Groceteria.com

Does anyone have information on the Lee Bros. chain. I know the chain had about 20 to 30 stores operating at one time. There were about 20 stores in the Bay Area operating at the same time. However, the chain had one store in Modesto, Sacramento, Larkspur, and Las Vegas, NV. I also have learned from researching that the chain operated discount stores under the name Lee Bros Value World. These stores were around 60,000 square ft and had a Lee Bros. market inside. One of these stores remains largely intact despite having become a Rite Aid. That store is located @ 3848 Castro Valley Blvd. in Castro Valley, CA. In one advertisement I saw for the Lee Bros. chain the logos for U-Save and Food King were also included. There is one Food King store still in operation. It is located @ 8824 East 14th St. in Oakland, CA. The place was closed about a year ago because of serious health code violations. The area in which that store is located has defenately seen better times. I wil post an exterior photo on my website this weekend for those who want to see the place. I will also post photos of the Castro Valley store. If anyone knows additional information about the Lee Bros. chain I would be interested.

I don't know much about the chain instead of that it dissolved in the 1970s, with the remaining locations sold, a few to Key Market (which had a much more expansive territory when it had those stores than it does now). The former ones I know of are;

-200 Eureka Sq., Pacifica, CA (1961 or 1962) now Food Town
-15056 Farnsworth st., San Leandro (~1957) now Porter's market
-1850 S. Norfolk st., San Mateo (1955) later Key Market, then (in 1973) became Alpha Beta, and I believe was last a Petrini's before becoming Pet Club in the early 1990s. There's a photo of this store in a book about the history of San Mateo that's in the San Mateo library
-1085 Alameda De Las Pulgas, Belmont (early 1960s?) later Bell market, now Lunardi's
-15710 Los Gatos Blvd., Los Gatos (1956) later Key Market, now Nob Hill Foods
-187 W. Harder Rd., Hayward (late 1950s) later Grocery Outlet, then Dollar Club, and currently Mi Pueblo
-1825 El Camino Real, Burlingame (1950s) later Petrini's, now Lunardi's
-there was also one (that was later Key Market) on El Camino Real in San Carlos in the same location as Walgreen's is now, but this is almost certainly a new building. There was also another one in Los Gatos and one in Campbell that later became a Key Market that I haven't found any trace of.

justin karimzad wrote:there was also one (that was later Key Market) on El Camino Real in San Carlos in the same location as Walgreen's is now, but this is almost certainly a new building.

I show that location as having been a Bell Market in 1975 as well, which seems consistent with the time frame for the subsequent tenants in the other locations.

2400 E. Bonanza was a Lee's Brother for only a couple years. Lucky purchased the store in 1971. After being absorbed by Albertson's, they tried very hard to find a buyer for the store a few years ago. That didn't play out and they converted the store back to Lucky's. (Albertson's never remodeled the store away from the Lucky's interior) The name, perishable assortment change and lower price strategy reputedly has the store up 35% over when it was an Albertson's banner.

The former Thrifitmart, 2021 E, Lake Mead, purchased by Lucky sometime after 1984, is reportedly up 115% in the perishable depts since recently rebannering back to Lucky!!

Correct me if I'm worng, but isn't the Lucky purchase of Lee Bros. the point where Lucky came to have the Lady Lee store brand as well?

I can remember my Grandmother buying Lady Lee milk at Lucky in the mid sixties.

Some East Bay Lee Bros locations........

1) PINOLE: On Pinole Valley Road across from what is now Pinole Valley High. It was extensively remodeled over 20 years ago and is now a mini storage facilty. However, I believe the original building is still part of the complex(though VERY hidden). In between those uses it was a Jay Vee Liquor store for many years.

2) BERKELEY: What is now the Longs Drugs at Shattuck and University in the old Rivioli Theatre building with the old murals and balcony exposed was a Lee Bros. In fact, I would guess that Lee Bros was probably the store that converted it from a theatre to begin with, though I'm not sure. I do remember that Lee Bros kept part of the old marquee for use as advertising. After Lee Bros, it was a canned food outlet for a long time. It wasn't until Smart and Final took it over in the 90's that the old Lee Bros ceiling was removed to expose what was left of the old theatre. And of course, Longs moved in later.

3) LEE'S VALUE WORLD IN PLEASANT HILL. The building just north of Sunvalley Mall on the Concord/Pleasant Hill line that is now Mervyns and Longs Drugs was indeed a Lee's Value World. The building pre-dated the mall by a few years but by the time SunValley opened in '67 it was a discount store called BAZAR.(I know nothing else about that chain, BTW)
For a brief time it was also a Rhodesway, and probably had other tenants before Mervyns and Longs took it over about 25 years ago.

Groceteria wrote:Correct me if I'm worng, but isn't the Lucky purchase of Lee Bros. the point where Lucky came to have the Lady Lee store brand as well?

I found a Gemco ad from 8/18/1966 advertising Lady Lee ice cream and a news article from 9/6/1968 about "radicals" picketing the Telegraph Ave Lee Bros in Berkeley for not honoring the grape boycott.

The only items that I see with the Lady Lee name in that Gemco ad and later Lucky ads are dairy products. There are a variety of other items with the Lucky brand. Maybe Lucky only had the rights to use it on dairy products until they bought Lee Bros?