Page 1 of 1

New location list: Fairmont WV, 1927-2015

Posted: 20 Sep 2018 10:09
by Groceteria

Re: New location list: Fairmont WV, 1927-2015

Posted: 30 Dec 2020 14:22
by Andrew T.
It's been years since I last stepped foot in West Virginia, but the state has been on my mind lately (as it is from time to time)...and I have some images to share!

The Kroger Company had a strangely sketchy history in Fairmont: They were there in the 1930s, gone in the 1940s, back in the 1970s, gone in the 1980s, and are still gone today even though they have a strong presence in the adjacent markets of Clarksburg and Morgantown.
monongah79kroger-crop.jpg
Here is a picture of Fairmont's Kroger Superstore in its window of operation, from the 1979 Monongah High School yearbook. The store was still open through 1985, if directories are any indication.
fairmont90apples-crop.jpg
And here is a picture of Fairmont's Apples supermarket, from the 1990 Fairmont High School yearbook. Obviously, Apples renovated and reoccupied the Kroger supermarket...and although the arches have been covered over, the original pillars (and the vertical grooves in the brickwork) remained untouched. The store was also expanded on the left into adjacent retail space.

I know squat about Apples, but they were a chain (albeit a very small one) and had a store open in Morgantown around the same time. The 1989 Fairmont yearbook also contains a picture of Apples, with a blurb citing its opening date as July of that year. The bright facade and lowercase Helvetica wordmark look very Loblaws-like to me...although I doubt there was any Loblaws connection to these stores.

This means that we can confirm Kroger's and Apples' addresses at 106 and 215 Marion Square as the same location. The shopping centre has been reconfigured considerably in the last 30 years, and now features a Food Lion store on a parcel of post-1990 construction. The former Kroger/Apples space has been completely re-facaded, and is now occupied by a Busy Beaver home improvement store.

Re: New location list: Fairmont WV, 1927-2015

Posted: 30 Dec 2020 14:41
by Andrew T.
Another excellent discovery from the yearbook ad files: A photo from 1984 of a recently-converted Foodland with a clear-as-day "Thorofare" labelscar on the side! I love how they attempted to cover it up with two undersized "Foodland" signs...and failed spectacularly.
fairmont84thorofare-crop.jpg
The ad cites three locations for Foodland in Fairmont: "Tygart Valley, Route 250 South," "Fairhills Plaza," and "309 Merchant Street."

The table lists at least two early 1980s Thorofare to Foodland conversions: 609 Bellview Blvd, and 9789 Mall Loop (which is actually south of Fairmont in White Hall, West Virginia). Judging by the surrounding topography (and the adjacency of Mall Loop to both US 250 and the Tygart Valley River), this has to be a picture of the Tygart Valley store.

Oh, another note! The old Thorofare space now stands next to a business called "Gwynn Tire." David is no doubt thrilled...

Re: New location list: Fairmont WV, 1927-2015

Posted: 31 Dec 2020 09:41
by Steve Landry
I am certain that Food Fair - Pantry Pride had stores in WV but I cannot find evidence in my archives.

Have you come across anything?

Re: New location list: Fairmont WV, 1927-2015

Posted: 31 Dec 2020 11:22
by Andrew T.
Steve Landry wrote: 31 Dec 2020 09:41 I am certain that Food Fair - Pantry Pride had stores in WV but I cannot find evidence in my archives.

Have you come across anything?
NO!

Re: New location list: Fairmont WV, 1927-2015

Posted: 31 Dec 2020 18:29
by Groceteria
Andrew T. wrote: 30 Dec 2020 14:41Oh, another note! The old Thorofare space now stands next to a business called "Gwynn Tire." David is no doubt thrilled...
We do get around...

Re: New location list: Fairmont WV, 1927-2015

Posted: 01 Jan 2021 10:30
by Steve Landry
Andrew T. wrote: 31 Dec 2020 11:22
Steve Landry wrote: 31 Dec 2020 09:41 I am certain that Food Fair - Pantry Pride had stores in WV but I cannot find evidence in my archives.

Have you come across anything?
NO!
Thanks

:-)

Re: New location list: Fairmont WV, 1927-2015

Posted: 01 Jan 2021 11:53
by rich
Food Fair most likely would have been in Martinsburg, which is in the eastern panhandle and had other chains that had DC-Baltimore operations. Further west gest into logistics issues because of crossing the Allegheny Front, which is still a formidable barrier in places.

I was in Baltimore a few days ago and was impressed at the number of obvious 1950s Food Fair pylons, even in Pikesville, which would have been just developing when those were built. It was odd how few stores they had in the DC area. There was another Food Fair chain in DC, so the Philly-based chain used Food Lane, but even after Grand Union bought the other chain and renamed the stores, they never had a big presence. Acme was odd in that way, too, although they had been in DC going back to the 20s in DC, yet they had a large presence in Baltimore.

Re: New location list: Fairmont WV, 1927-2015

Posted: 01 Jan 2021 13:05
by TW-Upstate NY
rich wrote: 01 Jan 2021 11:53 There was another Food Fair chain in DC, so the Philly-based chain used Food Lane
Wasn't Food Lane used by LaneCo. as well?