The Big "A" Super Store

Uh...California.

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CP1958

The Big "A" Super Store

Post by CP1958 »

Does anyone remember the Big A? This store in Canoga Park, California? It was located on Canoga Ave and Roscoe Bl. Along w/groceries they had everything-dry cleaners,beauty salon appliances,clothing etc. It was a one stop shopping experience!
Gunter Caddington
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Re: The Big "A" Super Store

Post by Gunter Caddington »

Hi!

Some words about The Big A Store at the Northwest corner of Roscoe and Canoga in Canoga Park. This was a huge superstore that opened in the late 1950s or early 1960s. Don't remember too much about it as I was pretty young at the time. The "A" came from Joe (?) Arnoff who was CEO, President, or founder or something like that. It was actually a publicly traded company at some time (as noted below). Unfortunately, I can't seem to find anything about him or the store on google.

You actually entered the store through a "Big A" that crowned the entrance. I do remember that I was almost trampled there one time, when one of the hourly specials (a forerunner to K Mart's Blue Light Specials?) was Playdough at some ridiculously low price that was brought out from the stockroom and dumped into the middle of the floor for the crowd to attack.

Big A used to have a weekly four page ad supplement in the Sunday LA times--at least in the Valley edition. At some point, there might have been a second store opened somewhere (in Orange County, maybe?).

I actually was an owner of one share of Big A stock--it was given to me as a gift because some friends of my parents were trying to increase the number of shareholders as apparently there was some question about how the corporation was being run. My brother and I, along with my parents each received one share. I wonder if my parents still have those certificates somewhere!

Big A lasted at least until 1965--my last visit to the store (and the first in a number of years). By that time it was pretty run down, and largely devoid of shoppers. I think the buisness was syphoned off by the White Front (?) store that had opened across the street at the Southeast corner of Roscoe and Canoga. A Costco stands there now.

I believe the original Big A building is still there, somewhat hidden by a number of small buildings along Canoga, some of which might have been the original Big A Auto Center.
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