Bargain Basket, Placentia

Uh...California.

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J-Man
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Bargain Basket, Placentia

Post by J-Man »

I drove by this market (710 W. Chapman, corner of Placentia Ave.) yesterday-- it looks like it's straight out of the '50s. The name is painted (and outlined in neon) on the flat exterior in a script font. I found this picture on someone's Flickr page.

According to this 2005 article in the OC Weekly, it's been independently owned and operated for "five decades." So I guess this is really a unique store -- a non-chain store that doesn't appear to have ever been anything else.

Does anyone know anything about the history of this store?
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runchadrun
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Re: Bargain Basket, Placentia

Post by runchadrun »

Wow, what a cool sign.

According to an 6/21/1953 auction ad in the LA Times, there was a Bargain Basket Market at 3501 Burbank Blvd in Burbank. (It's now a boardshop). What's interesting is that, among the standard supermarket fixtures for sale, were: Neon signs on outside of building reading "Market" "Parking" and "Bargain Basket." Based on the timing, about 5 decades ago, I wonder if a new store in Placentia that was about to open found itself a good deal on a sign and the name to go with it. A little far fetched but you never know...
Joe

Re: Bargain Basket, Placentia

Post by Joe »

Hi,

The Bargain Basket market in Placentia was built about 1960 and was one of about three to four stores in what was hoped to eventually grow into a larger chain; but that hoped-for growth didn't happen. The partnership of three owners eventually broke up and each went their separate ways, retaining individual stores and other properties. The respective Bargain Baskets continued operating independently of each other in the following decades. The other two stores that were located elsewhere in Orange County (I don't remember the cities now) continued with the Bargain Basket banner for several years, but they were either demolished or refurbished into new identities sometime in the 90s. The only one that appears virtually the same as it did when it was first built is the Placentia store.

Coincidentally, I was at the 1960 grand opening that featured wild west cowboys who staged a shootout and did rope tricks to draw attention to the opening. Besides having seen the other Bargain Basket stores as I was growing up in Orange County, I am also friends today with the daughter of one of the men who was part of the partnership. Her dad kept the Placentia store for several years, and eventually sold it to another businessman. It has been sold to successive owners over the years, and although it is in need of updating, it actually continues to do a very healthy business catering to the local Latino community.
Joe

Re: Bargain Basket, Placentia

Post by Joe »

I forgot to mention that the name of the store in Placentia indicates that it was actually part of a chain (albeit small) at one time, as it still reads in the plural form the same way and same color scheme as when it opened: "Bargain Basket Markets"

Of course, now, it is the sole survivor of that small chain of markets in southern California.
Joe

Re: Bargain Basket, Placentia

Post by Joe »

Just an update on the Bargain Basket in Placentia: The building was acquired via lease a few months ago by Northgate Markets, which caters to the Latino market, and has been undergoing a substantial renovation. Gone are the original "Bargain Basket Markets" signage and the outdoor neon tubing illuminating the name. The interior and exterior of the market has been refurbished and will reopen on September 16, 2010 as the new Northgate Market. The building itself remains intact, but this closes the chapter on the sole surviving Bargain Basket of a fledgling 1960s-era chain that never made it beyond three or four stores. Goodbye Bargain Basket and hello Northgate Market.
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