Banner Market, Detroit - 1931 to 1973

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ken fink
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Joined: 11 Apr 2021 18:17

Banner Market, Detroit - 1931 to 1973

Post by ken fink »

I appreciate all the work that has been done on the Detroit area. I'd like to add a little history from my family. My father, Harry Fink owned and operated Banner Market at 6921 Michigan Avenue (Michigan and Larkin). His mother and 3 partners formed the Outlet Market corporation in the 1930's. In 1931, around the time my father joined the corporation, a group of stalls on this site were enclosed with an exterior wall and roof. This enclosure was leased by Mr. Larkin to the Outlet Market Corp. Outlet consolidated into one store with the public name of Banner Market. Jacob Reisman and my father were the only two partners by the early 1940's. By the late 50's my father was the sole owner. The store remained in existence until about 1973 (my dad died in 1969, we sold the store in 1970 and it went out of existence a few years later). Banner Market was closely associated with other independents in the area. They shared advertising, marketing and often bought from a common wholesaler. Grosse Pointe Foods (Nate Shaye) was a major wholesaler for these markets and later became the owner of of a chain (was it Big Bear? How was the Borman -- Chatham/Wrigley -- family connected?). Primeat was our major pork/beef supplier. Some of the early history of Banner (Outlet) Market can be found in a Michigan Supreme Court ruling 'Cohen v. Outlet Market Co' May, 1945 311 Mich 327.

Our family considered Banner to be a 'supermarket' because we sold groceries, fresh meats butchered to order, made our own sausage, fresh baked goods (from Harnick bakery on Michigan Ave. a few blocks east of the store), fresh produce (5am runs to Eastern Market twice a week), pharmaceuticals, stationary, records, etc. In the early 60's, in the associated building behind the store, we were still selling live fowl that we butchered on site to the specifications of our customers. Most of our customers were Polish (bottles of Czarnina were always found on the top of our meat cases, whole grains were sold by the pound and 100's of cases -- 24 bottles -- of Strohs/Schmidts and Pabst were sold every Friday/Saturday)

Our closest competitors were a small A&P (across the street and a few blocks east -- towards Livernois) and later Shopping Center (across the street and a few blocks west). This was the first Shopping Center market, they later opened a store in northern suburbs and eventually re-named (I believe) as Hillers.
TW-Upstate NY
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Re: Banner Market, Detroit - 1931 to 1973

Post by TW-Upstate NY »

ken fink wrote: 14 Apr 2021 13:32 Banner Market was closely associated with other independents in the area. They shared advertising, marketing and often bought from a common wholesaler.
Could the Banner name have been used elsewhere? I remember in the 1970's in NE Pa. advertising for a group of what I'm presuming to be independents billing themselves as Banner, AG and E-Z Shop Markets. Always presumed it was a regional group until I saw your post and now it has me wondering.
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