Page 1 of 1
Colorado Soupers and City Supers
Posted: 24 May 2021 12:17
by BatteryMill
While doing some King Soopers research from this site's spreadsheets, I ran into two chains that have curiously similar names: Colorado Soupers and City Supers. From what my friend and I searched, we found little on the chain except some Colorado Soupers patches and passing reference.
Therefore I'd like to ask: What were these chains exactly? Any relation to King Soopers or just simply a copycat name?
Re: Colorado Soupers and City Supers
Posted: 28 May 2023 23:01
by BatteryMill
Adding on to this there was another "Circle Soopers" chain acquired by City Market in the mid-1980s... what could this mean? Was naming your grocery stores "Supers" a part of Colorado culture or something? :P
Re: Colorado Soupers and City Supers
Posted: 29 May 2023 09:29
by Groceteria
FWIW, most of the Colorado Soupers in Denver (but not all) seem to have opened in former Miller’s/National/Del Farm locations. They first pop up in my listings in 1979 and unfortunately, this is the last year for which I have Denver data. If I have time this afternoon, I’ll see if I can dig into any newspaper archives and find out more.
They also appear to have had something called “Colorado Mini-Soupers.”
Re: Colorado Soupers and City Supers
Posted: 30 May 2023 08:24
by Groceteria
Sorry. No updates from the newspapers as I don’t have access to any Denver papers from that time.
Re: Colorado Soupers and City Supers
Posted: 04 Jun 2023 19:31
by BatteryMill
Now from what I can gather City Supers seems to have been based out of Colorado Springs and supplied by SuperValu.
Re: Colorado Soupers and City Supers
Posted: 10 Dec 2023 22:56
by BatteryMill
Yet another Colorado-based "Supers" chain discovered - Valley Soopers, with at least one location in Rocky Ford as of 1954.
Re: Colorado Soupers and City Supers
Posted: 11 Dec 2023 19:19
by rich
Copy cat names were not uncommon: Numerous "Big Bears" used the name of a pioneering NJ store (Ohio, Michigan, California come to mind). The same names often competed near each other Food Fair had to call itself Foodlane in DC because there already was a local Food Fair chain. In NE Ohio, there was the Stop-n-Shop co-op in Cleveland and a Stop & Shop co-op that had stores in small towns East of there.
Going back to Big Bear, a pioneering discount chain called Big Bear started in Cleveland. When it planned to open a store in Mansfield (roughly halfway between Cleveland and Columbus), the adopted the name Giant Tiger and used it for all their stores? Why--the Columbus Big Bear super market chain already had a store in Mansfield.
Re: Colorado Soupers and City Supers
Posted: 12 Dec 2023 13:23
by BatteryMill
rich wrote: ↑11 Dec 2023 19:19
Copy cat names were not uncommon: Numerous "Big Bears" used the name of a pioneering NJ store (Ohio, Michigan, California come to mind). The same names often competed near each other Food Fair had to call itself Foodlane in DC because there already was a local Food Fair chain. In NE Ohio, there was the Stop-n-Shop co-op in Cleveland and a Stop & Shop co-op that had stores in small towns East of there.
Going back to Big Bear, a pioneering discount chain called Big Bear started in Cleveland. When it planned to open a store in Mansfield (roughly halfway between Cleveland and Columbus), the adopted the name Giant Tiger and used it for all their stores? Why--the Columbus Big Bear super market chain already had a store in Mansfield.
What's interesting about the Soopers gambit is that all of the five chains I have mentioned here were based out of Colorado and came about in the early days of King Soopers, assuming that wasn't very influential on the state's grocery marketplace.