Groceteria.com

Can anyone tell me about the history of Grand Central Stores? This general merchandise and apparel chain was how Fred Meyer made entry into Idaho and Utah. From this Fred Meyer eventually added food. The smaller of these former Grand Central Fred Meyer Utah stores eventually became Smith's Food and Drug Centers either before the Kroger/Fred Meyer merger or just after. Later the full line Fred Meyer stores in Utah became Smith's Marketplace stores. Also there were also some Grand Central stores that were in New Mexico. But Fred Meyer divested of these stores.

The New Mexico Grand Central stores were bought by WalMart

There were two Grand Central stores in Boise which were bought by Fred Meyer, and were eventually replaced by new stores which included food departments.

Grand Central was founded in the 1930's in Salt Lake City, by Jewish immigrant Maurice Warshaw. The first store was located in Downtown Salt Lake City at 9th South and Main Street. A bust of Mr Warshaw was housed in his honour at the Utah State Capitol prior to the Capitol's closing for renovations in 2004.