Super One Foods Des Moines

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pseudo3d
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Super One Foods Des Moines

Post by pseudo3d »

Albertsons entered Des Moines in the late 1990s by acquiring a chain called Super One Foods. They apparently did build a full-line store with the "Theme Park" decor (later Dahl's, though this is now totally empty). Anyone know what this chain was like? Maybe my perceptions are colored by Brookshire's chain of the same name but it seems kinda low brow for Albertsons to enter and try to snap up.
wnetmacman
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Re: Super One Foods Des Moines

Post by wnetmacman »

pseudo3d wrote:Maybe my perceptions are colored by Brookshire's chain of the same name but it seems kinda low brow for Albertsons to enter and try to snap up.
The Brookshire-owned version is Super 1 Foods. They have never spelled out the number. They have, within the last 3-4 years, stepped up their game quite a bit. The original days, they were exactly as they needed to be; spartan and simple.

That being said, there is another chain in upper Minnesota/Wisconsin called Super One Foods, owned by Miner's, Inc. Not sure if they are related in any way to the store you mention. Albertsons has been involved in several warehouse-style operations, such as Super Saver, during their history; I believe most large chains have tried it (Kroger has under 3 different names: Barney's, Food4Less and FoodsCo).
Scott Greer
pseudo3d
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Re: Super One Foods Des Moines

Post by pseudo3d »

I think you're right, I decided to try to look it up in the Des Moines Register archives (free search), and this is the snippet I got for the grand openings in October 1999.
The remodeled stores had been supermarkets operated under the name Super One and owned by a Minnesota company.
Here's another one:
Albertson's plans to close all 3 metro-area groceries
Des Moines Register - Des Moines, Iowa
Subjects: Business closings
Author: Bergstrom, Kathy
Date: Oct 3, 2001
Start Page: D.1
Section: BUSINESS
Abstract (Document Summary)
The Des Moines area stores closing are at 100 Army Post Road and 3400 E. 33rd St. and in Urbandale at 3799 86th St. Albertson's said it would seek a buyer for the locations of the stores, the firm's only supermarkets in Iowa.
The 100 Army Post Road store is now "Medicaid Enterprise", 3400 E. 33rd Street later became Dahl's (now closed), and 3799 86th Street became "Urbandale's Incredible Buffet & Fun Center" before closing in fall 2014.

I guess it was too much of a shock for customers to go from a low-cost no-bagging warehouse operation to a rather expensive full-line supermarket, and compounding that was Albertsons' problems with ASC and so many other markets going up in flames.
pseudo3d
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Re: Super One Foods Des Moines

Post by pseudo3d »

A little more digging indicates that the three Super One Foods stores would remain open as Albertsons remodeled them into their format.

...interesting.
pseudo3d
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Re: Super One Foods Des Moines

Post by pseudo3d »

One more thing, I thought I heard there was a fourth store. There was a store planned for University and North 128th near Clive, Iowa (the Walgreens that planned to build there but the Albertsons never panned out). Iowa was the only state with Jewel-Osco stores AND Albertsons stores (well, when they were part of the same company, Florida, Texas, and N.M. don't count), so it must have seemed logical to connect the chains that way when Albertsons still was planning to re-flag Jewel-Osco as Albertsons. But converting a warehouse store to an Albertsons without even closing it? That's going to be some sticker shock.
pseudo3d
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Re: Super One Foods Des Moines

Post by pseudo3d »

Further digging shows the 3400 E. 33rd Street store opened in 1990 as the store (the parking lot was still being done in April 1990, most of the center hadn't finished out yet), though Albertsons did alter the facade somewhat. I also found a more detailed article on the changes. Here are some highlights:

- Before the Super One name went away, already they had ended the "bag your own" grocery practice and replaced with traditional full-service checkouts.
- "Albertson's focuses on service and keeping prices as low as possible, without sacrificing quality", alas, if that were only the case today!
- They had planned another 3-4 stores in the coming years, all about the size of Super One (about 63k square feet)
- Albertsons was interested in buying Dahl's (it had 11 stores at the time), but Dahl's told ABS that it wasn't for sale and ended talks.
- Typically, you don't slowly convert stores to your brand that aren't being bought whole, considering that Miner's Super One Foods is very much alive. I wonder why how they allowed that. I guess Fred's and Rite Aid are doing it that way, but I'm not aware of any other conversions that way (Albertsons did close G&G Supermarkets, Paul's Market, Dominick's, A&P, and many others for conversions to their current brands, even those were going away).
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