Updated 30 April 2025 (Originally published 17 September 2016)
San Diego is the second largest city in California, but often doesn’t really feel like it. While part of the greater Southern California region, it often feels like its own world, and its grocery chains reflect this to some extent. Los Angeles area chains were slower to penetrate the market (Ralphs did not arrive until after 1980) and local chains like D.D. Williams/Piggly Wiggly and Big Bear were strong contenders through much of the 1900s.
In this section
- San Diego Chain Grocery/Supermarket Locations, 1925-1980
- San Diego Suburban Chain Grocery/Supermarket Locations, 1925-1971