Lynchburg Chain Grocery/Supermarket Locations, 1925-2000

A Sun Belt city with a Rust Belt feel, Lynchburg has an interesting retail history, with stores serving neighborhoods that are more dense than in similar Southern cities. Lynchburg has been served by most of the major names in the region, including A&P, Colonial, and Kroger, along with numerous regional and local chains.

This is a list of all known chain grocery addresses in Lynchburg between 1925 and 2000, compiled from city directories, telephone books, and other sources. It is generated through a live Google Spreadsheet so it reflects the latest information I have.

View and download a copy of this location spreadsheet via Google Sheets.

Notes:

  • The Anderson’s chain seems to have sold out to provide Pender’s with its entrance into the market, but to have quickly resurfaced as the local Piggly Wiggly franchisee (assuming it wasn’t to begin with).
  • Pender’s appears to have left the market as it was becoming Colonial Stores in the early 1940s, but to have returned about ten years later, staying on until its Big Star locations were absorbed into Harris Teeter in 1988.
  • King’s Markets sold out to Greensboro NC-based Food World in 1981. Food World was merged with Harris Teeter in 1985.
  • Lynchburg Harris Teeter stores were part of a 1999 “swap” that resulted in Kroger taking ownership of most of Harris Teeter’s Virginia stores and Harris Teeter acquiring Kroger’s locations in the North Carolina Triad area.
  • Bibee’s/Virginia Markets apparently started out as a wholesaler.
  • Safeway was apparently planning to expand south from Charlottesville into Lynchburg in the mid 1980s but never completed the expansion, which may or may not have been related to its 1987 meltdown.

Additional resources:

Store tags:

  • A&P
  • Bibee’s/Virginia Markets
  • Colonial/Pender/Big Star
  • Food Lion
  • Food World (NC)
  • King’s
  • Kroger
  • Piggly Wiggly
  • Winn-Dixie
Updated on 26 November 2022

Your email will not be published. Name and Email fields are required. Comments are moderated and may not appear immediately.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.