Raisin's Markets locations in 1958

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runchadrun
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Raisin's Markets locations in 1958

Post by runchadrun »

Raisin's Market was a 13-store chain that was acquired by Alpha Beta in 1958. The market was named after Phil Raisin, not necessarily after a dried grape, who died a year after the chain was sold. This gave a total of Alpha Beta 49 stores and by the end of 1958 they had 51 stores.

These are the Raisin's locations at the time of the buyout.
Telegraph and Gunn, South Whittier. Food4Less.
http://local.live.com/default.aspx?v=2& ... &encType=1

Rosecrans and Studebaker, Norwalk. Crawford's Market.
http://local.live.com/default.aspx?v=2& ... &encType=1

Paramount at Stewart & Gray, Downey. 99 Cents Only Store
http://local.live.com/default.aspx?v=2& ... &encType=1

Tweedy Blvd at Elizabeth, South Gate. Giant Dollar
http://local.live.com/default.aspx?v=2& ... &encType=1

Atlantic Blvd, 1 block south of freeway, Monterey Park. I assume they are talking about the 10 freeway and not the 60, which wasn't completed in 1958. My guess is that it's this Asian store, which is a former Alpha Beta
http://local.live.com/default.aspx?v=2& ... &encType=1

Avalon at 120th St, Los Angeles. Maybe the shopping center on the corner?
http://local.live.com/default.aspx?v=2& ... &encType=1

Whittier Blvd at Ferris, East LA. Many possibilities at this intersection
http://local.live.com/default.aspx?v=2& ... &encType=1

Orangethorpe at Brookhurst, Fullerton. Ralphs. Raisin store opened in July, 1955. It was 40,000 sqft and the 9th store in the chain.
http://local.live.com/default.aspx?v=2& ... &encType=1

Harbor at Chapman, Garden Grove. The store was on the SW corner and is now gone. It was 20,000 sqft and opened in 1955.
http://local.live.com/default.aspx?v=2& ... &encType=1

Northwest corner of Bristol at Delhi Road, Santa Ana. Dehli Road was renamed Warner Ave around 1962. There's a Food4Less at this location, and it looks like it's been rebuilt or signficantly remodeled. There was a Market Basket at the SE corner, which is now a 99 Cents Only store.
http://local.live.com/default.aspx?v=2& ... &encType=1

Brookhurst at Ball Road, Anaheim. Probably this Ralphs
http://local.live.com/default.aspx?v=2& ... &encType=1

Stanton and Orangewood, Stanton. I believe Stanton Ave is now Beach Blvd, which would place it in one of these lovely vacant lots.
http://local.live.com/default.aspx?v=2& ... &encType=1
Last edited by runchadrun on 13 Sep 2007 12:31, edited 2 times in total.
luckysaver
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Raisin/Alpha Beta in Monterey Park

Post by luckysaver »

runchadrun wrote:

"Atlantic Blvd, 1 block south of freeway, Monterey Park. I assume they are talking about the 10 freeway and not the 60, which wasn't completed in 1958. My guess is that it's this Asian store that's a former Alpha Beta"


The Monterey Park location is indeed south of the 10 Freeway. The store that was Alpha Beta, according to one of the posts somewhere in the board, is currently Shun Fat Supermarket, in that pagoda structure (Mars Plaza).
Across the street is the Ralphs that used to be a Hughes.

Prior to Raisin opening in 1958, this was probably part of the polo field at the exclusive Midwick Country Club (part of the city of Alhambra), which explains the old greenish water tower seen from the store parking lot. Midwick closed in the 1940's and became the residential development in the hills adjacent to Shun Fat on the Alhambra side. The part of the field dropping towards Atlantic is on the Monterey Park side and the shopping center (now all Chinese) developed from there on.

The Monterey Park Historical Society may have confirmation that Raisin was at this location on Atlantic between Emerson and Hellman.

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Post by Jeff »

FYI, the Ralphs at Telegraph and Carmenita above was converted to a food 4 less, and recently remodeled.
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Post by runchadrun »

I've updated the original post with more info on the Santa Ana, Fullerton, and Garden Grove stores.

I knew that the Shun Fat market was a former Alpha Beta because I shopped there as a kid. It had a strange layout for an Alpha Beta with the entrance on the side and shops along the side. This store was built sometime between 1947, when Midwick was starting to be subdivided, and 1955, when I found the first reference to it.
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Re: Raisin's Markets locations in 1958

Post by J-Mac »

Raisin Markets, far before my time, but I do recall some of these older Alpha Beta locations.

Rosecrans and Studebaker, Norwalk.
That's no Asian market - its a former grocery store that I was wondering about! The store is divided (unequally) into a Sketchers Outlet and a Rent-A-Center. The Sketchers Store has one of those "rugged urban" interiors, but the ceiling features old school air diffusers for those of us that check out such things. There is the Crawford's Market on the other side of Studebaker... both buildings have barrel-type roofs, although Crawfords has that pylon... I dunno.

Here's an oddity: Norwalk doesn't have a listing on the groceteria 1973 Alpha Beta List. Must mean that AB exited that corner prior to 1973. Hmm. Might have to do more research.

Orangethorpe at Brookhurst, Fullerton. Ralphs.
Closed in 2006. I have a couple basic ground-level photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/7591905@N07/492047446/ and http://www.flickr.com/photos/7591905@N07/443266001/ the night shot has the labelscar proof. The store looks to have one of those quickie-Ralphs interiors, although the fixtures are all moved now.

Stanton and Orangewood, Stanton.
I also believe that Stanton Ave became Beach Blvd, also long before my time -- but the evidence is in the dogleg that Beach makes in Buena Park near Knotts.
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Post by runchadrun »

I thought I saw an Asian font on the Norwalk store, but it was the Sketchers sign. Oops :) Unfortunately the Raisin ads only had intersections listed so my initial guesses are a little imprecise.

The Norwalk store is indeed the Crawford's. I found two different addresses for Raisin: 10943 and 10951 E. Rosecrans, 10951 being the current Crawford's address. The store appeared in Alpha Beta ads until at least 1962. There was an auction ad in the Times dated 1/23/1966. From at least 1973 to 1980 there was a McCoy's Market at 10951 Rosecrans.

That second picture of the Fullerton store is great...a double Alpha Beta/Ralphs labelscar! The street address was 1701 W. Orangethorpe. It was the jewel of the Raisin chain, one of the last stores to open and with a shopping center built around it and parking for 1000 cars.
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Post by J-Mac »

I should add that I think that Fullerton store is on borrowed time. The center features this former Thrifty http://www.flickr.com/photos/7591905@N07/492047452/ and some other shops http://www.flickr.com/photos/7591905@N07/492047452/ ...
but there is a new-build Rite Aid going in a block east with a new Tesco -- two vacancies might spell the end of this center.

For the adventuresome, the store has some minimal lighting at night, but there is a security guard posted.
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Post by runchadrun »

J-Mac wrote:but there is a new-build Rite Aid going in a block east with a new Tesco -- two vacancies might spell the end of this center.
I didn't see any listings for the old shopping center on the city's planning department web site but there is a listing for the Tesco center.

Loopnet has a listing for the Rite Aid for $3.6m and, according to it, Rite Aid has occupied it since 1976 but Thrifty has been there since at least 1965, and probably since the center opened in 1955. Rite Aid just exercised a 5 year lease option in June, 2006. I guess they really wanted to move...
http://www.loopnet.com/xNet/MainSite/Li ... t006a00001
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Post by justin karimzad »

J-Mac wrote:but there is a new-build Rite Aid going in a block east with a new Tesco -- two vacancies might spell the end of this center.
runchadrun wrote:Rite Aid just exercised a 5 year lease option in June, 2006. I guess they really wanted to move...
S#*t. I guess I should have seen this coming. I think the Thrifty was actually added in September 1960, per an LA Times news article. It features that center-mounted sign and sandstone front typical of Thrifty's from this time.
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Post by runchadrun »

justin karimzad wrote:. I think the Thrifty was actually added in September 1960, per an LA Times news article. It features that center-mounted sign and sandstone front typical of Thrifty's from this time.
Thanks, I just found the same article. You're right. The other articles I had about the shopping center said the drug store was supposed to open in 1955 or 1956 but I guess it was delayed.
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Post by J-Mac »

runchadrun wrote:
J-Mac wrote:but there is a new-build Rite Aid going in a block east with a new Tesco -- two vacancies might spell the end of this center.
I didn't see any listings for the old shopping center on the city's planning department web site but there is a listing for the Tesco center.

Loopnet has a listing for the Rite Aid for $3.6m and, according to it, Rite Aid has occupied it since 1976 but Thrifty has been there since at least 1965, and probably since the center opened in 1955. Rite Aid just exercised a 5 year lease option in June, 2006. I guess they really wanted to move...
http://www.loopnet.com/xNet/MainSite/Li ... t006a00001
You know, its quite possible that I am wrong about Rite Aid moving down the street. I have found an example in West Garden Grove where there are two Rite Aid stores within 1.2 miles of one another. Maybe Rite Aid will stay the rest of their 5 year lease option -- until 2011. After all, they are saying that the property is "100% occupied" in the Real Estate listing.

For information, the new Tesco/Rite Aid location will be on the North West corner of Orangethorpe and Euclid Ave (about a mile to the east.)

But back to the topic at hand... Perhaps there is a potential for a hispanic market in the old Raisin store. The other former grocery store at this intersection became a 99cent store. (I don't know what that store was.)
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Raisin/Alpha Beta Monterey Park

Post by luckysaver »

Any old pictures of Raisin/Alpha Beta/Shun Fat Market on Atlantic and Emerson at the former Midwick Country Club site? This may be useful for the Monterey Park Historical Society.

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