A&P/Family Mart

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Edric Floyd
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Family Marts in GA, FL and AL

Post by Edric Floyd »

Id like to tell you what I know about some former FAMILY MART locations mentioned in a previous post.

One Family Mart location in South Florida (Tamarac) was open for a very short time in the mid 1980's at the corner of McNab Road and University Drive. The store had competed with a large Albertsons a mile away and a 1960's vintage Publix across the street that later re-located a mile south to become one of the first Publix "food and pharmacy" locaitons. The Family Mart store remained closed until around 1990 when Albertsons re-located to the newer Family Mart building.

There were some old Family Mart/Florida Choice locations in the West Palm Beach area in the late 1980's. They were in the Military Trail/Okeechobee Blvd/Southern Blvd area (west of the PBI Airport). One of these stores later became Albertsons, but are probably closed now as they were all in less than desirable areas.

I moved to Georgia in 1994 and found a FoodMax store in an old Family Mart location off Airport Thruway. The interior was still that of the old Family Mart design although the exterior sinage had been changed. As a Foodmax, this location lasted a few years. Became a CUB Foods location but CUB foods left Georgia a few years later. This location is not operating as a supermarket today. The shopping center was being totally remodeled when I last passed by in September 2005.

I did not recognize any former Family Mart building types along Dawson Road in Albany. Maybe it was remodeled or demolished? Or is it possibly a Winn-Dixie Marketplace store? There is a rather large version of that on Dawson Road.

The Warner Robins FAMILY MART was open when I moved to this town in 1994. It never had many customers and there were many reasons why. This store was the poster child for mis-management! The prices were terrible. The store had a very dirty appearence and the selection was not the greatest for what was the largest supermarket building in the area at the time. I remember frost covering packages in the frozen food freezer sections along with the distinct smell of a freon leak. The interior of the store was always warm in the summer and cold in the winter. I knew people who worked there telling me that it would take an act of congress to get something repaired in this store, and this included the cash registers. NEVER could you find more than 2-3 open registers in a store with 12 checkout lanes. When a cashier ran out of reciept paper, he or she were often told to just take one out of another register.

The Family Mart store in Warner Robins closed in 1999 when A&P closed ALL of its Georgia stores. The building remains vacant. And was only recently boarded up. The store signs were never removed and for years the store's lighted signs were on at night with several light bulbs blown out. And there are weeds growing in the parking lot's pavement.

Both "The Family Mart" stores in Montgomery Alabama were on "The Bypass": One on South Blvd (bypass) and one on Eastern Blvd (bypass).
These stores were later Bruno's/food world and the one at South Blvd may is a flea market today. There is another Food World store on South Blvd. I think there were two Food Worlds on South Blvd at the same time. But in recent months, South Montgomery lost several stores as Brunos and Winn-Dixie closed stores in the city.
todd
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Post by todd »

Greenville SC had 2 Family Marts in the early 80's (maybe I'm off on the dates) ...one on corner of Haywood/Howell at E. North/Old Spartanburg and the other at 291 and Mauldin Road ....both are now Bi-Lo stores. Not to sure about them as I only went in a few times.
parkave231

Post by parkave231 »

Ooh, thanks for the info on Family Marts. I'm always interest to hear about them.

My experience is limited to one and a half. The half is one of the current Bi-Los which Todd mentioned -- the one at Haywood and E. North. I'd go there occasionally when I didn't want to go to the closest Bi-Lo to my apartment, which was a former Harris-Teeter. I wouldn't have thought about it on my own, but since Todd brought it up, it does, architecturally, still resemble a Family Mart / A&P. It never did seem like an original Bi-Lo to me, but I could never put my finger on it -- but now I know!

When my grandfather was still alive, he shopped most of the time at the Family Mart in Decatur, Alabama. It was located on 14th St. and 6th Ave., set back a good ways from the road, and it was all by itself. (I'm not sure what the typical setting of a FM/A&P is/was.) The thing I remember the most was the "conveyors" they had for you to put your food on for the cashier to scan. Instead of the typical belt, it was a round platform. You put your food on the platform, and it rotated around to where the cashier picked it up. Kinda like a lazy Susan, I suppose.

It always seemed to be fairly independent to me, but I do remember noticing more of an A&P presence as the years went on -- can someone fill in the history here? As far as I know the store is no longer operating, but I believe the building still stands. And the entrance to the store looked just like....that Bi-Lo in Greenville. Funny how certain things jog certain memories.....

Matt
danielh_512
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Post by danielh_512 »

A&P through the late 1970's was grasping at straws, using a variety of formats in different regions to try to bring people back in their stores, as other smarter operators were getting all the former A&P customers. Family Mart seems to be a more prevalent change in the South. In the Mid-Atlantic, A&P did plenty w/renaming throughout the 1980's, and there were a few WEO's and A-Marts, but I'd love to know more about Family Mart (and definitely see some pictures!).

The few FM pictures I've seen just look like an A&P FutureStore in disguise, which became branded SuperFresh in the Mid-Atlantic, and got a Sav-a-Center name in NC when I lived there in the late 1980's.
Edric Floyd
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Post by Edric Floyd »

Here are photos of the former A&P Family Mart location in Warner Robins, GA (about 20 miles south of Macon, GA)

Front: "The Family Mart" sinage remain in place.
Image

Front and side entrances: Missing are "Sav-A-Center" signs that were on each both sides in front.
Image

The side entrance included the separate "Liquor Mart" store.
A small white and blue sign next to the doors read "The Liquor Mart"
Image

And the street sign remains. A combination of the original Orange and white "Family Mart" with later green "Sav-A-Center" sinage. The only A&P logos in this store were actually on the shopping carts and on store brand products sold before they were called "America's Choice" But not in any advertising in the local newspaper. It was called Family mart Sav-a-center.
Image


This store closed in 1999 when A&P pulled out of Georgia. It was the last Family Mart in Georgia and the only A&P store outside of Metro Atlanta for several years before the A&P pullout.

This building has been neglected for years. The signs were lit at night for many years even as several bulbs burned out. It was boarded up only a couple months ago! (in the summer of 2005)

I checked with the local tax assessor and found out that this parcel was split three ways. The south east corner of the original property is still owned by Advance Auto Parts which had a store there until 2001. The center part of the property (with the building) is owned by a local church while the remainder of the parcel on the North east corner is owned by The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company. The corner of the property still owned by A&P once had a gas station there. However the gas station was torn down in the 1980's. In the ground you can still see where there were once gas pump islands and ground storage tanks that were paved over.
Last edited by Edric Floyd on 03 Jan 2006 03:03, edited 1 time in total.
danielh_512
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Post by danielh_512 »

I wonder if the A&P executives wondered why they ended up pulling out of the South because no one shopped in their stores. If it looked anything like that when open, it's no mystery. Absolutely horrible.
parkave231

Post by parkave231 »

Thanks for the pictures, Edric...brings back lots of memories!

Matt
jbarn02
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A&P Family mart.

Post by jbarn02 »

Does this store still have all the old equipment inside it like the pos registers and the check stands and the freezers and all the other equipment or was it sold when they closed and liqudated?
Edric Floyd
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Re: A&P Family mart.

Post by Edric Floyd »

jbarn02 wrote:Does this store still have all the old equipment inside it like the pos registers and the check stands and the freezers and all the other equipment or was it sold when they closed and liqudated?
I believe the fixtures were left inside for a long time after this store was closed. But this store was so poorly maintained in its last years that I doubt that anything was worth using.
jbarn02
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POS

Post by jbarn02 »

Do you have any inside pictures of this store?
Edric Floyd
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Post by Edric Floyd »

Sorry I don't have any interior photos.

I do remember that it was a mostly green interior with murals of fruits and vegetables in the produce section and like photographs of meat, bakery, deli, dairy and meat in those sections.

The floor was a grayish white as they neglected to polish the floors and all of the overhead signs had a red dot somewhere within the lettering

It was not a pretty sight at all.

This store interior was allowed to decline. I moved here 5 years before the store closed. It was bad when I moved here and got worse over time.
jbarn02
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A&P

Post by jbarn02 »

Do you think they will let you take some inside pictures of the closed store if you ask nicely and contact the landlord, saying your doing it for a retail history website?
Rockinrandall

A&P Family Mart History

Post by Rockinrandall »

I think I can enlighten you all as to alot of questions you had regarding the A&P/Family Mart operation. I was employed at the Decatur, Al. location from June 1981 until Oct. 1994. When I quit I was the store manager, and as one of the posts had stated, it was definitely a mismanaged operation! It was impossible to get any repairs done, or to have any labor to operate the store in the manner in which it was designed. The store was a hideous green color with murals on the walls of various food and hbc items. Youre correct about the floors, the equip. we had to clean them with was all antiquated and barely usable. I still have one of the floor stripper buckets that I now use to wash my car with. I guess the best thing I can say about A&P is they mercifully ceased operations in the Southeast region in 1999. If any of you have any specific questions regarding the history of the operation, I am sure I probably can answer it, I still have the listing of all the stores and the managers and upper level management associated with them. Feel free to drop me a line, I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,
Randy Barrett
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Re: Family Marts in GA, FL and AL

Post by Paper or Plastic »

Edric Floyd wrote:.....I moved to Georgia in 1994 and found a FoodMax store in an old Family Mart location off Airport Thruway. The interior was still that of the old Family Mart design although the exterior sinage had been changed. As a Foodmax, this location lasted a few years. Became a CUB Foods location but CUB foods left Georgia a few years later. This location is not operating as a supermarket today. The shopping center was being totally remodeled when I last passed by in September 2005.

.
When I moved to Columbus in 1977 the Family Mart was brand new! The had a sperate area that changed products every so often, (clothes, then shoes, then a new concept of video rental!) a big bakery where I would tease my mom and always ask for cake #9 for my birthday ( it was the one with nudie girls on it!) The inside was typical 70's orange yelow green and browns. As I recall as a young boy, the place was always very busy.
Rockinrandall

A&P Familty Marts

Post by Rockinrandall »

Well, I found out one thing I didn't know. Apparently, all the Family Marts opened around the same time frame. The one in Decatur opened in Nov. 1977, and you were correct, the first year of operation, the store was doing in excess of 1/2 a million in sales weekly....a far cry from the paltry amount it was doing when it closed in 1999. There are a variety of reasons why. The main reason being that until 1985 the company was operating under Family Centers, Inc. ...owned by A&P, but under an entirley seperate operation. When they merged operations, that's when the stronger A&P presence was noticed. The stores were remodeled twice, once in 1984, when they added Floral, Seafood, Gourmet meats, and a specialty cheese shop. These depts. all did well, until competition started adding the same variety depts. It seemed from that point forward, that being circa 1988, that sales started declining and stores started either being sold off (The North and South Carolina stores) or closed (Montgomery), along with certain unprofitable A&P stores. The Florida division was sold off entirely in late 1986 to Kroger, I'm not sure what name they were operating under, or if they are still open at this time. I was rather shocked when I was in New Orleans a yr. ago to see that A&P still has a presence in that region. The only store I went in was the on on Royal St. in the French Qtr., which was nothing but a glorified c.store. I'm not sure where the headquarters for that region are located, and if any of the Southeast Group management still works for them. If you would like any more info., please feel free to ask.

Randy
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