This is a list of all chain grocery locations my research has uncovered in Altoona and Hollidaysburg 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:

• Altoona retained a huge network of neighborhood service-type stores well into the late 1950s and even the early 1960s. The last A&P service store (900 29th Street) didn’t even close until 1956.
• The Shaffer Stores chain, which dated from just before the turn of the century, operated small service stores to the end of its existence in the early 1960s. Its core group of about 25-30 stores remained remarkably stable for decades, with few closures or new stores. Ironically, the chain’s last location operated out of the very same location where A&P closed its final counter-service store in 1956.
• Voluntary chains with small stores (Clover Farm, Nation-Wide, and Economy Stores) were also very big in the area until the 1960s.
• Large chains had largely abandoned Altoona by the early 1980s (A&P in 1982 and Acme serveral years earlier) due to declining population and labor issues, though Weis Markets and Penn Traffic (Riverside and Bi Lo) were a consistent presence over the next few decades.

Store tags:

• A&P
• American/Acme
• Clover Farm
• Economy Stores
• Giant Eagle
• IGA
• Jubilee Foods
• Martin’s
• Penn Traffic/Riverside/Bi Lo
• Shaffer Stores
• Weis Markets