner area and surrounding neighborhood was called Westchester. Grocery stores occuppied 3 separate corners. Publix and Kmart Foods in one corner, Food Fair/Pantry Pride on the next and Kwik Chek/Winn Dixie on the last.

Also remember that many KMart/Pantry Prides were J.M. Fields/Food Fairs. KMart was the biggest buyer of J.M. Fields when Food Fair disposed of them.

Side note: Do you remember the Grand Union/Grand Way combos??
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Post by Dave »

Steve Landry wrote:...
Side note: Do you remember the Grand Union/Grand Way combos??
There were a couple of Kmart/Big Star pairs in Richmond after Grand Union bought the Big Star name as part of the Colonial Stores deal. Later, the Big Stars (not all) became Winn-Dixies. Now they are nothing.
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Post by danielh_512 »

Harvey's, mentioned earlier in Georgia, is owned by Delhaize, and has been a name branded on some Food Lion stores in Georgia. The name was local, but is now being switched back & forth w/Food Lion in many areas.
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Post by Edric Floyd »

Steve Landry wrote:
Also remember that many KMart/Pantry Prides were J.M. Fields/Food Fairs. KMart was the biggest buyer of J.M. Fields when Food Fair disposed of them.

Side note: Do you remember the Grand Union/Grand Way combos??
Steve,

Thanks for the info on the K-Mart/Pantry Prides. I forgot the name J.M Fields and I could easily confuse that with the old J Byron's (aka: Jackson Byron or Byrons), which had nothing to do with supermarkets, but my mother frequented those stores as well.

I was in elementary school when I remember the stores as K-Marts. And since the building style was so different from other K-Mart stores, I always assumed they were something else until this year when I found a site online that had photos of JM Fields/Bradlee's combos with Pantry Pride/Food Fair.

I don't personally remember any GrandWay stores. However I do remember many Grand Union Supermarkets in South Florida. Some shared shopping centers with ZAYRE stores and many were free standing.

All of the Grand Union stores were gone from South Florida by the mid 1980's. The two that were in Boca Raton were Hyde Park Foods (the name that replaced many Pantry Prides in Florida) and eventually replaced with Publix. And appearances look as if Publix demolished the old store and built new. Another Grand Union store in Pompano Beach (Sample Road) sat empty for decades and is now a Save-A-Lot store.
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Post by Edric Floyd »

danielh_512 wrote:Harvey's, mentioned earlier in Georgia, is owned by Delhaize, and has been a name branded on some Food Lion stores in Georgia. The name was local, but is now being switched back & forth w/Food Lion in many areas.
Harvey's has a history in South Georgia of setting up in older supermarket buildings abandoned by other chains. In the late 1990's they took over many Piggly Wiggly locations when their owner (then Bruno's) began converting all of their stores to the FoodMax brand and closed several Piggly Wiggly locations, effectively removing the Piggly Wiggly name from the area except for a few Piggly Wiggly independents

Harvey's was family owned until Delhaize (Food Lion) bought them out in recent years. Slowly, the Food Lion stores mostly in small towns were converted to Harveys. This usually happens around the same time a Wal-Mart Supercenter comes to town. One former Food Lion location that sat vacant for over a decade was reopened as a Harvey's in the summer of 2005 (Cochran, GA) The Food Lion store in Gray, GA was closed and remains vacant.

There are still FOUR Food Lion stores in the Macon/Warner Robins area. These stores were originally 24 hour locations but now have reduced operating hours and compete with larger (24hr) Kroger and Wal-Mart supercenters.

Joe Harvey, the founder of the Harvey's chain died a couple of months ago.

Side note: Ahold buys Bruno's (Piggly Wiggly/FoodMax), then Southern Family Markets buys Bruno's(FoodMax) from Ahold in 05' and Southern converts ALL FoodMax stores back to Piggly Wiggly or Southern Family Foods in towns that have an independantly owned Piggly Wiggly. Their big promotion: "The pig is back!" Also, Southern Family Foods may take some recently vacated Winn-Dixies
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