What grocery stores are no longer around? (2023)

What supermarkets were around in the 80s?

What is this? Known across the United States for its grocery chains and branded products, Kroger is the oldest supermarket chain in North America. It began over 100 years ago in 1883 when Barney Kroger used $372 to open a store in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The vintage 1960s supermarkets featured below include family favorites like Kroger, Winn-Dixie, A&P, Safeway, Food Giant, Fazio's, Gamble-Skogmo, Food Fair, Big Bear, Lucky and others. For more, don't miss checking out vintage 1950s grocery stores and 1970s supermarkets.

National Supermarkets was a grocery chain in both the St. Louis, Missouri, and New Orleans, Louisiana, areas of the United States. Both firms were owned by Loblaw Companies of Canada, but in June 1995, they were sold by Loblaw to Schnucks Markets.

Gray's General Store is a general store located at 4 Main Street in Adamsville, Rhode Island. Founded in 1788, it operated for almost 225 years and was reputed to be the oldest continually operating general store in the United States.

The largest grocery store in the U.S. is Walmart, with a year-end sales of $573 billion and a market share of 26%. As of 2021, the U.S. grocery store industry has a market size of $811.5 billion.

Doud's Market is the number one specialty food market in Mackinac Island, Michigan, and it also holds the title of the oldest grocery store in America. This 130-year-old food market has 4.5 stars on TripAdvisor, and one reviewer raves, "Doud's has been a staple on Mackinac Island for decades and is well-stocked."

In 1950, supermarkets accounted for 35 percent of food sales; by 1960, these stores sold 70 percent of food for home consumption. During the decade, the number of stores more than doubled — from 14,000 in 1950 to 33,000 in 1960.

What was grocery shopping like in the 50s?

Back in the '50s, grocery stores would hand out tasting samples as a way to get customers to try new products. You had to weigh your produce. The self-service model extended to shoppers using large balanced scales, which were conveniently hung around the produce department, before heading to the checkout lane.

It's not the kind of grocery we know today, those were called a "General Store" back in the day. The General Store. Today's specialized stores offer a great variety of merchandise for the convenience of their customers, but in the 1800s, merchants simply sold the items they could obtain and resell.

They determined that the first true supermarket in the United States was opened by a former Kroger employee, Michael J. Cullen, on 4 August 1930, inside a 6,000-square-foot (560 m²) former garage in Jamaica, Queens in New York City. The store, King Kullen, operated under the slogan "Pile it high.

1980s. Walmart reached $1 billion in annual sales, opened the first Sam's Club and Walmart Supercenter. By the late 80s, Walmart had 276 stores and employed over 21,000 associates. Oh, and Sam Walton did the hula on Wall Street.

Inside An Old-Fashioned General Store

General stores, or town country stores, were packed with products all year long. No matter the season, the floor to ceiling shelves of a country store were stuffed with goods. The floor would be littered with barrels, boxes and tables holding a wide array of items.