Syracuse Chain Grocery/Supermarket Locations, 1925-2020

This is a list of all chain grocery locations my research has uncovered in Syracuse between 1925 and 2020, compiled from city directories, telephone books, and other sources. There may be some omissions due to incomplete or missing data, etc. and I welcome suggestions and corrections. Please read about my methodology for more information about what I do and do not include.

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

Notes:

  • Syracuse city directories were challenging. Many stores in the suburbs did not have street numbers listed even into the late 1980s. I have narrowed them down as much as possible, but newspapers were not much help either.
  • Syracuse was the home of the P&C chain, originally a farm co-op. The chain was later owned by Penn Traffic, and was also a wholesaler serving the Big M/Midstate franchises. The P&C stores converted to Tops when Penn Traffic was acquired in 2010.
  • Acme bought the Market Basket chain in 1955, though the stores seem to have closed or ended up under other operators. Acme was out of Syracuse by the mid 1970s.
  • Loblaws left the area (and most of upstate New York) around 1977.
  • Victory Chain (later Victory Markets) bought the Johnson’s chain in 1955.
  • Wegmans arrived in 1968.
  • Grand Union stores in the area apparently rebranded as Grandway Supermarkets in the mid 1970s and the chain seems only to have remained in far-flung suburbs, though I have some doubts about the accuracy of the listings from the 1970s on.

Store tags:

  • A&P
  • American Stores/Acme
  • Big M/Midstate
  • Grand Union
  • IGA
  • Loblaws
  • P&C
  • Price Chopper
  • Red & White/Super Diper
  • Silver Star
  • Tops
  • Victory
  • Wegmans
Updated on 26 November 2022