More regular updates can be found on Bluesky and the Message Board.
Groceteria in the News
There’s a feature on this site in today’s Charlotte Observer, in case you’re interested.
A&P Update
For those who care, I’ve posted the first part of my A&P update, featuring a more complete history and more photos, including some amazing color shots of 1960 store openings in Southern California.
There are more photos, etc. to come over the next day or two.
Art by Yer Humble Host
A limited edition collection of vintage supermarket drawings from the 1970s was recently discovered in North Carolina.
OK, they were all done by Yer Humble Host as a precocious child. But they do demonstrate that I’ve been really obsessed with this stuff for a very long time. I think I captured the essence of the Centennial A&P pretty well for a six-year-old, thanks. I was also proud of my Big Food Star; I think my technique had really matured by age eleven.
I guess that’s enough self-indulgence for one day. Now you all know what a big geek I was, even as a child.
Updates
I just went through two months of email, some of it things I’d managed not even to see before. My apologies. Moving into my first house was more work even than I expected.
A few cool things unearthed in the big pile o’ mail:
- Labelscar: The Retail History Blog. This one really makes me feel all warm and squishy inside.
- A tribute to the Great Western Shopping Center in Columbus which features some interesting Kroger shots.
- Miscellaneous bits added to the Capsule Histories page.
Cala Foods, 1967
The Cala Foods location at California and Hyde in San Francisco, from the 1967 film Petulia.
This stunning bit of supermarket architecture and design has been featured on my front page before, but I thought a couple of vintage photos showing the original interior and unaltered facade might be nice too.
The store is still open, at least for now. It’s been remodeled and slightly enlarged, but both were done fairly well. Kroger is trying to sell off the entire chain, so I suppose you could describe this one as somewhat endangered.
Commercials on YouTube
I’ve uploaded a few old commercials to YouTube. Enjoy:
I’m Back
Hi all. It’s been a crazy couple of months, and I apologize for the fact that the website suffered as my betrothed and I relocated and bought out first house in Winston-Salem NC recently. So it’s goodbye Harris-Teeter on Central, hello Harris-Teeter on Cloverdale.
Now that I no longer live there, I’m finally posting the final pages of the Charlotte section. Today’s covers the 1980s, and it’s the most interesting and complex one of the bunch, I think.
The 1990s and other assorted updates will be coming tonight and in the coming days, I hope.
Link to this entry…
Charlotte Posted, Part One
For your perusal, the first half of the Charlotte section, covering 1931-1969, has been posted. I’m very proud of it; it’s my most intensively-researched city feature yet…
The rest will come soon, and I may come back with some revisions on the first part. Comments, suggestions, and contributions are welcome, as always…
A&P in Southern California
Just to make an otherwise unremarkable Sunday a bit brighter, I received about 25 color photos of 1960-era A&P stores, many of them from the forgotten Southern California branch of the chain, from a gentleman whose grandfather took them while working for the company…
They’re really amazing shots, interiors and exteriors in quite stunning color. I’ll be adding bigger versions when I do my revamp of the A&P and Colonial sections, which are my next two projects after the Charlotte section is done…
And yes, I really do plan to have that Charlotte section done soon. I got a little sidetracked by a personal matter recently, but it’s on the way. I promise…