Wyandotte, Lincoln Park and other Downriver burbs chain history

[Groceteria]

Abner is the name I was trying to remember.

[mburb1981]

I decided to make a few adjustments to both lists following a research of a 1975 Wyandotte directory at Bacon Memorial District Library today. This directory (or what I was able to go through with my limited time) listed three A&Ps (Riverview, 131 Elm and 3859 West Jefferson in Ecorse), the Wyandotte Danny's and two Krogers (Wyandotte and Grosse Ile). Further visits to that library will wait until our local weather warms up.

To reflect that this year is now 2020, I've changed some of the latter columns, and added a new 1980 column as well.

Finally, Southgate locations are now listed in the Wyandotte sheet rather than Lincoln Park's, to reflect the fact that some 1950's Wyandotte directories listed addresses in the part of then-Ecorse Township that later became part of Southgate.

[mburb1981]

After a little bit of research, I was able to decipher some more information relating to 3901 Fort Street in Wyandotte. It was apparently rebranded, as with the entire Danny's chain, as Select IGA by 1999 (August 1, 1999 Westland Observer includes an ad for Select IGA). Select IGA lasted only two years, closing it's doors in 2001. The Wyandotte table has been adjusted accordingly.

[mburb1981]

Just found a Trenton Trib article which gives a brief history on grocery stores in Trenton. Through this, I discovered that A&P had briefly occupied the Chatham space at Trafford Square (3000 Van Horn) in 1990, obviously closing by 1994 and replaced by Seaway Food Town. The Wyandotte table has again been adjusted accordingly.

[mburb1981]

With some time that freed up for me today, I came home with a library card that I picked up from the Bacon Memorial District Library and redid the two spreadsheets based off of directories available on Ancestry. I was finally able to access 1940s-1950s directories for Wyandotte as well as several Lincoln Park directories.

Wyandotte, Southgate, River Rouge, Ecorse, Grosse Ile, Riverview, and Trenton chain grocery/supermarket history (1921-1959 and 1975)
Lincoln Park, Allen Park, and Melvindale chain grocery/supermarket history (1929-1960)

[mburb1981]

Once again, I have expanded the Wyandotte and Lincoln Park sheets from 1965 onward, and as before I've pieced it together through several history websites (including Downriver Locations Thru the Years and the Southgate Historical Foundation's excellent business history directory), the Detroit Free Press archive on newspapers.com, listings on Google Books, and my own familiarity with the Downriver area. There might still be a couple of gaps, but overall the sheet extensions provide a good flow into the present day.