Food Fair/Pantry Pride

[U-save]

Here are 2 blasts from the past. for those who can remember
Food Fair and Pantry Pride Supermarkets. let's discuss

[MikeRa]

Food Fair Supermarkets used to be, along with Penn Fruit, a great Philadelphia supermarket chain.  Food Fair was also located in New Jersey, New York, Delaware, and Florida.

Penn fruit went out in 1975, and Food Fair acquired the remains of the Penn Fruit chain.  In 1979, Food Fair closed all of their Philadelphia area Pantry Pride and JM Fields stores.  Most of the Pantry Pride stores became Acme Markets.

[Anonymous]

During it heights in the 50's and 60's Food Fair was a top 5 supermarket in the country.  Food Fair was a coast to coast supermarket(using diffrent names)  We had one here in Middletown Conn, and I can still remember the store to this day. Store opened in May 1961 and lasted until Feb 1973.

[JordanMarsh]

My mother used to grocery shop at Pantry Pide, there was one in a strip mall not too far from our house in North Miami, FL on Biscayne Blvd. Also at that same strip mall was a Lionel Playworld, Radioshack and I believe Eckerd Drugs or Rite-Aid can't really remember.

[Joeg]

This thread seems to have died off (no offense(sic))  This company was a Top 5 Supermarket in the Country!! Yet no history existes about this store.  Food Fair was the Wal-Mart of its era, prices were always low even before the discount era of the mid 60's .

Any one have any memories of this great chain store.

If you want some pictures of them go to DC Grocery.

[FearlessSwan]

Stamford, CT. Store closed around 1976. The far left has always been a bank branch. (Union Trust/First Union/Wachovia) and there was a party supply store (might have been Party City. Can't remember the name) located there during the 90s.



Later view of the site.

[Joeg]

How about some pictures from the 60's Food Fairs??

They were big in Fairfield/New Haven County.

They opened there Meriden CT store in Aug 1960, New Haven in Oct 1960, Middletown CT in May 1961, Colchester CT in July 1961 and Norwalk CT in November 1961.

Any other history on this company would be greatly appreciated!!

[Joeg]

Does any one remember Food Fair Supermarkets?  

They were big in Connecticut(usually had stores next to JM Fields/ Topps Discount Stores) and were very big in Fairfield County.  They were also know as Pantry Pride in the 70's.

[MikeRa]

Food Fair also had stores in PA, NJ, MD, and FL as Food Fair (later renamed to Pantry Pride) and J.M. Fields.  In 1975, they acquired the remains of the Philadelphia based Penn Fruit Company chain.  All of the Pantry Pride, Penn fruit and J. M. Fields stores were closed in Philadelphia in 1979, with the bulk of the Pantry Pride and Penn Fruit locations going to American stores Company's Acme Markets division.

[Mobil]

Did Acme buy Penn Fruit/Pantry Pride, or did they close?

[MikeRa]

Food Fair/Pantry Pride bought what was left of Penn Fruit in 1975, and then went bankrupt in 1979, closing down their Philadelphia and Baltimore Penn Fruit, Pantry Pride and J. M. Fields stores.

American Stores (Acme) bought a lot of the former Penn Fruit/Food Fair/Pantry Pride stores along the Main Line.

[Mobil]

Former Food Fair in Sharon Hill, PA.

[Mobil]

This Pathmark is likely a former Pantry Pride because the Peebles and Dollar Tree were a J.M. Fields, later Bradlees. This Bradlees was vacant until recently. According to Wikipedia, it was also a Jefferson Ward at one time.

[MikeRa]

Food Fair/Pantry Pride still lives on today, but as Revlon cosmetics

[Joeg]

this thread has died out!!  Go to google newspapers and look up the Florida Newspapers and see some of there ads.

Again, I can't believe there is no history/pictures(except on Pleasant Family Shopping and DC Grocery) about this great supermarket!

[JimSawhill]

this thread has died out!!  Go to google newspapers and look up the Florida Newspapers and see some of there ads.

Again, I can't believe there is no history/pictures(except on Pleasant Family Shopping and DC Grocery) about this great supermarket!

Tampa had a few Food Fair Stores....(got to get a list from the city Directory and post it here...)

[Joeg]

They also had stores in the St Petersburg area.. there was a grocery"price war" around 1957/58 when a 5lb bag of sugar was selling for one cent!!

[nysw3636]

In the late 1950's, there were well over 100 Food Fair Stores in Florida. I'll have to find my list of locations.