Grand Union

[videogamer75]

How long was GU in the Philly market? I only remember Acme, Super Fresh, Shop Rite, etc. being around this area in my lifetime. Giant was also here for a little while, but all of those stores have since converted to Shop Rite (besides the ones in areas where a Shop Rite was already operating).

[gu4ever]

Originally posted by nims57

A history of Food Fair:
If anything, Food Fair would have likely owned Grand Union. Food Fair was once one of the top 5 supermarket chains with stores all along the East Coast. In Philadelphia, they were Acme's biggest rival and only second to them in market share. Lots of them closed and became Acme before the 70's were over. I would think that would be A&P, which had major financial problems even in the 50's. Penn Fruit (later merged with Food Fair) had very similar stores, but Penn Fruit was a much smaller chain. You can read about them here: http://www.groceteria.com/store/national-chains/food-fair/

and here: http://www.groceteria.com/board/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1003&p=5872

great Food Fair photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/62355920@N00/sets/72157615211788677/

To clear up any confusion, the first store I posted is probably from around 1973. It says that store was actually NOT related to the Philadelphia Food Fair chain. GU could have acquired some stores from the Philadelphia company though.

I'm not sure when the Food Fair company was actually established? This is some information I have about the Grand Union Company that I unearthed in my research and travels.

Early History

Cyrus, Frank, and Charles Jones founded what was to become Grand Union in 1872. They called the business the Jones Brothers Tea Co., starting with one store in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where the shelves were stocked with coffee, tea, spices, baking powder, and flavoring extracts. The brothers expanded the business steadily, branching out with new stores in eastern Pennsylvania, Michigan, and New York. By the time it built its headquarters and warehouse in Brooklyn, New York, the company was known as the Grand Union Tea Co.

In 1912 Grand Union was a 200-outlet chain store with operations across the country. In addition to its business establishments, the company supported a small army of 5,000 door-to-door salesmen and delivered goods in horse-drawn wagons. The brothers incorporated the Jones Brothers Tea Co. in 1916.

Grand Union used its financial strength through the 1920s to acquire other food businesses, including Progressive Grocery Stores, the Union Pacific Tea Co., and Glenwood stores. After merging with the Oneida County Creameries Co. in 1928, the Jones brothers reincorporated under the Grand Union name.

During the 1930s Grand Union grew to be one of the country's most thriving food chains. In 1931 the company had 708 small stores and $35 million in sales.

This information was from the fundinguniverse group.

[Caldor1999]

Originally posted by videogamer75
How long was GU in the Philly market? I only remember Acme, Super Fresh, Shop Rite, etc. being around this area in my lifetime. Giant was also here for a little while, but all of those stores have since converted to Shop Rite (besides the ones in areas where a Shop Rite was already operating).  

i remember reading somewhere that they started moving out of that market around the early 80's or so

[videogamer75]

Hmmm....guess that explains why I don't recall going to a GU.

[gu4ever]

The Grand Union store of Burlington, VT was located on route 7. It's now home to a brand new Shaw's building.

[gu4ever]

Here's the former Grand Union store now home to Price Chopper in South Burlington, VT. This was one of the location that I worked at for category management.

[gu4ever]

The South Burlington, VT store was one of my favorite stores. It had a service butcher shop, fresh from scratch bakery and back in the day a fresh catch seafood department. In the front windows of the store near the checkouts was a replica black tea cart from 1872 that would have been horse drawn.

[gu4ever]

The former 7 arched windows of Grand Union in St Albans, VT. I remember back in 2005 this location was still sitting empty. When I traveled up to St Albans this summer I found it's now home to Rite Aid. Sadly I lost the photo's of this location, here's a link to google maps.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=st+albans+vt&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=33.435463,62.226563&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Saint+Albans,+Franklin,+Vermont&ll=44.81539,-73.08261&spn=0.001747,0.003798&t=h&z=18&layer=c&cbll=44.815307,-73.082632&panoid=0mzNoEMVHa3Zo2I9yawLSQ&cbp=12,88.69,,0,-6

[gu4ever]

The former home of Grand Union in Colchester, VT.

[nims57]

Was there ever a Grand Union in Chambersburg, PA?

[jaredski09]

There might have been a store in that town in Pennslyvania. I am pretty sure that Grand Union had quite a few stores in Pennslyvania when they were doing well.

[gu4ever]

During my travels this summer I had past this location one evening to discover it was at one time a Grand Union store now recycled into a Dollar General with an empty store front to the right of the building. The pictures I took didn't come out to good, so I headed over in October early in the morning to capture the building and some interior shots of the vacant space.

[gu4ever]

Date-Line-Dairy sign still hanging in the vacant space of the former Grand Union store.

[gu4ever]

The Corner-Deli department known as "The Best Take Out Restaurant In Town"sign still hangs in the empty portion of the store. This location also had a rare treat for me a portion of the lighted aisle marker "now striped of it's graphics" still hangs in the center of the store.

[gu4ever]

Here's an example of the lighted aisle marker that ran through the center of the store. Over the grocery shelving sections Grand Union had some great visual graphics that would relate to the category of the aisle or department. When Swanton, VT still utilized this aisle marker I recall several of the photo's used, 1 was for Drixoral in the health and beauty care department, 2 Sealtest was in the frozen food department. Several other panels were solid panels that spoke about the red dot, We have a lot in store for you and of course clean fresh and good make a Grand Union.

[nims57]

Originally posted by jaredski09
There might have been a store in that town in Pennslyvania. I am pretty sure that Grand Union had quite a few stores in Pennslyvania when they were doing well.  

Chambersburg is near Gettysburg in Central PA and was in fact destroyed during the Civil War. I know there was an Acme there.

[gu4ever]

The former home of Grand Union in Greenwich, NY.

[gu4ever]

The Grand Union entrance.

[gu4ever]

The vacant space next door had a great surprise in the front window, red&white floor tile from the Grand Union days.

[gu4ever]

The empty Grand Union store of New Brunswick, NY. This store is located on route 7.

[gu4ever]

The checkout canopy and red&white floor tile.

[gu4ever]

Leaving the former GREAT Grand Union store the door still has it's red-dot exit decal attached.

[amesman]

Originally posted by gu4ever
The empty Grand Union store of New Brunswick, NY. This store is located on route 7.

For a short while, this was a Salvation Army store. They moved out around 2005. The old Grand Union has been vacant ever since. I believe I have a picture posted a few pages back.

[gu4ever]

The store front of the former Grand Union on route 7 in Brunswick, NY.
This style of Grand Union is one of my favorites, the property is quite large and the store sits freestanding as seen in the photo.

[videogamer75]

Originally posted by nims57

Originally posted by jaredski09
There might have been a store in that town in Pennslyvania. I am pretty sure that Grand Union had quite a few stores in Pennslyvania when they were doing well.  

Chambersburg is near Gettysburg in Central PA and was in fact destroyed during the Civil War. I know there was an Acme there.

Can you give me some location details? I was in Gettysburg in July 2008, and I may be going there again in 2010.

[nims57]

This store in the DC area (Virginia) makes me think it was a Grand Union: http://dcgrocery.multiply.com/photos/album/3/Food_Fair_Grand_Union#photo=75

There also was a Food Fair that looked like this, now a shoe store: http://dcgrocery.multiply.com/photos/album/3/Food_Fair_Grand_Union#photo=1

By the way, Food Fair/Pantry Pride and Grand Union were NOT the same company. I heard there was actually a chain in the DC area called Food Fair that became Grand Union.

There also were two pitched-roof Acmes, and a building being renovated that looked like it might have been a Jamesway.

Grand Union (now "Sunnyway Great Valu"): 49 Warm Spring Road (off Lincoln Way at the west end of Chambersburg)

Food Fair (now "Super Shoes"): 1525 Lincoln Way E. (across from Lowe's)

Acme #1: (now "Rugged Warehouse"): not sure of address. The store is in the plaza between Wal-Mart and Lowe's.

Acme #2: (now Gold's Gym): 133 W. Catherine St. This store I  never realized was an Acme until I looked on Google Maps after my trip. It has been remodeled and expanded.

Those stores were all in Chambersburg. I forgot to mention the Rite Aid which was a centennial A&P at 231 W. High St. in Gettysburg.

[gu4ever]

Originally posted by amesman

Originally posted by gu4ever
The empty Grand Union store of New Brunswick, NY. This store is located on route 7.

For a short while, this was a Salvation Army store. They moved out around 2005. The old Grand Union has been vacant ever since. I believe I have a picture posted a few pages back.  

Back on page one 1/08/2005 you can see the photo amesman posted of the Grand Union store being utilized by Salvation Army store.  

[gu4ever]

Originally posted by AmesNewington

Originally posted by gu4ever
This is the produce department, I neglected to change the resolution on my camera phone, so all interior shots I took that day are small.

Any more photos from this location?

Here is a picture from my late summer road trip of the Bolton Landing Grand Union store.
This picture was taken from the corner-deli looking up aisle 1 towards the produce department in the front of the store. *note* You can see the lighting utilized on the valance over the grocery shelving.

[gu4ever]

This photo was taking from the Ice Cream Parlor department in the back corner of the store. You can see the lighted valance grocery shelving of the bread and jellies section. In the front left alcove is the Date-Line Dairy department.

[gu4ever]

In this photo is the Date-Line Dairy Department alcove. You can see the newer style department graphic used here and the same style was also used thru out the store.