These are the latest blog updates. Click on the title to read the full article.
More regular updates can be found on the Bluesky/a> and the Message Board.
Iowa and West Virginia
Two new additions for your viewing pleasure:
Photo above is a former Kroger on Mercer Street in Princeton WV.
I’m planning a weekend road trip later in May that may take me to either Columbus, Cincinnati, or Louisville. I might listen to requests or I might ignore them, depending on my mood.
Updates. We’ve got updates.
I’ve been neglectful about posting these here as I complete them. Here are some recent additions that you would have known about sooner if you were following @GroceteriaWeb on Twitter. It’s been a busy few months and the map is filling out nicely!
Canada:
Alberta:
- Edmonton Chain Grocery/Supermarket Locations, 1930-1987 (UPDATED)
- Calgary Chain Grocery/Supermarket Locations, 1930-1991 (UPDATED)
Manitoba:
Ontario:
- Guelph Chain Grocery/Supermarket Locations, 1938-1980 (NEW)
- Peterborough Chain Grocery/Supermarket Locations, 1925-2010 (NEW)
- Windsor Chain Grocery/Supermarket Locations, 1924-2000 (NEW)
Saskatchewan:
- Regina Chain Grocery/Supermarket Locations, 1924-1995 (NEW)
- Saskatoon Chain Grocery/Supermarket Locations, 1930-1995 (UPDATED)
United States:
California:
Indiana
North Carolina:
Rhode Island
- East Providence Chain Grocery/Supermarket Locations, 1925-1998 (NEW)
- Newport Chain Grocery/Supermarket Locations, 1925-1981 (NEW)
- Pawtucket/Central Falls Chain Grocery/Supermarket Locations, 1925-1998 (NEW)
- Providence/Cranston Chain Grocery/Supermarket Locations, 1925-2005 (NEW)
- West Warwick/Coventry Chain Grocery/Supermarket Locations, 1936-1991 (NEW)
- Warwick/East Greenwich Chain Grocery/Supermarket Locations, 1925-1989 (NEW)
- Woonsocket Chain Grocery/Supermarket Locations, 1925-1996 (NEW)
South Carolina:
- Charleston SC Chain Grocery/Supermarket Locations, 1924-2015 (NEW)
- Rock Hill Chain Grocery/Supermarket Locations, 1933-2000 (NEW)
West Virginia:
A new look
I’m playing around with a new design for the site, as you may or may not have noticed. After eight years using the same old WordPress template, with a responsive add-on for mobile devices, I decided it was time to go with a complete responsive theme, to make the sit a little easier to deal with for users who access it on phones and tablets. This should also make for a little bit cleaner look all around, though it may never be as minimal as it was back in its first year:
Things may be odd for a few days while I fix the inevitable broken parts. Let me know if anything is seriously amiss anywhere.
The Message Board was updated a year or so back, so it won’t be changing for the foreseeable future.
Rhode Island
We interrupt the Canadian content for a whole lot of Rhode Island, since yer humble host will be visiting the area later this week. I will have very little (if any) time for sightseeing and photos but I should at least be able to spend some time in the library updating the location data.
Look out
Lots of fresh new Canadian content coming soon, including new and expanded location lists for various cities in Ontario; expansion of the ones for Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta; and new photos. Watch this space!
Until then, enjoy this photo of an A&P in Cambridge from 1996:
The turning point (or something)
A philosophical post about the future direction of the site…
I’ve decided that the site will henceforth focus more on the store location histories and commercial archaeology aspect of things rather than on specific chain histories. I’ve been sort of focused in that direction for quite a while now anyway, so I guess this just means I’m making it more “official.” The location research has become the part I really enjoy anyway, and the chain histories are being done better in other places (heck, even Wikipedia, in some cases), so this seems like a logical way to proceed.
Upstate New York Road Trip: Albany
In case you don’t follow on Twitter (and you should), I thought I would backtrack and add archived posts from the road. I may change my mind and decide this is a stupid idea. Who knows?
Latest additions
Former Loblaws, Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo.
New and expanded location lists:
- Buffalo NY, 1925-2005: Now includes suburban areas and also includes listings from 1960-2005. This is a major expansion.
- Rochester NY, 1925-2005: New list.
- Erie PA: New list.
- Toronto ON: Added 1925 locations.
There’s also this nifty new map to show you the geographic reach of the site.
Look for Twitter updates as I head for Southern Ontario in just a few weeks.
Capital Region and Niagara Falls added
Big new additions: location lists for Schenectady and Troy NY, and also updated Niagara Falls and Albany lists (through 2005). Photos coming soon as are new sections for Buffalo, Rochester, and Erie PA.
Newest additions
More new location lists for you amusement: