Was "Skaggs Alpha Beta" used in California?

Uh...California.

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pseudo3d
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Was "Skaggs Alpha Beta" used in California?

Post by pseudo3d »

Let me get this straight regarding the history of Alpha Beta, just so I'm covering all the bases:

From what I gather from Wikipedia and other sources, Alpha Beta from the early 1960s to the late 1970s was owned by pre-Skaggs American Stores and was basically the West Coast counterpart to ACME and shared a lot of the same designs and layouts.

When American Stores and Skaggs merged, many of the former Skaggs Albertsons stores that Skaggs had kept became "Skaggs Alpha Beta", with the chain now essentially stretching from California to Texas. In the mid-1980s, ASC sold off the Arizona stores (eventually rebranded as ABCO Markets, ultimately being sold off piece by piece under Fleming), and then bought Lucky in 1988, intending to convert the California stores to the Lucky name.

In 1991, following an antitrust case regarding their acquisition of Lucky Stores, Alpha Beta stores in Northern California were largely converted to Lucky, but only a few of the Alpha Beta stores in SoCal were converted...the rest were sold off to Yucaipa Cos., which eventually converted them to Ralphs before selling them to Fred Meyer (which in turn sold to Kroger).

Meanwhile, all the Skaggs Alpha Beta stores in NM, OK, and TX, got turned into Jewel-Osco, and that only lasted a year before those stores got sold to Albertsons (along with the Jewel-Osco stores in Florida that ASC had launched as new stores). The NM stores became Jewel-Osco before becoming Lucky (and were converted to Albertsons as ASC was acquired by Albertsons).

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What I CAN'T find, however, is if Skaggs rebranded any stores in California to "Skaggs Alpha Beta". This 1988 article suggests that isn't true, but surely Skaggs opened a few larger, more modern locations in the early 1980s, right?
justin karimzad
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Re: Was "Skaggs Alpha Beta" used in California?

Post by justin karimzad »

Yes! This location (Encinitas’ 2nd Alpha Beta) opened in 1981. Built as Wiegand Plaza and later renamed Encinitas Marketplace, this location lived to become Lucky and Albertson’s before Kohl’s took over the space
https://www.flickr.com/photos/otherstream/3290858277
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RandallFlagg
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Re: Was "Skaggs Alpha Beta" used in California?

Post by RandallFlagg »

The only one I remember rebranding the outdoor sign was this location in Claremont, CA. https://goo.gl/maps/m6PTe62on3PQ1JHi9 I grew up in the 70's and early 80's and shopped with my mom in many of the Alpha Beta stores, but not this one. This location is visible from the 10 freeway and I always thought it strange that they added Skaggs/ before the Alpha Beta letters in red. It had the brown background and it looked like they just shifted the sign to the right, so they could center the new name.
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storewanderer
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Re: Was "Skaggs Alpha Beta" used in California?

Post by storewanderer »

pseudo3d wrote: 12 Feb 2021 11:40 Let me get this straight regarding the history of Alpha Beta, just so I'm covering all the bases:

Meanwhile, all the Skaggs Alpha Beta stores in NM, OK, and TX, got turned into Jewel-Osco, and that only lasted a year before those stores got sold to Albertsons (along with the Jewel-Osco stores in Florida that ASC had launched as new stores). The NM stores became Jewel-Osco before becoming Lucky (and were converted to Albertsons as ASC was acquired by Albertsons).

---
What I CAN'T find, however, is if Skaggs rebranded any stores in California to "Skaggs Alpha Beta". This 1988 article suggests that isn't true, but surely Skaggs opened a few larger, more modern locations in the early 1980s, right?
Yes, NM was a strange situation where Jewel Osco was being used until around 1997-1998. It was especially strange in Las Cruces given that a half hour away in El Paso, those Jewel Osco Stores got dumped off to Albertsons in 1992.

Did Skaggs actually have drugstores branded as Skaggs in CA? I know there were some Sav-Ons in NorCal/Bakersfield (not sure about Fresno- but a few Sav-On Foods Stores were built down around there in the 90's)?

In Reno until the 80's the drug stores were branded Skaggs and then got rebranded Osco then in the mid 90's rebranded to Sav-On. I assumed most of the drug stores in the Intermountain states (Utah, Idaho, Colorado, Wyoming) were originally Skaggs if they dated back to the 80's and not originally Osco.

Probably off topic here but the most odd part of the Skaggs-Albertsons 70's split was in Colorado. I don't know why but they literally split the stores in half- the food half went to Albertsons and the drug half went to Skaggs (then Osco until 1992 then Payless then Rite Aid). They literally put up shelves to separate the two stores and you walked in a door and turned left for one or right for the other.

This photo was in 2006 but there were a few others of these around Denver into the 00's. I think this was the last one with either tenant operating. This was in North Glenn, CO
radnthgln2.jpg
radnthgl.jpg
Also this photo also from 2006- I am not sure if this was a true combination store or not.
It had a real wall separating the two stores but there may have been an interior walkway at one time. This was in Aurora, CO.
radaurmissis.jpg
Photobucket now allows for comments on each photo! http://s196.photobucket.com/albums/aa113/StoreWest/
surfingdude111
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Re: Was "Skaggs Alpha Beta" used in California?

Post by surfingdude111 »

There was a Skaggs-Alpha Beta at 312 E. Betteravia Road, Santa Maria, CA. Opened 1982, became Lucky-Savon 1988, and closed around 1996 when Lucky moved to the former Smiths at S. Broadway and E. McCoy Lane. The former SAB was subdivided, as is currently 99 Cent Only and Ross.
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Re: Was "Skaggs Alpha Beta" used in California?

Post by luckysaver »

Super King Market in Claremont CA (10 Freeway at Indian Hill Blvd) was built in the early 1980's as a Skaggs Alpha Beta. It became Lucky Savon, then Albertsons Savon, then Super King.

Skaggs Alpha Beta was a registered trademark of American Stores Company. I remember seeing the logo on produce bags at many traditional SoCal region Alpha Beta stores in the late 1980's/early 1990's before the Ron Burkle takeover. I believe the last year of existence was 1991 when the bulk of the Alpha Beta division merged into Lucky, however those stores simply became Lucky supermarkets that sported a pharmacy. The combo format resurfaced a few years later (as Lucky-Savon when Lucky rebranded all pharmacy departments as Savon) but those stores were not like the Jewel-Osco format with the split management. The current format of Albertsons-Savon/Albertsons-Osco/Acme-Savon (PA)/Shaws-Osco (MA)/Lucky-Savon (UT) follows the format set forth by the original Skaggs-Albertsons partnership of the 1970's.

I was so close to interviewing Alpha Beta corporate historian Esther Cramer (author of the company's official history book in 1973) at the La Habra Historical Society but unfortunately she passed away before I could make an appointment to meet her. I would have asked her a lot of questions about the company history after her book was published up to the Burkle takeover including the Skaggs Albertsons and Skaggs AB formats.
The other possibility is to identify all the Skaggs AB stores that evolved to become either Ralphs or Food4Less stores as Ralphs currently owns the Alpha Beta name and try to contact Ralphs Food4Less HQ in Compton to confirm (this project would be a longshot to complete and I know their office has a treasure chest of historical material such as the photos on store walls an info on the Ralphs family) - these are mostly the Ralphs stores numbered 2xx and some of the small sized Food4Less stores, which there are still a handful of them). Not sure if old newspaper ads listed Skaggs AB store locations.

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retailfanmitchell019
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Re: Was "Skaggs Alpha Beta" used in California?

Post by retailfanmitchell019 »

storewanderer wrote: 20 Jul 2021 01:17 Did Skaggs actually have drugstores branded as Skaggs in CA? I know there were some Sav-Ons in NorCal/Bakersfield (not sure about Fresno- but a few Sav-On Foods Stores were built down around there in the 90's)?
Skaggs did have stores in Orange County, according to a 1975 annual report. Those might've converted to Sav-on.
josefmrouse
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Re: Was "Skaggs Alpha Beta" used in California?

Post by josefmrouse »

Yes, they did. I distinctly remember there being one in Pinole, in Contra Costa County, at a shopping center on Fitzgerald Drive at the interchange of I-80 and Appian Way. It became a Lucky after American Stores bought them. It’s still a Lucky, but it’s the Save Mart chain’s version of it.

I seem to recall there may have been another Skaggs Alpha Beta at Merchant Street and Alamo Drive in Vacaville. But I may be wrong on that.
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